Roland Forster

Hij was kapitein in het Staatse leger en waarschijnlijk afkomstig van Schotland.
Tussen 1582-1584 lag hij in garnizoen in Enkhuizen.
Vermoedelijk bleef hij daar ook later wonen.

In 1586-1587 was hij kapitien te Stavoren (dagboeken WL)

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Foster-10084
In 1586 Rooelant Volster was the baptism witness for Elizabeth, the daughter of Jaques Chrijstal and Elisabeth Nannes. This Jaques, under other spellings such as Jakis Krisstal and Jakis Muer, was a captain of an army in which several men were married in Enkhuizen in 1577 and 1584 to 1587. His name would indicate he was a Huguenot from France or Belgium. And since Roelant is mentioned here 2 years after he ended his time as a captain in the international army, it’s clear he still lived here and had some kind of important position.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Foster-10084

Biography

This profile is part of the Forster Name Study.
Several variations of the name Roelant Foster appear in the marriage records of Enkhuizen between 1582 and 1584, all listing him as the captain of the bridegroom who was a soldier. His name was later made Dutch by being changed to Roeloff in several of his son Eduwaert’s records. However, in 1607 Eduwaert’s first son’s name is listed as Rolandt while Edward’s patronymic is listed as Roelantsz.

There was a large army garrison in Enkhuizen, here to fight against the Catholic Spanish and keep Enkhuizen free for the Reformed faith. There are 766 entries of marriages of soldiers in Enkhuizen between 1577 and 1589. Many of these have at least the bridegroom listed as living in Enkhuizen but coming from another city or country. The bride is also often listed as coming from another city. Many other records up to 1610 had brides and grooms listed as coming from other Dutch cities and countries as well, and they may have been a part of this army too. One gets the feeling that Enkhuizen was a center of international marriages, which happens quite frequently in military garrisons.

In digging through Enkhuizen marriages, it turns out that between 1582 and 1584 at least 20 soldiers are listed under the captainship of Roelandt Woester, Roelant Scoet, Roeland Foester and Roelandt Foster. Most were from various places in the Netherlands, but some were from Germany, one was from Scotland and one from Iceland. I suspect this was our Roelant Voster who came here as an army captain and settled down in town after he retired from it. If so, he brought his wife and children with him. The name Scoet is quite interesting – sometimes it’s Scot or Schot instead. Maybe it indicates he was Scottish.

In 1586 Rooelant Volster was the baptism witness for Elizabeth, the daughter of Jaques Chrijstal and Elisabeth Nannes. This Jaques, under other spellings such as Jakis Krisstal and Jakis Muer, was a captain of an army in which several men were married in Enkhuizen in 1577 and 1584 to 1587. His name would indicate he was a Huguenot from France or Belgium. And since Roelant is mentioned here 2 years after he ended his time as a captain in the international army, it’s clear he still lived here and had some kind of important position.

There was also a Jan Jansz Volster, a soldier under “hopman” (captain) Roelant Woester who married Vrede Jacobs from Kampen in 1582 and had a daughter Maritgen in 1583. Jan was a soldier whose captain was Roelandt Woester Scoet. They also would have had a son Jan who was married in 1625 and went by Jan Jansz Voster. It’s possible his brother Jan (or John) served under him, in which case their father was named John Foster.

One possibility of Roland’s ancestry is found in his given name, which points to Northumberland, England.[1] It appears in a few Forster pedigrees of that county, and is also seen in the senior line out of Adderstone, Northumberland.

For instance, Roland Forster of Wark & Lucker in Northumberland (fl. 1527 – 89), was a younger son of Thomas Forster of Adderstone, Northumberland and Dorothy, dau. of Ralph, 3rd Baron Ogle. He was also the brother of Sir John Forster of Bamburg, Northumberland, a captain of various garrisons, sheriff and warden between 1542 and 1600, having many dealings between the English and Scottish. The two men as well as their eldest brother Thomas, all had illegitimate children.

Another example is Rowland Forster, who was the son of Robert Forster of Edalaton (bur. 1505 Norham), juror in 1450 & land-holder in Holy Island, Northumberland[2]

Our Roland Foster, being a captain, would suggest he came from a class higher than peasant or freeman. The combination of his first and last name may also lend support to conjecture about possible relations to the Forsters along the English and Scottish border.[3] Nevertheless, there are no birth or baptism records for this area of Great Britain at this time, and peerage lists of period are normally limited to the descendants of the oldest son and sometimes one or two others.[3]

Other early Vosters in Enkhuizen: Jan Jans Voster from Noorder Havendijk and Nieuwe Westerstraat married IJtjen Geerlofs in 1625 and Geertjen Jans in 1627; Claes Voster and Lijsbeth Cornelis baptized Belytje in 1621.

The English Presbyterian Church in Amsterdam started its baptism & marriage records in 1607, the year Eduwaert was married. There is no Voster / Foster listed there through 1620 (plenty of Edwards, though). Many of the brides have decidedly Dutch names. Same with the membership list of 1607 at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. The English Episcopalian Church’s records begin in 1698. These were all the English speaking churches listed in the province at the time. There was a Walloon (French speaking from Belgium) Reformed Church in Enkhuizen that began its records in 1691: the Amsterdam church began keeping some records in 1588, in Haarlem 1625 and in Naarden 1710. None of these is helpful in discovering whether our Eduwaert was English or French. There were a number of Vosters in Amsterdam Dutch Reformed and Roman Catholic churches by 1650; perhaps they are related, perhaps not. While there were a lot more Eduwaerts in Amsterdam at that time, none of them is listed as a Voster. There were also a few Vosters in the Den Helder area in the 1700’s. It’s very difficult to tell if our Eduwaert came from any of these areas since he would have been born before 1600 and very few baptism books go back that far.

Sources
? For Roland Foster see: Boyer Genealogy at Rootsweb.
? Rowland Forster, who was the son of Robert Forster of Edalaton (bur. 1505 Norham), juror in 1450 & land-holder in Holy Island, Northumb. Pedigree.[1]
? 3.0 3.1 see:
Category: Adderstone, Northumberland, Forster Name Study
Category: Scotland, Forster Name Study
Space: Forsters and Fosters of England
Witness to Jaques Chrijstal’s child Elizabeth’s baptism: 1702-09_3 DTB Enkhuizen 3. Gereformeerde doopinschrijvingen, 1581-1592. Folio: 46v as found at [2]
Brother or cousin Jan Volster’s baptism record of his child Maritgen: 1702-09_3 DTB Enkhuizen 3. Gereformeerde doopinschrijvingen, 1581-1592. Folio: 22 as found at [3]
Jan Jansz Volster’s marriage, mentioning Roelant Woester as his captain: 1702-09_42 DTB Enkhuizen 42. Huwelijksafkondigingen, 1577-1590. Folio: 58 as found at [4]
One of many marriage records listing Roelant Foster / Foester as captain of this soldier: 1702-09_42 DTB Enkhuizen 42. Huwelijksafkondigingen, 1577-1590. Folio: 81 as found at [5]