Anderson Clark Foster
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Anderson Clark Foster, a namesake for an uncle, was born in Winston County, Mississippi on 15 May 1867. When he was born Reconstruction of the South was still in process, Mississippi had given up it's Confederate title, and Andrew Johnson had become President after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Clark Foster was a black hair, black eyed, dark skinned, eight or nine year old boy when the family moved to Louisiana. According to legend, they lost all their money and had to start over from scratch just as the earlier settlers of the area had to do. Of the rich early settlers to the Louisiana area of Bienville/Natchitoches Parish border was the Sullivans. John Foster, Clark's father, settled on land that was adjacent to the property belonging to William Harrison Sullivan, a rich plantation owner who died in 1875. The land was split between William's heirs and some sold their piece of property to the government in order to buy land somewhere else.
John Foster taught his son Clark the trade of carpentry. Clark became a carpenter and did handy work for several people, including making wood coffins for those in the area that passed away.
He married Lillie Knotts, daughter of Marshall Dempsey Knotts and Susan Saphronia "Fronia" Sullivan Knotts (Fronia being of the children of William Harrison Sullivan). They lived on a piece of land sold to Clark by his father in which Clark labored a year to buy with the price of one hundred dollars. Clark's land extended from a creek named Clark Creek to (or near) the present home of Kim Grigg in the Foster Arbor Community. He built a house of cypress wood on this land, hauling the wood on trailers from Black Lake which is nearby.
He did well with the land and used it for what it was intended to be used for. He grew vegetables and fruits of all sorts. Some of those were: peas, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, cushalls, okra, corn, cotton, squash, onions, peppers, turnips, greens, pears, peaches, apples, etc. He did not waste the food; it was eaten. It has been said that the family never went hungry because the tables were full of food for every meal. Clark put his farming skills to use, as well as his carpentry skills. He was also a hunter. He loved wild hog. They had deer, wild hog, chicken, beef, pork, etc. The one animal he did not raise was sheep. They always had cold water from the well and fresh, sweet milk from the cows. Eggs from the chickens, and bacon from the hogs.
The Foster means of transportation was two mules - Ada and Kate. Ada was a good old trusty mule. Kate, on the other hand, has been said to have been a smart aleck type of mule, "stubborn as all get out". Clark nearly met his death one day, but Ada saved him. The story says that Clark had both mules attached to his wagon and was strolling down the road when they reached a bridge. Kate began to become stubborn, walking away from Ada. Kate's right feet slipped off the side of the bridge, which had no railings, and soon her entire body was falling off the side of the bridge. Ada used all her strength to help Kate by pulling all her weight towards the other side of the road. Luckily, Ada's plan was a success and Kate, Clark and the wagon were safe.
Clark also had two trusty dogs he loved dearly. They were named Major and Jack. Unfortunately, Jack came up missing and was never found. These dogs served more than one purpose. First of all, the saying says that "a dog is man's best friend." Second, they were hunting dogs used for all sorts of hunts which Clark so often liked to take. Thirdly, they were guard dogs, warning strangers.
Clark did not talk very often, nor did he like to be around a crowd of people. He loved hunting and always called his brothers to go hunting with him. But the way the phone system was back then; everyone could hear your conversations by picking up the line at their homes, seeing as how each home had a different ring. He'd call his brothers to invite them to go hunting with him and when they showed up, the whole community came along. It's almost impossible to hunt when about 20 people are with you, so Clark invented a code: The dry cow came wandering home. So he'd call his brothers, say this code, and only they knew just exactly what it meant: I'm inviting you to go hunting with me. So, instead of the whole community showing up, only his brothers would show.
Clark was a well-mannered man. He usually was found wearing overhauls with a long sleeve shirt and a hat on his head. When he walked into the house, almost always, he took his hat off. I guess this might have come back from his religious background. He was a member of Ramah Baptist Church and attended every service. Everyone called him a "Hard-shell Baptist." He believed in the discipline of his children and had a very unique way of doing such. He would schedule a whipping if one of his children were to misbehave. For example, if his child misbehaved, Clark would simply tell that child his whipping is coming at 2 o'clock on Monday. By the time 2 o'clock Monday came around, the child had been given the time to think about what he/she did wrong. Clark never forgot about the punishments and always kept his word.
However, there were times when scheduled punishments could not work adequately. Every morning a different child would have the responsibility of starting the fire in the fireplace. One morning, Clark called for his son Clint to start the fire but Clint would not get out of the bed. He called a few more times, but each time Clint lay in the bed sound asleep. So, Clark grabbed the iron ashpick and started towards Clint's bed. When he reached the bed, he gave the boy one good wack across the bottom. The boy jumped out of the bed, but to Clark's surprise it wasn't his son. What Clark did not know was that the night before, Clint's friend had come over and stayed the night with the Fosters. Clint let the boy sleep in his bed as he slept on the floor. I'm sure Clark was a bit embarassed by his rash actions towards the visitor. The story continues to say that the boy yelled and ran out of the house.
Clark was the type of father that worried about his children. It has been said that he worried a lot about his son Love. It is unknown exactly why such a concern existed about Love. According to Bessie Foster, Clark's daughter-in-law, Clark gnawed on his finger nails when he became worried.
Clark was out working in the fields and it became late, so he started to come back home. Just as he opened the back door to walk into the house, he began having a severe heart attack. He stayed unconscious for a few days but finally died on 28 October 1940. His body was interred at Ebenezer Cemetery.
Clark Foster's life would not be complete without at least mentioning his wife, Lillie. Lillie Knotts was born in Ashland on 24 April 1879. She was the oldest surviving child of Marshall Dempsey Knotts and Susan Saphronia "Fronia" Sullivan. Her father died the same year as Clark's father (1892) and her mother, a young widow with seven children ranging in age from 13 to 2, remarried to a widower named Christopher Columbus "Lum" Tilley. Lum Tilley had three children of his own, thus uniting the Knotts and Tilley families into one family. Lillie called these Tilley children her brothers and sister. The identity of the mother of the Tilley children is unknown.
Lillie was Clark's faithful companion for many years and mother of his children. Her mothering skills were considered a most excellency. She had a passion for fishing and is said to have dropped anything she was doing to go fishing. She also had very polite manners both inside and outside the home.
I wish I could say that Lillie had an easy life after Clark's death, but that is not true. In fact, it is far from truth. Lillie suffered a nervous, mental, and physical breakdown after Clark's death. She was admitted into Pineville Hospital/Rehab Asylum where she was kept under close supervision by the administration. It has been said that she would sometimes have fits while craving for water. Lillie's mind never returned completely back to normal, but she was released from the asylum and returned to her hometown to live with her daughter. Her body did not last much longer after this, dying on 30 September 1950. Coincidentally, her brother was being buried the day she died. Lillie was laid to rest next to her husband at Ebenezer Cemetery.
Children of Clark Foster and Lillie Knotts Foster:
1. Evvie Foster - born 30 May 1897 Ashland, LA; died 2 February 1934 Ashland, LA; married William Wick "Willie" Rigdon (ca 1894), s/o Henry Thomas Rigdon and Fannie Kissiah "Darling" Warren
2. Marshall James Foster - born 1898 Ashland, LA; died 1952 Ashland, LA; married Belva Barron (1899), d/o Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Barron and Carrie Lucretia Pullig
3. Tandy D. Foster - born 2 December 1902 Ashland, LA; died 4 September 1947 Ashland, LA; married Opal Bertrude "Ola" Martin (27 January 1907), d/o James "Henry" Martin and Edna Kissiah Thomas
4. Saphronia "Fronie" Foster - born 25 December 1904 Ashland, LA; died 5 June 1983 Shreveport, Caddo Par. LA; married 16 August 1922 in Bienville Par. LA to Dock Walker (9 April 1899 - 12 April 1965), s/o John N. Walker and Mary Jane Edna Thomas
5. Oneal Foster - born 5 July 1907 Ashland, LA; died 6 January 1974 Coushatta, Red River Par. LA; married 23 October 1927 in Bienville Par. LA to Archie Grigg (17 January 1907 - May 1979), s/o Sylvester "Vester" Grigg and Annie Crawford
6. Jewel Foster - born 7 January 1909 Ashland, LA; died 24 February 1971 Shreveport, LA; married 20 August 1927 in Bienville Par. LA to Bessie Louella Ayres (1 September 1911 - 14 August 1997), d/o Elbert Sidney Ayres and Lillie Ann "Annie" Thomas
7. Irby "Love" Foster - born 18 January 1912 Ashland, LA; died 12 March 1958 Ashland, LA; married 11 February 1930 in Bienville Par. LA to Lydia Ann Rigdon (ca 1915), d/o Henry Thomas Rigdon and Fannie Kissiah "Darling" Warren
8. John Clark "J. C." Foster - born 24 March 1916 Ashland, LA; died 4 July 1960 Shreveport, LA; married Myrtis Thomas (20 April 1911 - 17 July 1982), d/o Hosea "Ross" Thomas and Doratha Elizabeth Bamburg
9. Leston W. Foster - born 1921 Ashland, LA; married 1st Judy Alice Mathis; married 2nd Sadie "Mercille" Holley, d/o Frank Holley and Myrtle Britnell; married 3rd Annie Lou Reynolds
10. Clinton "Clint" Foster - born 1922 Ashland, LA; married Frances ...
Lillie also gave birth to five infants which died at birth. The babies are buried on the left hand side of the Clark Foster home.
