John Foster  (of Biggleswade)

John Foster (of Biggleswade) (1765-1847) was a prosperous merchant, and treasurer of the Bedfordshire Union of Christians, 1797-1847. He was a prominent member of the Baptist church at Biggleswade for over fifty years, joining in 1788, becoming a trustee in 1790, and a deacon in 1799. Related to the Fosters who attended St. Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, John Foster served as a lay preacher in the Biggleswade meeting from 1816 to 1818 (as well as 1836) and in several village congregations surrounding Biggleswade. He was also a supporter of the BMS, subscribing £1.1 in 1800-1801. See John Brown, The History of the Bedfordshire Union of Christians (London:  Independent Press, 1946), 87; Biggleswade Baptist Church 1771-1971 (Biggleswade: [n. p.], [1971]) 39-40; Periodical Accounts, 2:205; C. H. Chaplin, History of the Old Meeting Baptist Church, Biggleswade (Biggleswade: C. Elphick, 1909), 27-29.