|
Senate Years of Service: 1790-1803 Party: Pro-Administration; Federalist
FOSTER, Theodore, (brother of Dwight Foster),
a Senator from Rhode Island; born in Brookfield, Worcester County,
Mass., April 29, 1752; pursued classical studies and graduated from Rhode
Island College (now Brown University), Providence, R.I., in 1770; studied law;
admitted to the bar about 1771 and commenced practice in Providence, R.I.; town
clerk of Providence 1775-1787; member, State house of representatives
1776-1782; appointed judge of the court of admiralty in May 1785; appointed
Naval Officer of Customs for the district of Providence, R.I., 1790; elected to
the United States Senate in 1790; reelected in 1791 and again in 1797 as a
Federalist and served from June 7, 1790, to March 3, 1803; was not a candidate
for reelection in 1802; retired from public life and engaged in writing and
historical research; member, State house of representatives 1812-1816; trustee
of Brown University 1794-1822; died in Providence, R.I., January 13, 1828;
interment in Swan Point Cemetery.
Bibliography
Dictionary of American Biography; Cotner, Robert C., ed.
Theodore Fosters Minutes of the Convention Held at South Kingstown,
Rhode Island, in March, 1790, Which Failed to Adopt the Constitution of the
United States. 1929. Reprint. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press,
1970; Foster, William E. Sketch of the Life and Services of Theodore Foster.
Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society 7 (1885):
111-34.
|