James H. Foster

James Hervey Foster (August 3, 1827 – August 11, 1907) was an American farmer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate (1871, 1872) and State Assembly (1869, 1870), representing Winnebago County.

Early years James H. Foster was born in the town of Ware, Massachusetts, in August 1827. He received a common school education and came west to the Wisconsin Territory with his parents in 1846, settling on a farm what is now the town of Nepeuskun, in Winnebago County. After arriving in Wisconsin, he attended a partial college education at Ripon College, but never graduated.

Political career and public office He first entered public notoriety in 1847, when he delivered a speech for the Independence Day celebrations. He subsequently organized a debating society and a temperance society. He was soon elected superintendent of schools, and served in that office several years. and was retained in this position by the next four railroad commissioners, holding office for 16 years. He also received several honorary appointments during these years. He was appointed delegate to the Mississippi River Improvement Convention in 1881, and to the National Farmer's Congress in 1887.

In 1891, he was one of the founders of the Berlin National Bank, in Berlin, Wisconsin, and was the first president of the bank. He relocated to Berlin in the early 1900s, and died at his home in Berlin in August 1907.

Personal life and family James H. Foster was the only son of Asahel B. Foster and his wife Avis ( Topliff). James' mother was a niece of Revolutionary War officer William Eaton. The Fosters trace their lineage back to Sergeant Thomas Foster, who came from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.

James Foster married Lucy Jane Lathrop at Green Lake, Wisconsin, in 1848. They had three daughters. Foster was survived by his wife and two of his daughters.

Aside from his business and political pursuits, Foster was a lifelong supporter of temperance, but opposed the idea that it should be handled as a political issue—preferring that it should be handled as a moral and societal concern.

Electoral history Wisconsin Assembly (1868, 1869)

Wisconsin Senate (1870)