Robert Elisha Foster was born on November 26, 1851, in Linden, Copiah County, Mississippi.

[1][2][4] From 1884 to 1910, Robert was a member and president of the Board of Supervisors of Issaquena County, Mississippi.

[5][6][7] Foster, while still a member of the House, died after a two-week illness on April 30, 1931, in Brandon, Mississippi.

[7][8][9] At 79 years old, he was the oldest serving member of the Legislature at the time of his death.

[10][4] After Nannie's death, he married Louise Lee White in 1917.