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The Foreman families that
traversed the southern states appear to arise from William
Foreman who was born about 1641 and came to the US to Surry
county Virginia as an indentured servant. William's place of
birth and country of origin is unknown. William married a woman
who has been identified both as Ester and Hester in various
records and they had at least one son named Benjamin. Benjamin
Foreman, born about 1681, married a woman named Verrity, whose
last name is unknown. The number of children they had is unclear
and the records are not definitive. To make matters more
difficult, it seems that descending generations must have felt
required to name their male children George, Isaac, Benjamin and
William. This makes tracing these people through records quite
difficult as it is not clear if one is finding a child or a
cousin. Benjamin and Verrity had at least four children. A
possible 5th child was George Foreman, who will be the main
subject of discussion in this web site. William Foreman, the
oldest son of Benjamin and Verrity, is the source of one family
that crossed the south, which I refer to as the "John Ward
Foreman line." John Ward Foreman and his posterity moved to
Talladega, Alabama and on to Alto Texas.
The various Foreman families, like many
others who populated and settled the southern portion of the
United States, moved from east to west over a period of 100
years. After a great deal of searching and corresponding with
others, it now appears that there are three main Foreman
families that traversed the southern states in the US between
1740-1840. Each of the families appear to have started in the
Carolinas and they moved westward as land and opportunity became
available As is the case with many families, many family members
moved on and some stayed behind to raise children after they
married into a local family.
The two main Foreman families eventually
both made it to Texas. The
John Ward Foreman line settled in Rusk County. The George
Foreman line settled in the southeast counties, and will be
discussed later.
The various Foreman families, like many
others who populated and settled the southern portion of the
United States, moved from east to west over a period of 100
years. My particular branch of the Foreman family has been
definitively traced back to South Carolina, about 1740, and
there the story begins.
George and Charity Foreman appear to have
reached the southern portion of Carolina territory that
eventually became South Carolina. In the search for records,
please note that a survey of the boundary between the two, begun
in 1735, was not completed until 1815. This may result in
information on the family being found in either North or South
Carolina during this period of time.
George and Charity Foreman lived in
Edgefield District, South Carolina during this time and his last
will and testament shows he also participated in farming as did
many others in the region. Green-seed cotton was a staple in the
area and it was grown increasingly in the interior, and the
cotton gin, greater European demand, and improved transportation
(the canal system and river improvements began in 1795) made it
a viable economic staple. Its success turned many Piedmont
farmers into slave-holding planters. Given the comments in the
will of George it appears that he, too, lived on a plantation
and many of his children were apparently involved in farming as
well.
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