James Foster, an English dissenting minister, born in Exeter, Sept. 16, 1697, died Nov. 5, 1753. He was educated in his native city, began to preach in 1718, and after removing from Devonshire to Melbourne, and thence to Ashwick, became pastor in the Barbican, London, in 1724, was afterward lecturer at the Old Jewry, and in 1744 minister at Pinner's hall. His reputation for eloquence was such that persons of every rank flocked to hear him. Besides many sermons, he published an Essay on Fundamentals, especially the Trinity" (1720); " Defence of the Usefulness, Truth, and Excellency of the Christian Religion" (1731); and "Discourses on the Principal Branches of Natural Religion and Social Virtue" (London, 1749-52).