When Absolem Mathis Foster was born on 2 May 1857, in Wilkes, North Carolina, United States, his father, Edmond W Foster, was 23 and his mother, Nancy Jane Eller, was 18. He married Martha Ann Hubbard on 21 November 1875, in Wilkes, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 7 July 1937, in Lewis Fork Township, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 80, and was buried in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Cemetery, Wilkesboro, Wilkes, North Carolina, United States.