James Forbes

Notes:

He was very likely Scottish. Forbes is a Scottish name, and Winthrop Jr. calls him a "Scotchman" in a journal entry in 1658.

A small cottage industry appears to have developed around the idea that he was a son of Capt. James Forbes of Caithness, second son of Duncan Forbes (1572-1654), first lord of Culloden. Supposedly this James Forbes fought at Dunbar (or, alternately, Philiphaugh), and was then, with his fellow defeated Scotsmen, marched by the victorious English to Newcastle (or, in one especially marvelous version, to the Tower of London), then shipped to America as an involuntarily indentured servant. In some versions he was a "captain in the Royal army" and "fought under Montrose." In most of them he is represented as later becoming "a prominent resident of the Colony" in Hartford. (He was a poor farmer.) Almost invariably, these claims are hedged about, not with citations to primary sources, but rather with throat-clearing language like "it is believed", "most likely," and "indications are." In the mouths of serious historians and genealogists in possession of actual facts, phrases of this sort are meaningful. In barrages of fancy like this, the phrases exist to distract the reader from the emptiness of the claims being made, by suggesting that great intellectual exertions are happening here. These writers have heard these phrases being used by people who know what they're talking about, and they fancy that using them themselves will grant them the same credibility.

It is entirely possible that James Forbes had an interesting life before coming to Hartford. The fact that he was a poor farmer who played a minor role in Hartford affairs hardly makes this impossible. He may well have had forebears who were notable for one reason or another. But the very language in which these claims are couched reveals them to be the nonsense that they are.

Family/Spouse: Catharine. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah married Joseph Collyer on 15 Apr 1695 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. Joseph (son of Joseph Collyer and (Unknown first wife of Joseph Collyer)) was born in 1668; died on 25 Sep 1738 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut; was buried in Ancient Burying Ground, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Daniel married Thankful Goodwin on 31 May 1736 in First Church, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. Thankful (daughter of Nathaniel Goodwin and Sarah Easton) was born before 28 Feb 1709; was christened on 28 Feb 1709 in First Church, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut; died on 26 Dec 1792 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah married Joseph Sheldon on 16 Oct 1755 in First Church, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. Joseph (son of Isaac Sheldon and Elizabeth Pratt) was born before 13 Jul 1729; was christened on 13 Jul 1729 in Second Church, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut; died on 11 Mar 1794; was buried in Ancient Burying Ground, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 19 Feb 1812

Notes:

Still in Hartford, she is identified as her late husband's executor in the Hartford Courant of 4 Mar 1812, page 4.

Her death notice in the Hartford, Connecticut Christian Secretary for 18 Mar 1853, indexed in the Hale Collection (citation details below), says that she died 25 Feb 1853 in Steubenville, Ohio and calls her "Revolutionary War Widow of Roderick of Hartford." Her death in Steubenville was also mentioned in the Hartford Times on 19 Mar 1853.

There is a Find a Grave entry for a Mary Sheldon with no dates at all, only the information that she was buried at Union Cemetery in Steubenville. (This is not the entry for her daughter Mary Sheldon McDowell.) Perhaps it refers to this Mary Sheldon, who did die in Steubenville. But this Mary died in 1853, and the cemetery's web site says it was founded in 1854.

Family/Spouse: Roderick Sheldon. Roderick (son of Daniel Sheldon and Lucretia Gross) was born in 1755; died on 8 Jan 1812 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut; was buried in Old South Burying Ground, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: of Steubenville, Jefferson, Ohio

Notes:

The Find a Grave record for Mary Sheldon, which contains no dates and says only where she was buried, has to refer to this one and not to her mother, because the wife of Roderick Sheldon died in Steubenville in 1853 and Union Cemetery was founded in 1854.

Mary married Alexander Johnston McDowell on 19 Jul 1814 in Jefferson County, Ohio. Alexander (son of Dr. John McDowell and Martha Johnston) was born in 1788 in New London Crossroads, Chester, Pennsylvania; died on 6 Dec 1871 in Steubenville, Jefferson, Ohio; was buried in Union Cemetery, Steubenville, Jefferson, Ohio. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lydia married Eli Todd Tappan on 4 Feb 1851 in Steubenville, Jefferson, Ohio. Eli (son of Benjamin Tappan, Senator from Ohio and Elizabeth "Betsy" Lord) was born on 30 Apr 1824 in Steubenville, Jefferson, Ohio; died on 23 Oct 1888 in Columbus, Franklin, Ohio. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"[A]n American novelist and short story writer best known for her acute characterizations and depictions of academic life." [Wikipedia]

Mary married John Henry Wright on 2 Apr 1879 in Gambier, Knox, Ohio. John (son of Rev. Austen Hazen Wright and Catherine Myers) was born on 4 Feb 1852 in Urumiah, Persia; died on 25 Nov 1908 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts; was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]