ROBERT FOSTER 

The following bio was taken from page 202 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission. 

Transcribed by Shirley Koym 

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator 

The Robert branch of the Foster tree has been traced to Christopher Foster, who came from Surrey, England on the ship “Abigail” in 1635, and settled in New York and Ohio.  David S. Foster moved south in the 1860’s to Lee County, Alabama.  The experiment station farms of Auburn University now occupy part of the old Foster estate. 

Robert Douglas Foster was born and grew up in the rural community of Beauregard near Opelika, Alabama.  He was the first child born to Frank Belvin and Maud Lawler Foster.  Katherine, Thurston, Forrest, and Brenda completed this family. 

Robert (Bob) worked in a cotton mill while attending high school in Lee County, and in 1944 he joined the Merchant Marines.  In August 1945 he came to Henderson with a shipmate, Reese Garrison.  While visiting here, he met Virginia Faulkner, and in October 1946, they were married.  Virginia was born in 1927 to Morgan David and Velma Brooks Faulkner.  She had three brothers – Buddy, Euel, and Vernon- and a sister, Marion.  They attended school at Chapman and graduated from Henderson High.  Her mother died in March 1943, just two months before Virginia’s graduation. 

Bob and Virginia lived most of their married life in the Liberty Community.  They bought land and built a house on it in 1961.  Bob is a carpenter and worked for Hudson Engineers for about seventeen years.  Much of this time was spent on jobs throughout the South and Southwest.  This enabled the family to see and live in different areas of the country, but it also meant Bob was away from home a lot.  He is now vice-president and general superintendent of a construction company in Longview.  

Robert’s family includes Robert, Jr., born November 1949, and Andrea Helen, born August 1952.  They attended schools in Henderson, Kingsville, and Las Vegas, New Mexico, both graduating from Henderson High and Kilgore College.  Robert continued his education at Stephen F. Austin and is now with Texas Utilities.  He married Kimberley Allee in August 1981, and they reside in the Liberty Community.  Kim works at a local bank.  Andrea (Ande) is assistant manager of a federal credit union in Longview and lives with her husband, Pat Owens and his son Mark, in Elderville.  Pat is a Longview fireman, and he and his family own a motorcycle shop. 

On April 1, 1970, Virginia and her sister-in-law, Barbara Faulkner, opened “Creative Arts and Crafts,” a store for creative people.  They operated it jointly for four years: then Barbara left the business.  Ande and Virginia continued the store until February 1976, when they sold out.  They still enjoy the many different things they learned and taught in the art and craft field. 

Bob is a deacon in the Liberty Baptist Church where the family attends regularly.  They are also active in the local volunteer fire department. 

In May 1981, TUGCO bought the Foster farm on the Rusk-Panola County line road, and Bob and Virginia moved to another Foster farm just outside Henderson. 

It’s a small world department.  In tracing the Faulkner family history, I learned that the Faulkner’s came from the same area of Alabama as the Fosters, and in one instance a Faulkner married a Foster there. 

Submitted by Virginia Faulkner Foster