James Nicol Forbes was the most famous clipper captain of the 1850s, working for James Baines and his “Black Ball” line of fast-sailing ships, mainly on the emigrant route from Britain to Australia. Forbes set several outstanding sailing records. His first roundtrip to Australia in command of the “Marco Polo” in 1852, circumnavigated the globe and took 168 days, including stopover time in the Antipodes. On re-entering the Salthouse Dock, Liverpool, Forbes is said to have displayed a boastful banner reading “The fastest ship in the world”. His second Australian journey the following year, also in the “Marco Polo”, was again accomplished within six months, despite problems with ice and a prolonged equatorial calm on the return leg. In early 1854, James Nicol Forbes took command of a new, American-built “Black Ball” clipper, the “Lightning”, sailing her back from Boston to the Mersey in the remarkable time of 13 days 19 ½ hours. Forbes’ first return leg to Liverpool from Australia in 1854 in this new vessel was achieved in the record time of 63 days. In a short interval, James Nicol Forbes had become an internationally renowned master mariner, with a skilful but ruthless approach to driving a fast passage, even though he frequently scared the wits out of his passengers and crew in doing so.
Forbes’ next assignment was to take command of the British-built clipper the “Schomberg”, 2,600 tons, which was laid down in Aberdeen and launched in April 1855. At the alcohol-fuelled celebration of the launch, then the largest seen in Aberdeen, James Forbes was egged on by Mr Mackay, one of the part-owners of the new vessel, to make a boastful claim about what he would achieve, and he was asked for a passage of under 60 days. Forbes promised to make the new vessel go “like greased lightning”. The “Schomberg” left for Australia on 6 October 1855. This vessel undoubtedly had the potential for a fast passage but unfortunately, on this initial commercial voyage, the meteorological conditions were against her and her ambitious master. Before the passage down the Atlantic had been completed, she was already so far behind schedule that a record-breaking run had become impossible. Forbes, probably distracted by a scandalous liaison he had begun with an 18-year-old female passenger, seemed to lose interest in forcing a fast passage and, through inattention, managed to strand the vessel on the approach to Melbourne. “Schomberg” became a total loss, though all her passengers were rescued. James Nicol Forbes had been a superstar among clipper captains but this careless command of the new ship wrecked both his status and his future career. The full story of the “Schomberg” and her master can be consulted on this blogsite, “Captain James Nicol Forbes (1821 – 1874) and the loss of the Clipper Ship “Schomberg”. Since publication in 2015, this has been the second most visited story in my online compendium
Over the
intervening years to the present, one aspect of James Nicol Forbes’ life has
continued to puzzle me, and that has been his family origins. In several records, for example, Michael
Stammers’ book “The Passage Makers”, it is stated that his father was “a
distinguished advocate and public figure” and on his first marriage
registration certificate, father’s name is given as “James Nicol Forbes” and
profession as “an advocate”, but a search of the substantial historical account
of the Aberdeen Society of Advocates for the relevant period does not produce a
lawyer, prominent or otherwise, with this name.
Also, no birth or baptism record in parish registers for 1821 (his
reputed birth year) reveals a birth with the given names “James Nicol” and
family name “Forbes” in the North-East of Scotland. I casually ignored this lacuna, which did not
seriously interfere with the telling of James Nicol Forbes’ dramatic life
story. As I noted at the time, “James”,
“Nicol” and “Forbes” were all popular names in this region of Scotland and there
were so many potentially informative records that they could not all be checked
out. Perhaps that was why clarity had
not emerged?
Anyone perusing
this blogsite will realise that I have written extensively about Aberdeen and
Aberdeenshire during the 19th Century. The area is well supplied with surviving
historical documents, which made the lack of progress with identifying James
Nicol Forbes’ parentage even more curious.
But the conundrum remained and no progress with its resolution was made
until I received an email from Bill Shand in April 2022, suggesting to me that
James Nicol Forbes’ conception and birth might not have been legitimate and the
understandable, but facile, assumption that his father’s surname was “Forbes” might
be in error. Further, Bill suggested
that the given name “Nicol” which, had Forbes been legitimate, could have
indicated the mother’s, or a wider family, surname (a common practice in
Scotland) might instead have a different significance, such as indicating the
father’s surname. Bill generously
pointed out that there was a prominent Aberdeen advocate with the name “James
Nicol” extant in the 1820s.
I did not
immediately give Bill’s helpful idea much thought but, like a grub burrowing
through an apple, it finally reached its destination, and it dawned on me that
Bill’s hypothesis was valid and deserved to be evaluated. But how to make progress? How might a link between this Aberdeen lawyer
and the famous, but notorious, seafarer be established, especially if
illegitimacy was involved? I re-read my
research notes on the Aberdonian mariner and landed upon an important
genealogical linkage. In 1854, on the
Lightning’s first passage to Australia, there was a diarist on board by the
name of John Fenwick, whose scribblings have survived. He reported that a sister of the captain,
“Miss Forbes” whom he described as “a very nice girl” was a passenger. She became affianced to another passenger,
Blakiston Robinson, during the journey and the couple married after arrival in
Melbourne. With a name so unusual as
“Blakiston”, it proved easy to identify and locate him in genealogical records
and, through him, “Miss Forbes”, who proved to be not “Miss Forbes” at all, but
Miss Isabella Jaffray Nicol, b 1834 in Aberdeen and the 4th child of
Aberdeen advocate James Nicol, b Aberdeen 1799, the very man that Bill Shand
had speculated might be James Nicol Forbes’ father! Then another thought dawned on me, too. If Isabella was on board James Nicol Forbes’
ship (she appeared to have been travelling as his guest) and was describing
herself as the captain’s sister (she was actually his half-sister), James Nicol
Forbes’ extra-marital parentage must have been known and accepted by both sides
of the family. There was clearly no
continuing embarrassment about the conception having been outside wedlock. The father was probably proud of his
illegitimate son’s substantial maritime achievements and the son was chuffed
with his father’s status in Aberdeen society and keen to claim kin with him.
An investigation of the Nicol family proved to be illuminating. James Nicol’s father, Peter, was born in Aberdeen in 1781 and married his wife, Anne Jaffray in 1798 in Old Aberdeen. At the time Peter was 17 and Anne was some six years older. Peter was a mason. Their first child, James (1799) was born just over a year later. The couple was highly fecund, producing 13 children in a period of 22 years. After marriage, Peter Nicol settled down to develop a number of businesses in Old Aberdeen. By 1803 he had become a Merchant Counsellor and President of the Merchant Society of Old Aberdeen. By 1805 he had developed a brick, tile and related clay products works at Seaton Gate, initially in partnership, though his partner soon fell by the wayside. Peter Nicol then employed a manager to run the works for him. He also grew crops, such as turnips, at both Seaton and Murcar on leased land and sold the crop on before harvest. This was not a trivial operation. At Murcar he was leasing 32 acres of land. Being a mason to trade Peter Nicol was involved in building construction and house sales, particularly in New Aberdeen in the Adelphi, just off the newly laid out main street, Union Street, then an upmarket area close to the commercial and administrative heart of the city. Put simply, Peter Nicol was a highly intelligent, driven individual to whom commercial success appeared to come easily.
James Nicol (1799)
resembled his father in intellect and work ethic but, with the benefit of his
father’s wealth behind him, proceeded to Marischal College, one of Aberdeen’s
two universities, about 1814. James
graduated MA from Marischal in 1816 and then appears to have become an apprentice
lawyer in the office of Alexander Cadenhead.
In 1820, James was admitted to the Aberdeen Society of Advocates and
established his own legal practice in Marischal Street, which runs from the east end of Union Street
in a southerly direction to Regent’s Quay.
Marischal Street was then (1820s and beyond) in the centre of commercial
activities relating to Aberdeen’s quays.
The firms located there included advocates, ship and insurance brokers,
shipping companies, a whaling company, stockbrokers and shipping agents. It was clear where the 21-year-old newly
qualified lawyer would be mainly pitching for business. James’ place of work shifted in 1822 to the
nearby Adelphi, to a building possibly built and owned by his father,
Peter. Later he moved to live in the
Adelphi, no 16, while his lawyer’s office was at no 17. Peter Nicol died in 1834 and his will
revealed that two sons, James and Alexander Nicol, had received a share of their
father’s assets before his death and had relinquished any further claim on his
estate, though no date has been discovered for this change. It is possible that James used his inheritance
to establish himself in his law business sometime after 1820
From the large
number of advertisements that he placed in the Aberdeen Journal, it is clear
that James Nicol’s legal practice was extensive. He also started to become involved in civic
life. By 1827 he was “Advocate, Clerk
and Consultor” for the Seven Incorporated Trades of Old Aberdeen and a Guild
Burgess the following year. In 1830 he
became Clerk to Mitchell’s Hospital in Old Aberdeen and also Town Clerk of that
ancient burgh. His attention then moved
to civic life in the much larger settlement of New Aberdeen. Six months after the passage into law of the
Great Reform Act of 1832, there was a meeting of gentlemen, favourable to the cause
of Reform, in the Royal Hotel, Aberdeen.
Sir Michael Bruce, who had agreed to stand as a candidate at the late
election, was being thanked for his efforts.
The meeting established a committee under the chairmanship of Sir John
Forbes of Craigievar, with James Nicol, Advocate, as Treasurer, to open a
subscription to buy a piece of plate for presentation to Sir Michael. James Nicol was mentioned in newspaper
reports of other civic activities at this time.
He became Treasurer of the Merchant Society in 1847, a Magistrate in
1848, and 1849 and City Treasurer between 1848 and 1850. The description of James Nicol Forbes’ father
as a “distinguished advocate and public figure” was entirely accurate.
Did James Nicol
play any role, financial or otherwise, in the upbringing of his illegitimate son? That is presently a matter solely for speculation,
though one interesting association has emerged.
Michael Stammers also reported that “as a young man he (James Nicol
Forbes) learnt the rudiments of his profession at Mr Milne’s school of
navigation in Marischal Street”. There
was a school in Marischal Street run by the Milne family which operated between
at least 1824 and 1841. It appeared not
to have been called a school of navigation but covered many subjects including
English, sewing, music and, in the case of Mr Robert Milne “Common Branches of
Education”. James Nicol Forbes began his
four years as an apprentice seaman in January 1836, so Mr Milne’s school was
certainly operating at an appropriate time.
Also, James Nicol Forbes’ sailing career began on an Aberdeen-registered
vessel, the “Craigievar”. Was James
Nicol influential at all in helping his illegitimate son’s marine career along
through Mr Milne’s school and/or securing an apprenticeship on the Craigievar,
given his local prominence, his office location and his business connections around
the Aberdeen quays?
James Nicol
married Barbara Allan (1801), the only daughter of Rev George Allan of Newhills
Parish, Aberdeenshire, five miles west of the city centre. Barbara’s father died on 1 July 1823 and the
couple married soon afterwards on 27 November 1823 at the bride’s mother’s
house in Methlick, 18 miles north of Aberdeen.
The couple went on to have a family of eight children, including
Isabella Jaffray Nicol, who had travelled out to Melbourne in the “Lightning”
in 1854. At least three other children
of the marriage, Louisa Penelope (1837), Elizabeth (1839) and Alexander (1841)
also emigrated to the Antipodes. The
three girls all travelled to Australia but their exact dates of travel and the
vessels on which they sailed have not been discovered. It is possible that Louisa Penelope and
Elizabeth also sailed in the early 1850s and might have journeyed, like
Isabella, on vessels commanded by James Nicol Forbes. James Nicol died at the young age of 55 on 18
March 1855. Sadly, he did not survive to
see the launch of the “Schomberg” and the lauding of his son, James Nicol, as her
master, in Aberdeen on 5 April, just three weeks later.
Having
established that James Nicol (1799) was the father of James Nicol Forbes, the
question now needs to be asked, who was his mother? “Forbes” does not appear to have been a Nicol
family name, so it is a reasonable assumption that the surname of James Nicol
Forbes’ mother was “Forbes”. What was
James Nicol Forbes’ birth date? It was
given as 16 November 1821 in Aberdeen by Forbes himself in his application to
be examined in Liverpool for his master’s ticket in 1852. If that was so, and there seems no reason to
doubt its veracity, he would have been conceived about mid-February 1821, in
the early months of his father’s career as a fully-fledged lawyer based in
Marischal Street, Aberdeen. A search of
the parish records for the whole of Scotland did not uncover an exact match for
the birth of a male child with the name “James Forbes” or “James Nicol Forbes”. There was only one suggestive entry. On 22 November 1821, Rev James McLachlan Jun
baptised James, the lawful child of George and Mary Forbes, in a Catholic
ceremony held at St Margaret’s RC Church, Huntly, located some 30 miles NW of
Aberdeen. However, even this entry looks
an unlikely candidate birth for James Nicol Forbes. George and Mary Forbes were still found in
Huntly at the 1841 and 1851 censuses. At
the former census, son James was living with them at a time when James Nicol
Forbes would have been plying his trade on the high seas. The identity and even the surname of James
Nicol Forbes’ mother thus remains elusive.
Did he adopt the name “James Nicol Forbes”, or was he baptised with
it? It is not known, but at the time of
his first marriage to Jane Duncan in 1849, James Nicol Forbes appears to have wrongly
and probably deliberately given the surname of his father as “Nicol Forbes”,
not “Nicol”. Was this to obscure his own
illegitimacy, yet retain the connection to his celebrity?
In most cases
of uncertain parentage, it is the mother who is certainly known and the father
whose identity is uncertain. With James
Nicol Forbes, the opposite situation holds.
Is it too remote in time to hope that someone reading this story might
produce the key piece of information that could solve the conundrum of the
identity of James Nicol Forbes’ mother?
Don Fox
20221027
No comments:
Post a Comment