1751 - 1837

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• Birth	Abt 1751
  Gender	Male
  Died	2 Oct 1837	Westerly, Washington, Rhode Island
  Person ID	I13692	Brainard (Brainerd) / Foster / Fish
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2005 00:00:00
  Father	Jonathan FOSTER, Sr. @, b. 8 Jun 1715, Attleborough, Bristol, Ma
  Mother	Anna JENCKS, (Jenks), b. Abt 1721, Providence, Providence, Rhode Island
  Family ID	F103	Group Sheet
  Family	Thankful DAVIS, b. Abt 1749
  Family ID	F6388	Group Sheet

• Notes

  BIOGRAPHY: A watchtower and a simple beacon were first established at Watch Hill by the Rhode Island colonial government around 1745, giving the area its name, and earlier the point may have been used as a lookout by the Narragansett Indians. The watchtower and beacon were destroyed in a 1781 storm. Discussion of a lighthouse to mark the eastern entrance to Fishers Island Sound, and to warn mariners of a dangerous reef southwest of Watch Hill, began in 1793. BIOGRAPHY: An act to build the lighthouse was signed in 1806 by President Thomas Jefferson. The government purchased four acres of land for $500 from George and Thankful Foster, and the lighthouse, Rhode Island's second after Beavertail, was erected in 1807. BIOGRAPHY: There are Revolutionary War records for a George Foster of Westerly, Rhode Island. He was 82 in 1833. As a Private in the war, he served as a guard and quartered at Jonathan Foster's home. Watch Hill is also mentioned as the site of an encounter with British ships. No wife is listed on his paperwork.