DESCENT FROM CHARLEMAGNE - Statistically, everyone of European descent must in their distant past be related to Charlemagne. In the case of our family, however, there is a clearly documented line of descent from Charlemagne from our Foster ancestors. In this regard, one of our Foster ancestors was Odacer, the Great Forrester of France under Charlemagne (i.e. responsible for the protection of the King's forests). His son, Baldwin I, became the first Count of Flanders when he married Judith, Princess of the Franks (daughter of Charles II "the Bald," King of France and granddaughter of Louis "the Pious," King of France and son of Charlemagne). It is from Baldwin I that all the Counts of Flanders (now Belgium) were descended. Judith also married two of the early Anglo-Saxon kings of England, Ethelbald and Athelwulf, who were brothers. Baldwin I's son, Baldwin II, married Elftrude, daughter of Alfred "the Great," Anglo-Saxon King of England, and the sister of King Edward I "the Elder" of England. The Foster family genealogy, including our Foster ancestor who migrated to America, is one of the best documented genealogies of any American family with royal descent back to Charlemagne.