Thomas Hartley Foster was born in Jackson County, Ohio 24 Jul 1844, and moved with his parents, Thomas Foster and Mary "Polly" Trexler Foster, to Jasper County, Illinois. He was too young to serve in the Civil War, but some of his brothers did (William Foster, Jonathan Foster and Job Craycraft Foster). Thomas Foster's grave is next to his brother William's in the Oretown Cemetery. Thomas's brother Francis Samuel "Frank" Foster is buried next to Thomas. Brother Job Craycraft Foster is buried in Tillamook County also, but in the Gist Family Cemetery close to Cloverdale. Arthur Garfield Foster buried next to Frank> He was the son of William Foster whose grave is immediately adjacent to the cemetery's flagpole. After the Civil War Tom, Frank and their first cousin Samuel Foster (son of Samuel, Jr, grandson of Samuel Sr, in Jasper County, IL) left Illinois on a high adventure. They took the transcontinental Union Pacific railway to California, then worked their way up through the gold fields in California, working as miners, laborers, tree fellers, and farm hands. Their goal was the US Land Office in Oregon City near the Columbia River, where each of them would put in a claim for free land in Oregon. Being on foot for so many miles in Northern California, they could learn about placer gold mining and what kinds of land lend themselves to the discovery of gold. Walking the length of Oregon provide opportunity to check out available lands on their way to the land office. Land aroun d Lebanon, Oregon was one of the specifi places they examined for possibility of placer gold. Tom, Frank and Sam's names are recorded all on the same day at the land office. The lands they chose were in the south part of Tillamook County, that included land touching the Nestucca and Little Nestucca Rivers. Tom learned about gold during the band's troup northward in 1878-1879. On his death certificate in 1926 his brother Job Craycraft Foster stated that Tom occupation at the time of death was "miner." He never married, He died intestate. The legal records pertaining to his Oregon land list heirs in five states, with relationships. In 1882 after Tom was established his 67 year old widowed mother rented her Jasper County farm and went to Oregon. Ostensibly, it was to keep house for bachelor son Tom, but Polly Trexler Foster had a case of Oregon Fever that every member of her family had. She took the northern transcontinental line to the Pacific Northwest, to Sheridan, Oregon. From there she took a stage on the muddy dirt across the coastal mountains to southern Tillamook County. She had been escorted to Sheridan by her son John Vinton Foster, who with his first wife Jennie and their very young daughter, were going to try making a new life in Yamhill County. Oregon. Ill-preared for his new start, John and his family suffered during the year they lived in Oregon. They returned to Illinois in 1883. By 1884 mother Mary Foster was ready to return to Illinois, except she would not be allowed to travel alone. Her son William was at home with his large family in Jasper County. He had caught Oregon Fever before he ever joined the Union Army in 1861. Now he had a chance at last to go to Oregon to fetch his mother home to Illinois. He could see Oregon for himself and have a better idea of what it would take to move his entire family there in the future. After a month of traveling, William arrived in Sheridan during the second week in February, 1884. He had telegraphed his brother about his anticipated arrival time, so Tom could meet him at the train station in Sheridan. When Tom didn't show up, William decided to to walk the distance from Sheridan to Tillamook County, using the high old Indian trail that avoided rivers to cross. Tom could now make the journey eastward through the mountains because of a snow storm that had made the rutted mountain road impassable. As Will went over the Indian trail, he was caught in a heavy winter blizzard. His body was not found until three days later, only a few miles from Tom's home. William Foster's funeral was attended by his mother, and his brothers Tom and Frank. Cousin Sam was off somewhere on a restless adventure. Although gold was found in several distant Oregon counties, Tom and Frank never found gold on their river lands. Both Tom and Frank had many visitors through the years, as their Illinois kinfolk came to Oregon to scout out for themselves living conditions and how to get income.