John Foster (1792–1875) was the eldest son of a Yorkshire farmer and landowner who came to Tasmania as a free settler in 1823, with his widowed mother, Jane, and youngest brother, Henry. The family received grants of land near Campbell Town where they became successful farmers. Foster later expanded his business interests by acquiring landholdings in Victoria, by trading goods he produced and by becoming a shipowner. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1836 and, between 1866 and 1874, he represented Huon electoral division on the Tasmanian Legislative Council