Two Robert Fosters of Amelia County, Virginia

Or how I learned to apply the Genealogical Proof Standard

The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) was developed by the genealogical community to provide standards for determining proof. I came across the GPS early in my genealogy research. I listened to several talks on the subject and bought Christine Rose's book, Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case. She lists five elements to the GPS. They are straightforward and easy to understand.[1]

1. Conduct a reasonably exhaustive search for all information that is or may be pertinent to the identity, relationship, event, or situation in question.


2. Collect and include in our compilation a complete, accurate citation to the source or sources of each item of information we use.


3. Analyze and correlate the collected information to assess its quality as evidence.


4. Resolve any conflicts caused by items of evidence that contradict each other or are contrary to a proposed (hypothetical) solution to the question.


5. Arrive at a soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion.

Some years later as I was working on this Foster Project, I came across a conflict of evidence that was difficult to resolve. Two men claimed to be the Robert Foster who served in the Revolutionary War. They were about the same age, both had wives named Elizabeth and both lived in Amelia County, Virginia.

One was the son of James Foster. He was born about 1750 and married Elizabeth Jones. He died in Amelia County in 1788. In 1840 the children of Elizabeth by her second husband (George Foster) filed a pension application based on her right as the widow of Robert Foster who served as a first lieutenant in the Virginia Continental Line. The pension was granted.

The other Robert Foster was the son of Thomas Foster. He was born about 1745 and married Elizabeth James. He died in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, in 1814. His tombstone reads "Robert Foster 1750-1814 Ensign 15VA Regt Rev War." The birth year was close and the Virginia regiment was exactly right. This looked like strong evidence to me.

How to resolve this conflict? The pension application seemed off to me. The widow didn't apply for a pension; her children by her second husband applied for the pension. The pension file held no proof of service and that was unusual. But the pension was granted. The tombstone seemed a better fit to me. The 15th Virginia Regiment was exactly right and the birth date was close. So I decided that the Robert Foster with the tombstone was the man who had served in the Revolutionary War. I put my conclusion on my website and posted it to the Foster mailing list.

Some months later I happened upon a post on a genealogy forum about a James Foster who sold land in Kentucky that was part of the Revolutionary War bounty land of Robert Foster. This sent alarm bells off in my head! I hadn't looked at the bounty land. The state of Kentucky has put all the Revolutionary War bounty land grants on line. See Revolutionary War Warrants Database. I was able to find the warrant for Robert for his service and for that of his brother, James, who had died in the war. Both Roberts had brothers named James but Robert son of James was the one whose brother had died in the war. And Robert of James had a son named James. So the James Foster selling land in Kentucky was the son of Robert Foster who died in 1788. And the Robert Foster who died in 1788 had to be the Revolutionary War soldier, not the Robert who died in 1814 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

How had I gotten it so wrong? I quickly deleted the information from my website and posted a retraction to the Foster mailing list. For someone who values accuracy in genealogy, this was a big embarrassment. After mulling it over for a while, I thought about the GPS.

Reviewing the GPS turned out to be quite helpful.

1. Conduct a reasonably exhaustive search for all information that is or may be pertinent to the identity, relationship, event, or situation in question.


• This I had failed to do. I didn't look at the bounty land.


2. Collect and include in our compilation a complete, accurate citation to the source or sources of each item of information we use.


• This I had done.


3. Analyze and correlate the collected information to assess its quality as evidence.


• I had cited my sources but didn't consider that the tombstone information came from a published cemetery survey. I had assumed that the tombstone was contemporary to the death of Robert Foster. Perhaps it wasn't. I was able to find a photo of the tombstone on Find A Grave. The marker was erected by the DAR which meant it was placed many years after the death of Robert Foster and therefore less accurate than a contemporary tombstone would have been.


4. Resolve any conflicts caused by items of evidence that contradict each other or are contrary to a proposed (hypothetical) solution to the question.


• In hindsight, my method of resolving the conflicting evidence was faulty. I took the information I had and chose one over the other. To resolve the conflict accurately, I needed more information.


5. Arrive at a soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion.


• This I also failed to do. A reasonable conclusion in my mind seemed as good as one on paper, but experience has taught me otherwise. The process of writing up the research and citing the sources forces me to do a better analysis of the evidence. Writing can expose weaknesses in the hypothesis and requires careful assessment of the sources. Sometimes the act of writing reveals stronger support for the hypothesis than was apparent. When multiple pieces of indirect or circumstantial evidence are combined in a logical way, they sometimes corroborate each other making a stronger conclusion. But without organization, they lack significance. I've heard many times in many different forums "Write as you go!" Experience has taught me that this is excellent advice.

This exercise showed me that the GPS is not just for professional genealogists. It's a useful tool for anyone with a difficult problem to solve. The bulk of the research in this project does not meet the GPS so please consider that when viewing my conclusions. And if you find additional evidence, contradictory or supportive, please share it with me.

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1. Christine Rose, Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case (San Jose, Ca.,: Publications, 2005),2-3. See also The Board for Certification of Genealogists website. The Genealogical Proof Standard.

© 2017
Laurie McKenna. Contact me at [email protected].