Forbes in Banffshire

[suzy_homemaker]

I'm looking for information on Alexander Forbes (born circa 1750), who was a tenant farmer in Banffshire and whose spouse was Cecilia Wilkie.  They were married on 5/11/1777 and their children were all born in Rathven, Banff:  Alexander (born 3/20/1778), James (born 10/3/1780), William (born 8/16/1781), Elspet (born 11/24/1783), Anne (born 12/2/1785), John (born 12/17/1787; he was the Sir John Forbes, physician in England, who died in 1861 there), George (born 3/23/1790), and Cicilia (born 3/26/1792). 

Specific information may include marriage/death dates and places, parentage of Alexander Forbes Sr. if known, families of the children and their specific dates and places of marriage and death, etc.

I also have a question, as well.  Places that I've looked online say that Cecilia Wilkie-Forbes married a George Steinson in 1796; however, this was before Alexander died, so I presume there was a divorce in the family.  Where could I check out this information?

Are there any sources available that would supply information about tenant farmers and their families at all?  Given that Alexander Forbes was a tenant farmer, would there be any information sources to check into that would reveal who he worked for and that might provide any other clues about him?  I've hit a real brick wall with this side of the family. 

Any and all help would be hugely appreciated.  Many, many thanks in advance!

[KirstyG]

Hi Suzy,

Do you have the census entries for 1841? This may give the address of the farm which could give you more information about the landowner and the estate where Alexander worked. FreeCen has 286 entries for Forbes in Banffshire in 1841.

Aberdeen City Council holds a great number of records, some of which cover Banff for the period you are interested in.
http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ACCI/web/site/LocalHistory/RM/loc_AberdeenshireRecords.asp

The Aberdeen and North of Scotland Family History Society has a wealth of resources, including publications which list ( I believe I am right in thinking) an entire census area in one booklet which would allow you to possibly see the other people living in the area (including the landowner if he was home!)
http://www.anesfhs.org.uk/index.htm

Hope this helps

Kirsty

[millerina]

Hi Suzy,

Welcome to Rootschat! 

You probably already have the marriage details of Alexander and Cecilia, and the baptism details for their children, but I thought I'd post a link to this great Rathven OPR website anyway, just in case it helps!

Alexander and Cecilias marriage:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sheena_charles/R_Marrs2.htm

Forbes childrens Baptism info:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sheena_charles/R_BirthsV1_p180.htm
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sheena_charles/R_BirthsV1_p150.htm

When most of the children were baptised, it seems the family were living in Cuttlebrae, I put that into a search engine and lots of interesting results came up, including a Cuttlebrae farm, and a PDF file about Sir John Forbes. It also looks like Alexander's Forbes relatives lived in a place called "Swallow Hollow".

millerina 

[millerina]

Just wanted to add that it looks like Swallow Hollow (or Swallow Holly?) was home to this Forbes family:

Alexander Forbes + Marjory Badenoch

Children:

James b.1746
John b.1748
Alexander b.1750
George b.1752
Isabel b.1754
Margaret b.1756

All the Baptism details can be found on the OPR website I gave you the link to.:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sheena_charles/oprarchive.htm

Hope this helps! 

millerina

[suzy_homemaker]

Millerina,

Bless your heart!  I will look into this ASAP!!!  Thanks so very much!!!!

Linda

[geelong]

Hi - my name is Richard Forbes and I am a direct descendant of Alexander Forbes and Cecilia Wilkie

Interested to know what your interest is in my Great Great Great Great Grandfather - are we related???

I live in Canberra Australia.

We hold alot of information about Sir John Forbes, my Great Great Great Grandfather.

Await your reply so we can swap information.

Kind regards,
Richard Forbes

[suzy_homemaker]

Hello, Richard. 

I believe I also am a direct decendant of Alexander Forbes and Cecilia Wilkie.   My connection comes through my 4th-gr-grandfather, James Alexander Forbes, apparently one of their grandsons.  He was the British vice-consul to Monterey, California, in the mid-nineteenth century.   Based on information gleaned from a personal letter written by his son James Alonzo Forbes (my 3rd-gr-grandfather) to either a niece or his daughter, the Sir John Forbes (physician to the queen's household) was an uncle of his father's.  Also, James Alexander Forbes (I refer to him as Grandpa James) had an uncle Alexander Forbes who was a merchant in Tepic, Mexico.  When I was Googling to see if I could find information on this Sir John Forbes, I came across a website that was a bit of a biography on him, listed his parents as Alexander Forbes and Cecilia Wilkie, and mentioned that he had a brother Alexander who had made his fortune as a merchant in Mexico.  Other sources of information about Alexander Forbes gave me his year of birth.  Alexander Forbes (of Tepic, Mexico--I refer to him as Uncle Alexander) is credited with having written a book entitled "The History of Upper and Lower California", having sent it to be published by his brother John in London.  This would have been in or around 1839.  Anyway, based on these pieces of information, I believe I have the correct family for Grandpa James.  The main branches of the Forbes family can be traced back to a Sir John de Forbes "of the Black Lip", and I am trying to pierce back as far as I can to find which branch our particular line goes through.   Once the connection to Mr. "Black Lip" Forbes (what an identifier!) has been made, the Forbes family line can be traced quite a ways further back.

I live in Washington State in the US, and would be thrilled to swap information.  It sounds like you may have more information than I have, but I would be happy to share what I have.  Would you, by any chance, have any information on Alexander Forbes and Cecilia Wilkie at all?  By Googling, I've been able to trace Cecilia Wilkie's family line back a bit but, except for what Millerina has kindly shared here at Rootschat, I've not been able to pierce back at all on Alexander Forbes. 

Am eagerly waiting to hear back from you.  Please take care and have a great day!

Blessings,
Linda Allen

[geelong]

Hi Linda - great to make contact!

We are lucky from this perspective -Robin Agnew has written two or three short books on the life of Sir John Forbes. Please Google 'Sir John Forbes' and go to the RAN Agnew site where you will find a complete history of Sir Johns life  (1787-1861). In that there is some information o Alexander Forbes and Cecilia Wilkie.

They had 8 children - James,William, Alexander (Merchant who lived in Mexico), Elspet, Anne, Sir John, George and Cecilia. I wonder which one is your relative??

(I have all their birth dates back in Canberra where I live - am on holiday at my parents in Adelaide at present).

Sir John was the fourth son of Alexander Forbes (1750-1842) and Cecilia Wilkie (1755-1831)

Alexander was a local tenant farmer - Sir John was born at Cuttlebrae, near Cullen in 1787. Two years later the family moved to nearby Dytac in the parish of Fordyce. Here Alexander farmed land on the Findlater estate near Kilnhillock.

I have pictures of Alexander and Cecilias gravestones - pretty sure they are buried in the Fordyce cemetary - I recieved the photos from the Aberdeen and NE Scotland family history society - they helped me alot.

I think Alexanders father another Alexander (need to confirm this more fully) was also a tenant farmer.

Records do no not go back much further that the 1700's so it has been really difficult to trace ancestral linkages past this point. I do not think we are related to the Forbes clan - as they are in the highlands - our family was located in and around Rathven, Fordyce etc in NE Scotland.

Hope this helps - lets keep talking and see what we come up with!

Regards,
Richard Forbes.

[geelong]

Hi Suzy - did you receive my email? Richard Forbes