Background
John Forbes was born in 1740, in Strathdon, Scotland, the son of Archibald Forbes of Deskrie.
( In November 1758 Brigadier General John Forbes's army e...)
In November 1758 Brigadier General John Forbes's army expelled the French army from Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio River. Over seven months Forbes had co-ordinated three obstructive and competitive colonies, managed Indian diplomacy, and cut a road through over a hundred miles of mountain and forest. This is the first full biography of Forbes, which traces his rise from surgeon in the Scots Greys to distinguished service in War of the Austrian Succession before his 1757 posting to North America. John Oliphant puts Forbes' life and career in the wider context of the social and military world of the 18th century and offers important insights into the Seven Years' War in North America.
https://www.amazon.com/John-Forbes-Scotland-Flanders-1707-1759/dp/1472511182?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1472511182
John Forbes was born in 1740, in Strathdon, Scotland, the son of Archibald Forbes of Deskrie.
Forbes received his education at King’s College in old Aberdeen, where he passed through the ordinary course of Greek, mathematics, and philosophy, and attended lectures in divinity.
The University of Aberdeen conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts in the spring of 1763.
Forbes was then recommended to the bishops of the Church of England for ordination to the ministry. Florida having become a British possession, Parliament promptly made provision for four ministers of religion and two schoolmasters.
John Forbes was the first clergyman licensed to officiate in East Florida; and on May 5, 1764, he gave the customary bond to be conveyed to his missionary field, Saint Augustine, where the larger number of East Florida settlers had gathered. From all accounts he was conscientious in the discharge of his parochial duties; but his field was difficult and the territory quite extensive; besides, he was the only English clergyman in East Florida during most of the British occupation. Once a year he generally visited the most remote parts, "at a considerable expense and great fatigue". Advantageous offers to go elsewhere were refused. During his incumbency, a church was built at St. Augustine.
As one of the few educated men in the province, Forbes proved an asset to the local government. He was made a member of the colonial Council by Govener James Grant; and this appointment was confirmed by the Privy Council, June 7, 1771.
Subsequently he became sole judge surrogate of the court of vice-admiralty and assistant judge of the courts of common law in the province; and when Chief Justice William Drayton was suspended from office by Govener Patrick Tonyn, Forbes was commissioned (March 30, 1776) to act in his place till His Majesty’s pleasure could be known. Drayton carried his appeal to London in person, and succeeded in becoming reinstated.
The friction between him and Govener Tonyn was soon renewed; and in December 1777, Drayton was suspended a second time, and Forbes was again appointed in his place, but his appointment was not confirmed. In the several posts he occupied, he won the commendation of his governors, who wrote letters to the home office regarding his qualifications and integrity. When the growing intensity of the Revolutionary War involved the maintenance of a military force in Saint Augustine, a regular army chaplain was assigned to the station; but Forbes officiated as his deputy. So far as his parish work was concerned, he never had a helper or substitute until the Reverend James Seymour, a Tory missionary who had left Augusta, Georgia, sought refuge in Florida.
In 1783, after nearly twenty years in the province, Forbes returned to England on leave of absence, in bad health. He was the bearer to Lord North of a letter in behalf of the Florida Loyalists. He died on September 17, 1783, in England.
( In November 1758 Brigadier General John Forbes's army e...)
After the study at King’s College in old Aberdeen, John Forbes was recommended to the bishops of the Church of England for ordination to the ministry. Florida having become a British possession, Parliament promptly made provision for four ministers of religion and two schoolmasters.
John Forbes was the first clergyman licensed to officiate in East Florida; and on May 5, 1764, he gave the customary bond to be conveyed to his missionary field, Saint Augustine, where the larger number of East Florida settlers had gathered.
On February 2, 1769, in Milton, Massachusetts, John Forbes married Dorothy Murray, daughter of James Murray. They had several children.