FORBES, George 4th of Skellater, Jacobite 1715 ^{2 3}

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  Research Notes:

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN of GEORGE FORBES, 4TH LAIRD OF SKELLATER

There is a certain amount of confusion in secondary sources regarding the marriages and the related parentage of the children of George Forbes, 4th laird of Skellater, owing mainly to a lack of primary documentary evidence.

1

Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 North East Scotland by Frances McDonnell states, in the Jacobites of 1715 section, that George Forbes 4th of Skellater married twice, first to Christian Forbes, daughter of John Forbes of Inverernan, in 1714, and then to Isobel, daughter of John [sic] Gordon of Blelack.

In the section on Jacobites of 1745, the text states that the Jacobite George Forbes, 5th laird of Skellater, who came out in the '45, was the eldest son of George Forbes 4th of Skellater and Isobel Gordon of Blelack.

George Forbes 5th of Skellater could have been the son of Christian Forbes, had his parents married in 1714 as stated above, for he is considered to have been born about 1715, yet the later section names him as Isobel Gordon's son.

2

The Strathdon parish registers record a marriage of George Forbes and Isobel Gordon in 1696, suggesting the 1715 section statement, above, is in error regarding the order of marriages, if there were two marriages. A daughter, baptised Christen, was born to John Forbes of Inverernan in 1693, too late to have been the wife of George Forbes before Isobel Gordon. John Forbes himself is said to have been born in the mid 1660s.

There is no marriage record for George Forbes and Christian Forbes.

The birth records for George's children baptised in Strathdon parish do not name a mother.

It is true that, in the 1715 baptism record of an unnamed son of George Forbes of Skellater (considered to be by date the baptism of George Forbes 5th of Skellater), John Forbes of Inverernan is a witness. However, it is also true that this same man was a witness at the 1703 baptism of George's son John, and later at the 1704 baptism of his daughter Jean and the 1713 baptism of his daughter Agnes.

So, if the daughter of John Forbes of Inverernan married George Forbes 4th of Skellater as his second wife, the presence of John Forbes of Inverernan as a baptismal witness in 1715 need not immediately suggest he was the grandfather of the male child being baptised in 1715.

3

According to the text of House of Forbes, in chapter XXXV Inverernan, page 454, John Forbes of Inverernan had a daughter Christian, born in 1693, who died young, as did a number of her siblings. Confusingly, a footnote then states that a (second?) daughter Christian, included in the 1696 Poll Book, married her cousin George Forbes of Skellater. No second daughter named Christian is recorded in the parish baptismal registers, although the baptism records of a great many other children of John Forbes are to be found there. House of Forbes states that all of his children's baptismal records are listed in the registers.

Later in the Inverernan chapter of House of Forbes, on page 456, referring to Forbes of Skellater, the author writes:

"Jock's nephew, George, younger of Skellater (who was also his son-in-law), was the chief leader of the Forbeses of Strathdon".

This clearly suggests the distinct possibility that George Forbes 4th of Skellater was, at some point before the death of John Forbes in November 1716 at Carlisle, married to a daughter of John Forbes of Inverenan.

4

"The Skellater chapter XXXIV of House of Forbes does not clarify the situation at all. It states on page 441:

"George, 4th of Skellater, married Isabel, daughter of the deceased Charles Gordon of Balbithan, and had 3 sons: George, Henry and :Nathaniel"

and then on page 442:

"Both his (George the 4th laird's) wives came of Jacobite stock. Christian, the first, was the daughter of his uncle, Black Jock of Inverernan (Mar's Baillie in Kildrurnmy), who died in Carlisle, and the second was Isobel Gordon of Blelack. whose nephew (NB: she was actually his cousin), Charles, was one of the prisoners of the Forty-five."

5

Thus the number and order of wives is confused, and there arises the possibility that the younger children of George Forbes 4th of Skellater might have been the offspring of his second rather than his first wife.

What can be concluded as a genuinely possible or likely scenario?

The conclusion of this researcher is that, on the balance of probability, George Forbes did have two wives.

It is highly unlikely, based on the dates alone, that he had a first wife, before 1696, who was the daughter of John Forbes of Inverernan.

There is a real possibility that a daughter of John Forbes was the 4th laird of Skellater's second wife, either before or after the death of her father in November 1716.

It is very likely that Isobel Gordon was the laird of Skellater's first wife, and the mother of all of his children.

It is not impossible that his second wife, probably Christian Forbes, was mother to one or more of his youngest children, though as yet no decisive evidence is forthcoming regarding that possibility. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

George married Isobel GORDON, daughter of Charles GORDON 5th of Blelack and Unknown, on 22 October 1696 in Strathdon parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.¹ (Isobel GORDON was born about 1680.)

  Marriage Notes:

"GORDON
ISOBEL
GEORG FORBES/FR179 (FR179)
22/10/1696
240 10 / 324
STRATHDON AND CORGARFF"

from Index of Marriages



Old Parish Registers
Strathdon parish Aberdeenshire
Marriages


"1696
Octr 4
The sd day Georg Forbes of Skelater yr brought a testimonial from the Minister of Coldston declaring that he was booked ther with Isabel Gordon daughter to Charles Gordon of blelak and after proclamations was married the 22 of Octr 96" ^{1 6}

George next married Christen FORBES, daughter of John FORBES of Inverernan, bailie for Earl of Mar, 'Black Jock', Jacobite 1715 and Elspet STEWART. (Christen FORBES was baptised on 20 June 1693 in Strathdon parish, Aberdeenshire, Scotland ³.)