FORBES, James Staats of Lochermick, Merchant in Aberdeen ^{1 4 5 6 7 8}

   Other names for James were FORBES, James Staats Esq; of Lochermick ¹⁰ and FORBES, James States.^{2 3}

   User ID: V315.

  General Notes:

"S. Paul's Episcopal Chapel

Register of Baptisms

1783.

Jan, 5. McFerson, Alexr., soldir in the 81st regt., and Elisobeth Youll, his spous : son James, born Deer. 28th. Witnesses : James Forbes,
Lochermich; Alexr. Reid, roper. "

from Miscellany of Spalding



"Charlotte Street
Submitted by Alison McCall on 21 April 2012 - 10:27am
Revised: 24 September 2012 - 8:13am ? Alison McCall
Type of Memorial: Street
Dedicated to:
Queen Charlotte
Inscription:
Charlotte Street

Erected by:
James Staats Forbes, who feued out the land for the street and chose the name.
Designed by:
Colin Innes, land surveyor, drew up the street plan.
Date:
1783
Location:
Charlotte Street
Aberdeen, AB25 1LT"

from Mapping Memorials to Women in Scotland



In 1790 Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect appeared. It was dedicated by the author Andrew Shirrefs to Lady Charlotte Lennox, eldest child of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, and his wife Jane Maxwell, and sold in Edinburgh and London. Among the wide range of subscribers was "James Staats Forbes, Esq; of Lochermick".



"James Staats Forbes" was listed in Annals of Aberdeen as being present at meeting of Inhabitants of Aberdeen in 1799



"Forbes, James Staats, 96, George-street (Aberdeen)"

from Scottish PO Directories



"A little more information about James Staats 1795 I have is that he was at Fallside Farm, part of Dunnottar Estates in Kincardineshire, in 1810 when he took out a duty certificate and again in 1813 when he was awarded a premium of 4 guineas for second brood mare. I think this may be linked to his wife being a cousin of Alexander Allardyce of Dunnottar."

from email (Cilla Bangay)



"DEATHS

At Aberdeen, on the 4th current, James Staats Forbes Esq., aged eighty."

from Perthshire Advertiser (July 1845)



Old Parish Registers
Saint Nicholas Parish Aberdeen
Deaths

"1845
Name:James Staats Forbes
Residence:George Street
Occupation:Merchant
Age:80
Cause of Death:Natural Decay
Place of Interment: D
Ground Feu: - 10 -
Registration Dues: - 1 -
Sexton's Dues: - 10 - "

Note:Although the heading for these records is 'Deaths', the normal information - pre-1855 - indicates funeral or burial information in the record, and the date is likely to be that of the burial of the deceased in the parish graveyard.
(This record was indexed in the GRO through mistranscription as 'James Hoats Forbes', but the original is as above. The error is being rectified through the normal channels.)



"1
Forbes
James Staats
19/6/1846
Esquire of Lochermick, sometime residing in Inverurie thereafter in Aberdeen
T. Misc. Papers incl. Jean Jopp 19/06/1846 SC1/3
Aberdeen Sheriff Court Wills
SC1/37/23"

2
"Forbes
James Staats
19/6/1846
Esquire resided at Lochermick, sometime residing in Inverurie thereafter in Aberdeen
T. Misc. Papers incl. Jean Jopp 19/06/1846 SC1/3
Aberdeen Sheriff Court Inventories
SC1/36/23"

from Wills and Testaments

Note:The will of James Staats Forbes of 1846 is a lengthy document made up up of various legal forms established over a longer time period, and should be read in its entirety for detailed understanding. From a family history viewpoint some salient points are the following

1
James Staats Forbes "of Lochermick" had been married to Jean Jopp and resided in Inverury, Aberdeenshire, and later in Aberdeen
2
Andrew Jopp and Alexander Jopp, both Advocates, and John Jopp, Apprentice to John Russell WS in Edinburgh, were appointed Trustees of the deceased's means and estate, and executors of his will, whichever of the three survived the deceased (Andrew was the brother-in-law of James Staats Forbes, and Alexander and John were nephews of the deceased's wife)
3
Alexander Dingwall, an Aberdeen merchant, had been a business partner of James Staats Forbes in the feuing of property in the Aberdeen area and in the Turnpike Road
4
Legacies were bequeathed, after payments of debts etc, to:
- Margaret Abercrombie, widow of Andrew Jopp, advocate, of £19-19 sterling
- Janet Margaret Adam, niece of Jean Jopp, of £50 sterling and all wearing apparel of the deceased
- Doctor James Jopp, Andrew Jopp's son, of £50 sterling and the deceased's antique walking cane "which formerly belonged to his Great Grand Uncle Captain Ferguson of the Royal Navy of the Solebay who in a ship of Eighteen Guns fought with and beat off the French Commodore the famous Thurot in a forty four gun ship with the loss of two hundred men"
- John Jopp, of £50 sterling along with all the deceased's silver plate
- James Forbes Beattie, in New South Wales at the time, nephew of Jean Jopp, of £50 sterling
- the Girls Hospital in Aberdeen in lieu of the decease's subscription, of £10 (£50 written and crossed out)
- to his housekeeper Agnes Melvin, of "all the bedding and blankets hitherto used in the Kitchen and such articles of the Kitchen furniture as she may choose"
- to Alexander Jopp, of the deceased's Gold Chronometer, his book case and all his books and papers "requesting him to destroy such papers as are useless"
- Mary Jopp, sister of Jean Jopp, whose will made it payable, of £220
5
The whole residue and remainder of the means and estate of James Staats Forbes, with the exception of matters contained in the Trust Deed, was to be paid to the said Alexander Jopp for his sole use and benefit
6
In a codicil, dated 29 April 1845 while he was "weak of body from long illness but sound in mind", attached to the will, James Staats Forbes says
"I leave and bequeath to my cousin Ann Gordon wife of the Reverend John Allan Minister of the parish of Peter Culter in Aberdeen the following articles as an affectionate remembrance to her of mutual esteem. viz my Tent Bed, to which new Curtains hath recently attached, together with its appurtenances, viz a Feather bed, bolster, five or six feather & down pillows with slips; two hair Matrasses [sic], three or four pairs of English blankets, and as many pairs of linnens as may be worthy of her acceptance. Also two Cotton Counterpanes, and as many of my bedroom towels as may be quite whole. I also leave and bequeath to her husband the said Rev^d J. Allan my Barometer and External Thermometer as a memorandum of our friendship.

from Will of James Staats Forbes ^{5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15}

  Research Notes:

THANKS

To C. Bangay for her information about this family and her continued determination to know the facts.


CONFUSION

The Forbes families, like the Gordons, in the north east of Scotland have a great many members who go by the same given and family names. There is nothing easier than getting them mixed up, and much investigation goes in to teasing out who belonged where. Most of them are also related to one another by birth or marriage.

An query in Scottish Notes and Queries is a case in point:
"Query:
"373. James Staats Forbes. - He was a wine merchant in Queen Street, Aberdeen, in 1754-5. What relation was he to the well-known railway manager of the same name ? J. M. B."

from Scottish Notes and Queries

It is very likely from the date given, and despite the name quoted, that this query refers in fact to James Forbes of Seaton whose business interests ranged around, and beyond, Aberdeenshire, and whose relatives were also in the wine trade in Aberdeen and London. See "Forbes and Hay families of Seaton, Aberdeenshire: family and estate papers/1746 - 1886" in Special Collections, University of Aberdeen.

There were several James Staats Forbes, but none of these was adult, or possibly even alive, in 1754-5, as far as present knowledge indicates.


STAATS

This is the name of a place in Saxony in Germany, and is also a North German and Dutch patronymic or surname, probably also linked to Staas. It is probably also a translation of what in English was referred to in the 17th century as the "States-General" of Holland, which negotiated contracts between the Low Countries and foreign powers and merchants. The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland from the Restoration to the Revolution uses this phrase often, in the account of the sufferings of staunch presbyterians against the victimisation of them, as they saw it, by a non-presbyterian monarch. A statement was issued in the name of the States- General on 31 July 1676, which touched on subjects of the kingdom of Scotland "James Wallace alias Forbes, Robert McWard and John Brown", subjects of the king, but who were accused of lese-majesty or treason. James Wallace was probably Colonel James Wallace, a veteran of the Covenanter Army in Ulster during the 1640s, though why he used the alias "Forbes" is unclear. The name "Staats" - recalling the Staes-General of the Low Countries, a more enlightened and freedom-loving political body - therefore, may be linked to those perceived to be fighting for human rights in the form of political or religious freedom against a tyrannical hereditary monarch, intolerant of these.

As well as being found in Europe, it is found in the north east of the USA, and may be linked to the late 16th and early 17th century Dutch settlements around the present day New York and Albany, "the New Netherland Dutch". The Albany Staats family is descended from surgeon Abraham Staats who emigrated to New Netherland in 1642. Other New Netherland era Staats families became prominent in New York and in New Jersey.

The link with Scotland may be through trade. Aberdeen and Leith merchants traded with Dutch counterparts, and the traffic and eventual settlements between Europe and America will have brought many of Scots origin into contact with people of this surname. The trade between the Low countries and Scotland was established over centuries, from before the 15th century, with privileges being extended to Scottish merchants. There were interruptions to trade from war and privateers, but there was too much to be gained for this state of affairs to last for long. Much more can be learned of this from the history of Campvere and the role of the Conservator, where matters of religion and trade were intertwined.

One celebrity, whose name at least contained Staats, was linked to Scottish history through his marriage into the Gordon family. Lady Catherine Gordon, 1718-1779, married in 1741 Cosmo George Gordon, the 3rd Duke of Gordon, and after his death married Staats Long Morris in 1756. The dates of Staats Long Morris are 1728-1800, and biography of him may be found in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790, ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke.

A 'James Staats Forbes' is named in the epitaph on the ground-stone of the family of Alexander Forbes, junior, of Lochermick in the churchyard of St Nicholas Aberdeen: "And his son James Staats Forbes died 1 July 1715". Subsequently, there are several men named "James Staats Forbes", including the one in this file, living in Scotland, England, and elsewhere, who may or may not be related to one another.

The Staats link to the Forbes family in Strathdon is not clear, but it is possible, even probable that its source lies in trade. George Forbes of Skellator, an antecedent of Forbes Lochermick, was married to Euphemia Skene of Auchtererne, the Auchtererne Skenes being a related line to Skene of Skene. This surname was much represented in the merchant class of Aberdeen, as the Forbes surname itself was. We read in an appendix the Memorials of the Family of Skene of Skene, concerning the Skenes of Ruthrieston:

"In 1642 Andrew Skene, eldest lawful son to umquhile Robert Skene, glasenwright, burgess of Aberdeen, being past 14 years, chooses John Forbes and Gilbert Skene, merchants, burgesses, for his curators.

There were at this time a considerable colony of Scotch merchants in Holland, and for their protection a functionary, called the conservator of Scotch privileges, was stationed at Campvere. It was an office similar to that of the more modern Consul. We find Andrew Skene filling this office from 1653 to 1665, and in 1664 Andreas Skene, mercator de Campvere, is admitted burgess."

Trade between Holland and Scotland was of considerable importance, and Aberdeen was a key port in this trade. There would have been ample opportunities for Scots and Dutch families to establish personal as well as trade relations. ^{16 17 18 19 20}

James married Jean JOPP, daughter of Alexander JOPP in Muiryheadless, Insch and Mary GARDEN, on 28 April 1795 in Insch parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.^{1 2 3} (Jean JOPP was baptised on 17 April 1766 in Insch parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland,²¹ died on 8 June 1822 ^{1 4} and was buried in 1822 in Insch Churchyard, Aberdeenshire, Scotland ⁴.)

  Marriage Notes:

"JOPP
JEAN
JAMES STATES/FORBES
28/04/1795
203/ 10 387
Insch"

from Index of Marriages



Old Parish Registers
Insch parish Aberdeenshire
Marriages

"Marriages
1795
Forbes and Jopp
April 28
James States Forbes Aberdeen and Jean Jopp in ys parish having been contractd and proclaimd were marrid"

Note: A copy of the Contract of Marriage between this couple is included in the Will papers of James Staats Forbes.
^{2 3 13}