Foster, Edwin W

Born August 9, 1870 in Brooklyn, N. Y. He was an inventor and professor. Married Mary S. Capron, an architect. They lived at "Villa Bel Air", Victorian mansion adjacent to the Chappell Estate (in the area of Miami Ave.) The Fosters had tennis courts on their property and formed a tennis club.

In 1908 he was a member of the first Board of Education for the Central Park School District.

Mr. Foster was a manual training teacher at the Boys' High School in Brooklyn. It was through his experience with young woodworkers that he sensed the need for his turn-table plane. He received a patent #842,453 in January 29, 1907 for his turntable plane. THE WOODCRAFT MAGAZINE, March 1907, promoted the favorable qualities of this plane.

In 1936 he was a part of the committee for the celebration of the name change from Central Park to Bethpage.

Died May 25, 1941. (Bethpage History by Rosalie Walsh Niemczyk)

Additional information submitted by Anne Merin and it appeared in the CPHS NEWSLETTER - June, 2002

Professor Foster wrote the book, "Carpentry and Woodwork" in 1916 (Doubleday Page and Company, Garden City). He served for six years as Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology at Pratt Institute.

The Foster's had a daughter, Ruth, and one grandson. He is buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens, New York.