US Congressman. Known as A. Lawrence Foster, he studied law in Vernon, New York, was admitted to the bar in 1827, and practiced in nearby Morrisville. In 1840 he was elected to US House of Representatives as a Whig and served one term, 1841 to 1843. During his term he was Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury. In 1844 he moved to a farm in Fairfax, Virginia, including the land that is now Tysons Corner. In the 1850s he served as a Fairfax County Commissioner, and during the Civil War his Union sympathies caused him to relocate temporarily to Washington, DC. In 1862 he was appointed US Indian Agent for the Chippewa tribe in Mississippi. After the Civil War he returned to Fairfax, was appointed one of three US Tax Commissioners for the northern part of the state after Virginia was readmitted to the Union, and was responsible for the tax sale to the federal government of the Robert E. Lee estate, which later became Arlington National Cemetery. His health began to fail in the 1870s, after which he resided in Washington, DC. In the 1890s his heirs petitioned Congress to compensate them nearly $29,000 (over $712,000 in 2009) for his property and supplies that were used by the Union Army or destroyed by the Confederacy, and in the early 1900s the US Court of Claims authorized partial payment to resolve the case.
US Congressman. Known as A. Lawrence Foster, he studied law in Vernon, New York, was admitted to the bar in 1827, and practiced in nearby Morrisville. In 1840 he was elected to US House of Representatives as a Whig and served one term, 1841 to 1843. During his term he was Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury. In 1844 he moved to a farm in Fairfax, Virginia, including the land that is now Tysons Corner. In the 1850s he served as a Fairfax County Commissioner, and during the Civil War his Union sympathies caused him to relocate temporarily to Washington, DC. In 1862 he was appointed US Indian Agent for the Chippewa tribe in Mississippi. After the Civil War he returned to Fairfax, was appointed one of three US Tax Commissioners for the northern part of the state after Virginia was readmitted to the Union, and was responsible for the tax sale to the federal government of the Robert E. Lee estate, which later became Arlington National Cemetery. His health began to fail in the 1870s, after which he resided in Washington, DC. In the 1890s his heirs petitioned Congress to compensate them nearly $29,000 (over $712,000 in 2009) for his property and supplies that were used by the Union Army or destroyed by the Confederacy, and in the early 1900s the US Court of Claims authorized partial payment to resolve the case.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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