322 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
in the neighbourhood was incorporated with that of his
brother Edward and is now in the possession of the British
Museum of Natural History. A small collection of Wal-
thamstow plants made by him and consisting of 106 sheets
is in the possession of the Essex Field Club, and it is thus
possible to compare his annotations with the actual plants
he collected in the area.
The youngest son, Edward Forster junior, had an even
more distinguished botanical career, and he pursued his
studies from the age of 15 until his death. He was elected
a Fellow of the Linnaean Society in 1800 and became its
treasurer in 1816, a post which he continued to hold until
his death. In 1828 he was elected a vice-president. An
appreciation of his work for that Society mentions his kind-
liness of disposition, his unremitting attention to his duties,
and zeal for the interest of the Society.
He was a partner in the banking house of Forster, Lub-
bock and Co., and took a leading part in the business until
a few hours before his death. He married in 1796 Mary
Jane, the only daughter of Abraham Greenwood. At the
time of his marriage and after, he was living at St. Helen's,
Bishopsgate, but he removed to Walthamstow upon the
death of his father, living at Beech Hall where the greater
part of Highams Park township now stands and adjacent
to Wadham Road. His estate there included some 12 acres
of field which were leased from the Master and Wardens
of Wadham College, Oxford, to whom the land had been
bequeathed by John Goodridge in 1652. He afterwards
removed to Mill Cottage, where he lived until 1836. Mill
Cottage was almost opposite the "Napier Arms" in the
Woodford New Road and just beside Oak Hill. It took its
name from the Windmill which was nearby and which dis-
appeared some time about 1812 or shortly before.
On leaving Mill Cottage, he again removed to Ivy House,
Woodford, where he died on 23rd February, 1849, at the
age of 84, from cholera, which apparently he caught whilst
visiting the Refuge for the Destitute founded by him in the
Hackney Road. His wife, Mary Jane, predeceased him by
four years. We are told that during their married life Mr.
and Mrs. Forster were never separated for 24 hours at a
time and they lived happily married for 56 years. Their
only child died in infancy.