MY object in writing these Notes on the Foster Family of
Dowsby and Moulton and their marriage connections,
which I wish to dedicate to my Wife and to my Sons, was
that they should know something of their ancestors. The task
of collecting the "Notes," so far as they relate to the several
Lincolnshire families, has not been a difficult one to me, chiefly
through the kindly help of friends and the easy access to the
ecclesiastical and legal documents at Lincoln. The records stored
in that city make the labour of preparing a pedigree and history
of almost every Lincolnshire middle-class family comparatively
light.
Since these "Notes" were collected, the Rev. Canon
Maddison, F.S.A., has published his valuable work "Lincolnshire
Pedigrees." His four volumes will greatly simplify the labour
of any one (and I trust there are many) wishing to prepare
a history of any of the families of the county. Personally I think
the whole of the Lincolnshire Gentry are under a great debt of
gratitude to the Reverend Author for his valuable work, which
will supply a long-felt want, and, I hope, will find a place in the
library of every Lincolnshire gentleman.