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Stephen Sewell Foster (born Sewell Foster) (November 22, 1792 – December 29, 1868) was a physician and political figure in
Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...
.


Family and early life

Foster was born in
Oakham, Massachusetts Oakham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,851 at the 2020 census. History Oakham was first settled by British colonists in 1749 as part of Rutland, and was officially incorporated in 1762. It was ...
in 1792, the son of Samuel Foster and Patty Wilkings. At age 20, he married Sally Belknap. In 1815 he was licensed to practise medicine in Vermont. The couple initially lived in Newfane, Vermont, but in 1822 they emigrated with other Vermont families to the
Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...
in Lower Canada. They settled in Frost Village near
Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...
.Elizabeth Gibbs
"Foster, Sewell (Stephen Sewell)"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. IX (1861–1870), University of Toronto / Université Laval.


Medical career

Foster originally made his living on their farm, but he also attended medical lectures in Quebec. He was licensed to practise medicine in the province in 1830, and began serving a large area in the Eastern Townships, which did not have many doctors. He became known for being willing to travel in unsettled areas where roads were few, on horseback, on foot, and by canoe. His efforts were greatly appreciated by the residents of the area. In addition to his practice, Foster was also a surgeon for a militia battalion. He continued his medical studies, now at McGill, and earned honorary medical degrees from English and Scottish universities. Once the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Lower Canada was set up in 1847, Foster served as a governor of the College until 1866, when ill-health forced his retirement.


Public service

In 1859, Foster was appointed a
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
for the Bedford District, a position he held until his death in 1868. He was a
justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
and commissioner for small causes in Shefford County. He was also one of the founders of the Shefford Academy in Frost Village and served as administrator.


Political career

Encouraged by another of the Vermont immigrant community, Paul Holland Knowlton, Foster stood for election to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in the general elections of 1834. He campaigned as a supporter of the Governor General, but was defeated. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion in 1837 and 1838, and the similar rebellion in 1837 in Upper Canada (now Ontario), the British government decided to merge the two provinces into a single province, as recommended by Lord Durham in the Durham Report. The ''Union Act, 1840'', passed by the British Parliament, abolished the two provinces and their separate parliaments, and created the Province of Canada, with a single Parliament for the entire province, composed of an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council. The Governor General initially retained a strong position in the government. Foster's friend Knowlton had been appointed to the new Legislative Council, and he again encouraged Foster to stand for election, as a supporter of the Governor General,
Lord Sydenham Charles Poulett Thomson, 1st Baron Sydenham, (13 September 1799 – 19 September 1841) was a British businessman, politician, diplomat and the first Governor General of the united Province of Canada.
. This time, Foster was elected to represent Shefford in the Legislative Assembly. In the first session of the Legislative Assembly, the major issue was the union of the Canadas. Opponents of the union introduced a motion condemning the way the union had been imposed on the people of Lower Canada. Foster voted in favour of the union and against the motion, which was defeated. During the session, Foster was a consistent supporter of Lord Sydenham and his government, and opposed to the reform program of the Upper Canada reformers and the French-Canadian Group. Foster was re-elected in 1844. He continued to be a member of the "British Tory" group from Lower Canada, supporting the Governor and opposed to the reformers. Although he consistently supported the governor, Foster did not take a major role in the Assembly. In the general election of 1848, he was defeated by a reform candidate, Lewis Thomas Drummond. Foster was actually glad to return to his medical practice and took no further part in politics.Cornell
''Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841–67'', pp. 5, 7, 98–99.
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Later life and death

In 1857, Foster moved to Knowlton where he continued to practise medicine. He continued to be involved in social causes, such as education and temperance, until his death in 1868. His son
Asa Belknap Foster Asa Belknap Foster (April 21, 1817 – November 1, 1877) was a Quebec businessman and political figure. He represented Bedford division in the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1876 as a Conservative member. He was born in Newfane, Vermont in 18 ...
was also a member of the Legislative Assembly and later the Legislative Council. In 1867, he was one of the first appointments to the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Sewell 1792 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Canadian physicians American emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Anglophone Quebec people Canadian coroners Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East People from Montérégie People from Windham County, Vermont Physicians from Vermont