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THE DOWNHOMER DEC 1994. The Old World Connection by Roger Guttridge. Found "Missing Link" in Family Tree. Among the many letters I have received from Newfoundlanders curious about their English ancestors is one from Downhomer reader Gertie Legge, of Heart's Delight. Gertie, whose maiden name was Fost, writes: "My grandfather, Thomas Fost was born in Sturminster Newton, Dorset, England and came to Newfoundland as a young stowaway on a schooner in the early 1800s." "Thomas Fost married and had nine sons. He was the son of the seventh son and he had the seventh son. I can remember him. He was said to have a charm and could stop bleeding". Gertie said her grandfather was very particular about the correct spelling of his surname. "I would appreciate it if you could give me any information on the Fost name", she adds. Fost is an unusual name even in Dorset. In fact, I cannot recall ever hearing it before. For family historians, however, rarity is definitely an advantage, as this case has proved. A check in the current Bournemouth area telephone directory, which covers most of Dorset and a small part of Hampshire, revealed four Fosts - none at Sturminster Newton, but two at Blandford ten miles away and two more in the cuunty town of Dorchester 22 miles from Sturminster. I was unable to get a reply from the Blandford numbers but the Dorchester ones belonged to an elderly woman and her son, Lewis Fost. His father was a Dorset gamekeeper and his grandfather a cabinet maker. He told me of one or two relatives in other areas of England, including Maureen Thomas (nee Fost), of Ilminster, Somerset, who had done some research into the family history. I rang Mrs. Thomas and read Gertie's letter to her. "I think you have found my missing Thomas", she said. Mrs. Thomas revealed that she too was descended from the Fosts of Sturminster Newton and that among the names on the family tree was a Thomas Fost, whose baptism is recorded in the Sturminster Newton parish register under the date May 28, 1826. But Thomas' name then disappears from the records and she has often wondered what became of him. Mrs. Thomas has now sent me a copy of the family tree which I will be sending on to Heart's Delight. It shows Thomas not as one of seven sons but one of three or possibly four sons and two daughters born to George Fost and Margaret Sweet, who married at Charlton Horethorne, Somer set in 1816. George born in 1793 and described at various times as a thatcher, a labourer and tradesman- was in turn the son of Henry Fost and Hannah Collins, married at Charlton Horethorne in 1786. Thomas Fost's sisters were both called Elizabeth. The first born was christened in 1817 and may have died in infancy, which would explain why her sister - christened 1818 - was given the same name (not an uncommon occurrence). The brothers were Henry (christened 1821) and William (1824). Mrs. Thomas says there may have been another brother, Frederick, as yet unconfirmed. "I think the seventh son of a seventh son is a bit of a fable. If her Thomas Fost was born about 1826, I think we have a winner," she says. So far it is not known what happened to Thomas's brother Henry, either. William Fost went into business as a hairdresser and greengrocer and spent most of his adult life in the small port and seaside resort at Lyme Regis, near Dorset's border with Devon. He fathered at least eight children and it is from this line that [Margaret/Maureen?] Thomas is descended. Mrs. Thomas has also found earlier records of Fosts going back to 1689 but these have not yet been fully researched. he is also eager to obtain details for the Newfoundland Fosts from Mrs. Legge to fill in blanks on the family tree. "If the name of the ship on which Thomas stowed away is known, we would like to trace it and also where it came from." she adds. As reported in this column in the June and July 1994 issues of The Downhomer, thousands of Newfoundlanders are descended from Sturminster Newton ancestors due to the town's strong connections with the province. A major industry at Sturminster until the 19th century was the production of a coarse flannel cloth known as swanskin and used extensively by Newfoundlanders and the crews who crossed the North Atlantic.
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