FORBES, James Staats of Royal Horse Artillery, Quartermaster ^{2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9}

   Cause of his death was disease of the lungs over about 4 months.⁹

   Other names for James were FORBES, J.S.,⁶ FORBES, James ¹⁰ and FORBES, James Statson.¹¹

  General Notes:

According to his army pension document, "N^o: 235 Jas: S^ts Forbes" enlisted for the Royal Artillery on 15 May 1813 at Edinburgh 15 May 1813, and attested for the said Regiment on 18 May 1813 aged 18 years. There is an ink entry for months added but this is unclear either as a word or a figure and may simply be an elaborated stroke. Details in the document include his ranks between 1813 and 1829, beginning as Gunner in 1813, moving to Corporal Bombardier in 1817, and then to "Qmaster Serjeant" in 1829. The same document provides some biographical details: that he was born in the"Parish of Negg - in or near the Town of Negg in the County of Kincairdine"; that by trade or calling he was a "Labourer"; and that in appearance he was 5 feet 7 and a half inches tall, with a fresh complexion, grey eyes and red hair. He had spent 10 months in France and was married on 27 May 1822.

When James Staats Forbes's son, of the same name, was baptised in 1823, his father was designated as a "Bombardier in the Royal Artillery, parish of Woolwich".

The 1841 census for England recorded James and Ann Forbes and their five children ranging from 15 years to 7 years living in Ditchwater Lane, Woolwich. James was recorded as in the 45-49 years age bracket and had been born in Scotland. Ann's age was noted as 39 years and she had been born in Ireland. James was in the army. The children were all born in the census county.

Note: Normally in 1841 census an age range is noted, but in this entry, since Ann is recorded as 39 years old, it may have been the actually age of the individual that was noted.

In his death certificate of 1846 James Staats Forbes was recorded as 50 years of age at death, and by occupation was a Quarter Master in the Royal Artillery. No parental information was noted in the death certificate.

"94. In memory of three children of Quartermaster J.S. FORBES of the Royal Horse Artillery and of Anne his wife viz: Rowley died 13 October 1839 aged 15 days. Harriot died 16 August 1841 aged 8 weeks. John Adam died 14 July 1843 aged 20 years and 3 months. The above Quartermaster James Slaats Forbes died 1 July 1846 aged 51."

from Woolwich Churchyard ^{7 9 10 12}

  Research Notes:

THANKS

Patrick's People is indebted to Cilla Bangay for information and documents provided about this man and other members of his family.

WHO WAS THIS MAN?

As yet no full verifiable information regarding this man's parentage or ancestry has been uncovered. The facts noted in his enlistment document about his name and details of birth are not supported, so far, by other documented sources, although this is not to say they are inaccurate.

The simplest solution when looking at the possibilities of who he was is to assume he was related by blood to other men of the same name born earlier in the century, but there are contraindications to this, attractive as it may seem. Attempts to link him definitively to the Forbes of Lochermick have not yet been successful, though this may come if further research is undertaken.

If he is related to the Forbes of Lochermick family, it may be that he was a natural child of one of that family, either named for the more affluent and wealthy relative of the same name, or possibly given another name at birth or baptism, and subsequently chooosing to change his given name to the name under which he enlisted. For example, there is a John Forbes recorded as born in Nigg in 1795, to John Forbes, a whitefisher by trade, and Isobel Mitchel. There was a John Forbes who was a natural son of George Forbes of Lochermick baptised in Skene in 1747. Could these two be linked, and perhaps the John Forbes born in 1795 in Nigg changed his name to that of a more famous and wealthy relation? We don't know. It is not that there are no Forbes families in Nigg, or indeed in Kincardineshire for they are plentiful, but the precise details as given in the enlistment document have not been borne out as accurate as yet by other sources.

There are other possibilities, including various Forbes families in Kincardineshire, who may well link to unaccounted for members of the Lochermick Forbes. One possibility is that of William Forbes, a tailor in Stonehaven, who had a series of children baptised in Dunnottar parish, Kincardineshire, between 1787 and 1800, including a James Forbes baptised on 1 March 1793, well within the margin of error for the birth year of James Forbes, Quartermaster. The other children named are William, John, Alexander, David, Robert and George. The degree of research needed to eliminate possible candidates is fairly intense and would be time-consuming and costly, but not impossible.

At present it is worth outlining some of the difficulties in assuming an automatic link between the Forbes of Lochermick and Quartermaste Sergeant James Staats Forbes:
1
James Staats Forbes of Lochermick who married Jean Jopp had no lawful children, as far as is known. His will makes no reference to a son.
2
Quartermaster James Staats Forbes, apparently, born in the mid-1790s and alive until 1846, lived in Scotland and England during the lifetime of the wealthy James Staats Forbes of Lochermick, who himself appears to have been socially prominent in Aberdeenshire, and yet no link between them is proved. The Artillery Sergeant does not appear to have claimed any identification as "of Lochermick".
3
In his enlistment document the Quartermaster Sergeant James Staats Forbes is recorded as a "labourer" by occupation, a lowly status common to many worthy men, but unlikely to suggest he was legitimately linked to the richer, socially-connected James Staats Forbes of Lochermick, born circa 1766.
4
By joining the army and moving out of Scotland as a result, James Staats Forbes, born circa 1795, might be suggesting by this life-decision that he had no other likely or sure prospects of other kinds of advancement available to him, and although later he was promoted in his army service, he was promoted as a man from the ranks.
5
Quartermaster James Staats Forbes did have a successful son by the same name, who became both wealthy and prominent, and this fact-after-the-event, when linked to the ancestry of the Lochermick Forbes family, may present the image of there being a firm continuity of significant family line, when in fact there may be not actually be a blood link. There may be other links which are not necessarily direct blood links.

Any new verified appropriate source document would dispel these objections very rapidly, of course, but so far none of that nature has been found.

WOOLWICH - LINKS TO ABERDEENSHIRE

In April 1837 the Rector of the parish of Woolwich in Kent, England died, aged 73 years. The Gentleman's Magazine recorded his death, stating that he was the son of William Fraser, Esq., of Aberdeen. Testimonies of high respect and love were forthcoming from his parishioners of all ranks. In fact Hugh Fraser was a relatively minor descendant of the noble Scottish family, the Frasers of Saltoun, with links to many other prominent Scottish families of good standing. His sister Katherine Anne was married to Duncan Forbes-Mitchell of Thainstone, a younger son of Arthur Forbes of Craigievar and Margaret Strachan. Duncan Forbes's son, Henry, was married to Hugh Fraser's niece Margaret, the daughter of his brother Alexander Fraser of Fraserfield or Balgownie.

Hugh Fraser was an Oxford graduate, and was a clergyman in the Anglican church, whose equivalent in Scotland was the Episcopal church. The Reverend Mr Fraser played a big role in Woolwich, where he ministered from about 1806 until his death in 1837. For some details of his role there, the draft document at https://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/architecture/research/survey-of-london/woolwich/documents/48.6_St_Mary_s_and_Morris_Walk_Areas.pdf is a useful read.

The Forbes of Craigievar and the Forbes of Lochermick were fairly distant cousins, their main common ancestor being Robert Lumsden of Cushnie whose wife was a Forbes. Two of their daughters married Forbes men: Jean Lumsden married Alexander Forbes of Newe - among whose descendants were the Skellater, Edinglassie and Lochermick Forbes; and Isobel Lumsden married Patrick Forbes of Corse, from whom were descended the Craigievar Forbes. Both Forbes lines produced extremely successful and rich merchants.

It is fascinating to thing that the Forbes Quartermaster Sergeant living in Woolwich and raising his family there had at hand such a rich treasure of Scottish heritage as Reverend Mr Hugh Fraser. ¹²

  Medical Notes:

Hanah Fleming, of Wellington Street, who was present at the death, was the informant of the death of James Staats Forbes. The death was registered on 14 July 1846. ⁹

James married Ann WALKER on 27 May 1822 in St Nicholas Parish, Plumstead, Kent, England.^{1 2 3} (Ann WALKER was born about 1802 in Cork, Ireland ^{10 13 14}.)

  Marriage Notes:

Old Parish Register
Plumstead parish Kent England
Marriages

"James Staats Forbes of this parish and Ann Walker of this parish were married in this Church by banns with consent of (blank - consent probably not needed) this 27 h Day of May in the Year One thousand eight hundred and 22
By me B Powell Vicar
This Marriage was solemnized between us
James Staats Forbes
Ann Walker
In the Presence of
Elizabeth Moodie
John Walker

No 486"
^{2 3}