Clan Forbes Society Newsletter: March 2022

Clan Forbes Society Newsletter 
March 2022

Callendar House and Sir William Forbes, 1st of Callendar

Sir William “Copper-bottom” Forbes, 1st of Callendar (1756–1823), was a prosperous copper smith and landowner who purchased Callendar House in Falkirk, Scotland, in 1783. William and his elder brother George maintained the family copper smith business in Aberdeen. William opened a second office in London and secured lucrative government contracts for sheathing ships with copper and amassed a fortune. This was the source of his nickname “Copper-bottom” Forbes. Forbes outbid the 16th Lord Errol for his ancestral home of Callendar, which had been seized by the government due to the participation of the 5th Earl of Linlithgow (and 4th Earl of Callendar) in the Jacobite Rising of 1715. Now styled Sir William, 1st Lord of Callendar, Forbes made significant alterations to Callendar House and developed magnificent gardens and a large park. While the Forbes of Callendar sold the house and its park to the town of Falkirk in 1963, the family still owns most of the estate.
 
Learn more here: https://www.clan-forbes.org/william-forbes-callendar

Alexander Forbes of Tolquhon and the Battle of Worcester
 
When Charles I was beheaded in 1649 for high treason, England abolished the monarchy but the Scots accepted his son King Charles II as the true British monarch. On September 3, 1651, Charles marched with the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Grandison, and cavalry through the city of Worcester and out at Sudbury gate by the Fort-royal, which was commanded by Alexander Forbes of Tolquhon. Cromwell's Parliamentary New Model Army of 28,000 soldiers defeated King Charles II's 16,000 Royalists. An account of the battles relates that “In this Action Duke Hamilton (who fought valiantly) had his horse kill’d under him, and was himself mortally wounded, of which he dyed within few days; and many of his Troop (consisting much of Gentlemen, and divers of his own name) were slain; Sir John Douglas receiv’d his deaths wound; and Sir Alex. Forbus, (who was the first Knight the King made in Scotland, and commanded the Fort-royal here) was shot through both the Calves of his legs, lay in the wood all night, and was brought Prisoner to Worcester next day.” (Blount, Thomas; “Boscobel: or The Compleat History of his Sacred Majesties most Miraculous Preservation after the Battle of Worcester, 3 Sept., 1651,” published in 1680.)
 
Learn more here: https://www.clan-forbes.org/post/battle-of-worcester 

Forbes Emigration to Colonial America
 
Scots arrived in colonial North America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for three major reasons: religious freedom, economic opportunity, and criminal banishment.  Whether, voluntarily or involuntarily, Scots shipped abroad to the various colonies in waves (literally.) 
 
Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, 1620 – 1691. The first migration landed in Plymouth colony in Massachusetts between 1620 and 1691. In 1718, about five shiploads landed in Boston and most went on to settle in New Hampshire and what would become Maine. Between 1717 and 1775, Scots-Irish landed in Philadelphia, Chester, and New Castle. 
 
New Sweden, 1638 – 1655. The first Swedish company that aimed to trade with the Americas was the South Company of Sweden, founded during 1627, with the sole Swedish rights of commerce with "Africa, Asia, America and Magellanica or Terra Australia." Among those who subscribed capital to the company were two Scottish residents of Sweden, Dr. James Robertson and James Forbes. 
 
North Carolina, 1732 onward. The date of the first settlement of Highlanders on the Cape Fear was about 1732. The first governor, William Drummond, was a Scottish Lowlander. Land-grant records name James Innes (from Caithness), Hugh Campbell, and William Forbes as the first persons with Highland names to settle on the Cape Fear River, twenty-two miles above Rockfish Creek. Campbell and Forbes secured their 640-acre grants in April and May of 1733.
 
Florida, 1763 – 1783. East Florida was founded by the British government in 1763. The colony spanned from the Apalachicola River through the peninsula of modern-day Florida. The capital was St. Augustine. This was ceded to Spain in 1783, after the American Revolutionary War. John Forbes, a graduate of King's College, Aberdeen, was appointed as a Church of England minister in St. Augustine in 1764.
 
Jamaica, 1670 – 1866. England captured Jamaica from Spain in 1655 but Spain did not cede the colony to England until 1670. In the early-eighteenth-century, many Scottish settlers were clergy, merchants and colonial officials. For example, Alexander Forbes was noted as a provost marshal. However, convicts were also sent to the island, including another Alexander Forbes in 1747.
 
Learn more here: https://www.clan-forbes.org/forbes-emigration

Welcome Members!
 
Please welcome our new Active Members for February 2022:
 
Mr. David Furbish Jr., New Jersey, USA
Ms. Christine Nettles, Washington, USA
Mr. Timothy Graham Forbes, Georgia, USA
Miss Lauren Forbes, Orkney, Scotland, UK
Mr. Robert Cleveland Forbes, California, USA
Ms. Sheryl Simpson, Maine, USA
Ms. Jeanette Emily Furbish, Tennessee, USA
Ms. Sandra Watson, Wisconsin, USA
 
Please welcome back our Renewing Active Members for January 2022: 
Ms. Janet M. LeTarte, New Hampshire, USA
Mr. John J. Brice III, South Dakota, USA
Mr. Gordon Forbes, Angus, Scotland, UK
Mr. Donald R. Slaybaugh, Montana, USA
 
Become an Active Member or Renew Now!
 
If you haven’t already supported the Society financially, please consider becoming a paid member! Active Membership is $25 annually will help the Society research the history and heritage of the House of Forbes; develop resources for tracing your genealogy with your cousins around the world; connect with other members in the Clan Forbes Community; and encourage more members to join us in events, tours and gatherings. Thanks to all our 2021 members – and now it’s time to renew your support for 2022!
Renew your membership here. 
 
Patron Members
 
If you don’t want the bother of renewing your membership every year, consider becoming a Patron Member for lifetime membership at the level of $600. Become a Patron here.

Highland Games & Festivals
 
Ann Forbes and her sister Carolyn Forbes hosted the Clan Forbes Society tent at the Central Florida Scottish Highland Games on January 15-16, 2022. Here is the latest list of Highland Games and Scottish Festivals, as compiled by Leslie Furbish, VP for Conveners. Please let her know if we missed an event or if you would like to host a tent. Please check the Clan Forbes Society website for the latest announcements: https://www.clan-forbes.org/games
 
United States
 
Panama City Beach Scottish Festival & Highland Games
March 5, 2022; Panama City Beach, Florida
 
Southeast Florida Scottish Festival & Highland Games 
March 5, 2022; Plantation, Florida
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Calaveras Celtic Faire (Formerly Sonora Celtic Faire)
March 11-13, 2022; Angel, California
Clan Forbes Convener: Valerie Edwards
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Phoenix Scottish Games
March 4-6, 2022; Gilbert Regional Park, Gilbert, Arizona
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Las Vegas Highland Games
April 9-10, 2022; Floyd Lamb Park, Las Vegas, Nevada
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Loch Norman Highland Games
April 9-10, 2022; Historic Rural Hill, Huntersville, North Carolina
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Southern Maryland Celtic Festival & Highland Gathering
April 23, 2022; St. Leonard, Maryland
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San Antonio Highland Games
April 2-3, 2022; Helotes, Texas
Clan Forbes Convener: Bart Forbes
 
Fair Hill Scottish Games
May 21, 2022, Elkton, MD, 21921
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Scottish Fest USA
May 28-29, 2022; Costa Mesa, CA
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Texas Scottish Festival & Highland Games
May 6-8, 2022; Decatur, Texas
Clan Forbes Convener: Rick Forbes, Bart Forbes
 
Savannah Scottish Games
May 7, 2022; Savannah, Georgia
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Stirling Classic Scottish Festival
May 20-22, 2022; Yukon, Oklahoma
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Northern Nevada Celtic Celebration
May 21, 2022; Reno, Nevada

St. Louis Scottish Games & Cultural Festival
May 21, 2022; Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, Missouri
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Smoky Mountain Highland Games
May 21-22, 2022; Maryville, Tennessee
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Glasgow Highland Games
June 3-5; 2022; Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Lucas, Kentucky
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Garrett County Celtic Festival
June 4, 2022; Friendsville, Maryland

Milwaukee Highland Games
June 4, 2022; Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
 
Maine Scottish Festival at Old Orchard Beach
June 4, 2022; Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Clan Forbes Convener: Leslie A. Furbish
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Coastal Highland Games
June 4, 2022; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
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Blairsville Scottish Festival & Highland Games
June 11-12, 2022; Blairsville, Georgia
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Chicago Scottish Festival & Highland Games
June 17-18, 2022; Itasca, Illinois
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Ohio Scottish Games
June 24-25, 2022; Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, Berea, Ohio
 
Alaska Scottish Highland Games
June 25-26, 2022; Palmer, Alaska
Round Hill Highland Games
June 26, 2022; Lakeville, Connecticut
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Grandfather Mountain Highland Games
July 7 - 10, 2022; Linville, North Carolina
Clan Forbes Convener: Ron Pearson
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Skagit Valley Highland Games
July 8-10, 2022; Edgewater Park, Mount Vernon, Washington
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Payson Scottish Festival
July 8-9, 2022; Payson, Utah
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Kootenai Highland Gathering
July 15-16, 2022; River Bend Restaurant, Libby, Montana
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Arizona Highland Games and Gathering
July 16-17, 2022; Rodeo Grounds, Williams, Arizona
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Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival 
July 16, 2022; Look Park, Northampton, Massachusetts
Clan Forbes Convener: Leslie A. Furbish
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Monterey Scottish Games & Festival
July 16 & 17, 2022; Monterey County Fairgrounds, Monterey, California
 
St. Andrew's Society of Detroit Annual Highland Games 
August 8-6, 2022; Greenmead Historical Village, Livonia, Michigan
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CNY Scottish Games & Celtic Festival 
August 13, 2022; Long Branch Park, Liverpool NY 
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Maine Highland Games & Scottish Festival
August 20, 2022; Topsham, Maine
Clan Forbes Conveners: Leslie A. Furbish and Ben Forbus
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Bitterroot Celtic Games & Gathering
August 20-21, 2022; Daly Mansion, Hamilton, Montana
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Douglas County Scottish Highland Games
August 27-28, 2022; Henry Estate Winery, 
 
Long Island Scottish Festival and Highland Games
August 27, 2022; Old Westbury Gardens, New York

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