Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 04.djvu/160

 FORBES

FORBES

uated at Columbia in 183T, and at the General theological seminary, New York city, in 1830. He was assistant professor of ancient languages at Trinity college. Conn., 1830; was ordained a priest in the Protestant Episcopal church the same year, and was made temporary professor in the General theological seminary. He was rec- tor of St. Luke's church, New York city, 1834, and a clerical delegate from New York to the general conventions of 1844 and 1847. In 1849 he embraced the faith of the Roman Catholic church anil was made pastor over St. Ann's R.C. church in New York city. He was ai^pointed in 18.^2 by the Rt. Rev. Ignatius A. Reynolds, bishop of Charleston, S.C., his theologian in the plenary council at Baltimore, and in 1S.")4 was theologian to the Rt. Rev. John Bernard Fitzpatrick, bishop of Boston, in the provincial council in New York. In 18.J9 he returaed to the P.E. church and was restored to the exercise of his priestlj' functions. He was elected dean of the General theological seminary and served as permanent executive officer of the institution, 1869-73. He received the degree of D.D. from Columbia in 1847, and the degree of S.T.D. was conferred upon him by Vatican Decree of Pojie Pius IX., in 18.54. He died at Elizabeth. N..T., Oct. 11, 188.-5.

FORBES, John Murray, mei'cliant, was born in Bordeaux, France, Feb. 33, 1813; son of Ralph Bennet and Jlargaret (Perkins) Forbes, and grandson of the Rev. John and Dorothy (Murray) Forbes. His fatlier was temporarily engaged in mercantile business in Slarseilles and his wife with two children joined him in 1811, having taken pas.sage from Boston in a mer- chant ves.sel which was captured and detained by a British man-of-war. Three months after John JIurray was born the family set sail for Boston, were again captured, put under a prize crew and carried to Corunna, Spain. Sailing thence they were again captured and carried to Portugal anil on the third trial they reached Boston in Au- gust, 1813. John Murray was educated at the Round Hill school, Northampton, Mass. , where he had as instructors George Bancroft and Joseph G. Cogswell. He left school to take a position in the counting room of liis uncles. James and Thomas H. Perkins, and in 1830 went to China as clerk in the house of Russell & Co. He returned to America in 1833 for the benefit of his health

J.J}v.S<^u<j

and on Feb. 8, 1834, he was man-ied to Sarah S. Hathaway of New Bedford, Mass. In March, 1834, he returned to Canton, China, and became a partner in the house of Russell & Co. He re- turned to the United States in 1837 with a fortune gained in trade. He acted as agent for the Can- ton house and engaged in business on his own ac- count. In 1861 lie used his influence in averting civil war and was apjiointed a peace commis- sioner by Governor Andrew. Finding no jiossi- bility of securing a peaceful solution to the troubles between the north and south he advised jireparation for a long war and aided Governor Andrew in recruiting and equipping the troops from Massachusetts. He advised the issue of bonds and favored making them payalile after a long term of years as a permanent loan and not for a short term as a passing emergency. He also advised transporting the first troops sent to Wash- ington by boat rather than take the risk of passing through the border states on the railroad. He was sent to England by the government to try and prevent the fitting out of ironclad rams. He was largely interested in western railroads from 1846, and was a director of the most important railroads having a terminus at Chicago. He was a presidential elector in 1860, 1868 and 1873, and a personal friend of President Grant. He sup- ported the candidacy of Grover Cleveland in 1884 and was an advocate of free ships to sail under the American flag. He had a home at Milton, Mass., and as a summer home owned Naushon island off the southern coast of Massachusetts, which he made a model American estate. Mr. Forbes died at Milton, Slass., Oct. 12, 1898.

FORBES, Stephen Alfred, naturalist, was born in Silver Creek, III., May 39, 1844: son of Isaac Sawyer and Agnes (Van Hoesen) Forbes, and a lineal descendant from Daniel Forbes [For- bush], who emigrated from Scotland to Massachusetts in

1650. He attended Beloit academy and Rush medical college, and received the de- gree of Ph.D. from the Indiana state uni- versity in 1884. Dur- ing the civil war he .served four years in the volunteer cavalry and was mustered out as captain of his com- pany. In 1872 he was appointed curator of the Illinois museum of natu- ral history, which, in 1877, was changed to the Illinois state laboratory of natural history, Mr. i'"'orbes retaining the directorsliip. He was pro-

^.J^,-^^

-T^ryl^^^