John Smith (~1749 to 1832) who served as Foster’s Town Sergeant for many years, has the distinction of being Rhode Island’s first known law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty.  He was killed as he attempted to arrest a man who was wanted by Connecticut authorities for being a debtor.

The Connecticut authorities had tracked the man into Rhode Island, where he had taunted and threatened them with a weapon. Rhode Island authorities swore out a warrant for the man on the charge that he threatened the officers, and Town Sergeant Smith and a small posse went to enforce the warrant.

On Thursday, June 21, 1832 Town Sergeant Smith approached the wanted man, however, the man attacked him with an ax. The man struck Town Sergeant Smith between the shoulder blades, killing him, and then struck him again in the back of the neck.

The assailant then attacked the posse and fled the scene. He was later arrested at the house of a local resident after he bragged about his crime.

The assailant was tried and convicted of killing Town Sergeant Smith. He was sentenced to death and hanged on December 27, 1833.

Town Sergeant Smith was around 83 years old at the time of his death. He had served as the Town Sergeant of Foster for over 40 years, and also acted as a deputy sheriff. He was survived by his wife and two children. 

Theodore Foster (1752 - 1828) - Attorney and Revolutionary War Patriot for whom the Town of Foster is named.  Involved in the burning of the Gaspee and was first U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island.  He spent his later life on a farm on Mt. Hygeia Road in Foster, RI.

Theodore Foster is interred in the Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI.

Click here for more information from Wikipedia.

Click on this link (Gaspee Virtual Archives) to get more info on his involvement in the burning of the Gaspee.

Dr. Solomon Drowne (1753 - 1838) - Physician and Revolutionary War Patriot, spent his later life living on a farm named Mt. Hygeia in Foster, RI living next to his friend Theodore Foster.  Solomon Drowne's house still stands on Mt. Hygeia Road.

Solomon Drowne is interred in the Foster Historical Cemetery (FR006) located on Mt. Hygeia Road in Foster, RI.

Click here for more information from Wikipedia.

Peleg Walker (1788 - 1822) - Of famous note, was (and perhaps still is) a resident of Foster.  you can do a google search and find a great deal about Peleg and the mill but the Foster Preservation Society would be most appreciative if you would purchase "Peleg's Last Word: The Story of the Foster Woolen Manufactory" from us.  Just click on the title to be redirected to our Book and Gift Shop page.

Or if you like geocahing, you can visit the actual sites, click on this link: Peleg Walker and the Ram Tail Mill

Albert W. Hicks (c. 1820 - July 13, 1860), was a murderer and one of the last persons executed for piracy in the United States.  According to Hicks, he was born in 1820 in Foster, Rhode Island.  His father was a farmer and Hicks worked on the farm until the age of 15 at which time he ran away to Norwich, Connecticut where he began his life of crime.

Click here for more information from Wikipedia.

Click here for more information (including illustrations) from the Otis Library (Norwich, CT).

John Knight Bucklyn (1834 - 1906) - Born in Hopkins Mills in Foster, RI, John Bucklyn was an Officer in the Civil War participating in the battles at Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.  Bucklyn was a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient.

• Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery.

• Place and date: At Chancellorsville, Virginia, 3 May 1863.

• Entered service at: Rhode Island.

• Date of issue: 13 July 1899.

• Citation: Though himself wounded, gallantly fought his section of the battery under a fierce fire from the enemy until his ammunition was all expended, many of the cannoneers and most of the horses killed or wounded, and the enemy within 25 yards of the guns, when, disabling one piece, he brought off the other in safety.

Click here for more information from the Joseph Bucklin Society.

Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich (1841 - 1915) - Born in Foster, RI, Nelson Aldrich served the State of Rhode Island in Washington for more than thirty years first as a Congressman from 1879 through 1881 and then as a U.S. Senator from 1881 through 1911.

Nelson Aldrich is interred in the Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI.

Click here for more information from Wikipedia.