Francis Foster was born in Virginia and arrived in colonial North Carolina by 1689. A resident of Perquimans Precinct, Foster served as a justice at the precinct court in 1700 and again from 1702 to 1703. For most of his career however, he served on the North Carolina Council, first from 1705 to 1710 and again from 1714 to 1731. He died sometime after June 1735.