Randolph Foster

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Randolph Foster, out of Fort Bend County. Now, some men seem to have been born restless, and Randolph Foster was one of them. He came into this world on March 12, 1790, in the Natchez District of Spanish West Florida — son of John and Rachel Gibson Foster.

Spanish West Florida. Think about that for a moment. The man hadn't even drawn his first breath on American soil, and already his story had an international flavor.

He was still a young man when he went off to serve in Captain Randal Jones' Company during the War of 1812. After that, well, the war was over but Randolph Foster apparently wasn't done moving. He hunted and explored throughout the southwest — this part of Texas included.

He was the kind of man who liked to see what was around the next bend in the river. Then word reached him that Moses Austin had received permission to settle three hundred families in Texas. Three hundred families.

And Randolph Foster — who had already been through this country, who already knew what was out here — he turned right around and headed back. He arrived in Texas with Stephen F. Austin in 1821, one of the legendary "old three hundred" colonists.

The first wave. The ones who came before it was fashionable. By 1824, he had received title to four thousand four hundred acres spread across what is now Fort Bend and Waller Counties.

He also served as an Indian scout for the colony — a man who'd spent years roaming that southwest country was going to come in handy, turns out. In 1829, he married Lucy Ruffin Hunter, born in 1804. They made their home on the John Foster Grant and raised seven children.

Now here is where Randolph Foster's story takes a turn that belongs in the history books — and, to be fair, it does. It was 1836. The War for Texas' Independence from Mexico was burning hot.

Foster helped procure munitions for the Texian army, then joined Captain Wyly Martin's Company. And in April of that year, Santa Anna himself — along with his vanguard troops — moved to cross the Brazos River at what is now Richmond. Their aim was Harrisburg, where the Texian government was sheltering.

Foster and his comrades were outnumbered. The marker doesn't pretend otherwise. But they delayed Santa Anna's forces long enough — long enough — that the vanguard never reached Harrisburg in time to capture the Texian government.

Outnumbered men holding a river crossing against an advancing army so a government could survive. That's not a small thing. After the war, Foster became a prominent planter and rancher.

He signed the petition to create Fort Bend County. He supported the Foster Community School. And in 1856, the Texas Legislature appointed him a trustee of the Frost Institute, a private school.

Randolph Foster died on August 18, 1878, at the home of one of his daughters, near what would later be known as the Foster Community. He'd been born in Spanish West Florida, he'd crossed a continent, he'd helped hold a river crossing at a moment that mattered — and he died near land that bore his family's name. Some legacies, it turns out, are harder to move on than the men who made them.

What the marker says

Randolph Foster Born in the Natchez District of Spanish West Florida on March 12, 1790, Randolph Foster was the son of John and Rachel (Gibson) Foster. After service in Captain Randal Jones' Company during the War of 1812, Randolph hunted and explored throughout what was then the southwest, including stops in this part of Texas. When he heard that Moses Austin had permission to settle 300 families in Texas, he headed back to the area. Foster arrived in Texas with Stephen F. Austin in 1821 as an "old three hundred" colonist. In 1824, he received title to 4,400 acres in present-day Fort Bend and Waller Counties. He served as an Indian scout for the colony. In 1829, he married Lucy Ruffin Hunter (1804-1872). They made their home on the John Foster Grant and had seven children. During the War for Texas' Independence from Mexico in 1836, Foster helped procure munitions for the Texian army, then joined Captain Wyly Martin's Company. In April 1836, when Santa Anna and his vanguard troops sought to cross the Brazos at present-day Richmond, Foster and his outnumbered comrades delayed them long enough to prevent them from reaching Harrisburg in time to capture the Texian government. A prominent planter and rancher, Foster signed the petition to create Fort Bend County and supported the Foster Community School. In 1856, he was appointed a trustee of the Frost Institute, a private school, by the Texas Legislature. He died at the home of one of his daughters, near the later established Foster Community, on August 18, 1878. (2002)