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Showing posts with label Surat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surat. Show all posts

16 July 2017

Theodore Forbes, Eliza Kevork Their Male Descendants and Their Royal Cousins Princes William and Harry



It is already known and well documented that Scottish Theodore Forbes[1] and Indian-Armenian Eliza Kevork are ancestors of British Royals, Princes William and Harry respectively.

The direct male Forbes line of descendancy of
Theodore Forbes, Ann Macdonnell and Eliza Kevork


Theodore and Eliza had at least 3 children, Katherine Scott Forbes in 1812, Alexander Scott Forbes in 1814 and a third, possibly a boy who died as a baby.

Baptism record of Catherine Scott Forbes and Alexander Scott Forbes
via www.fibis.org 

The royal line can be traced through Katherine Scott Forbes’s marriage to James Crombie and their children, all of which is well documented in various family trees on a number of genealogy websites. More recently a number of news articles published world-wide both in print and digitally, have explored the direct relationship with the Princes, and it is not my intention to investigate this genealogy line today.

However, scarce recognition (so far) has been given about the life and descendants of Katherine Scott Forbes’s brother Alexander Scott Forbes.

But first, not so commonly known is the fact that Theodore Forbes also had another son, not with Indian-Armenian Eliza Kevork but borne by a Scottish woman called Ann Macdonnell.

Theodore Forbes acknowledged his illegitimate son in his Will.

The child was named Frederick Forbes, and is acknowledged by Theodore in his Will[2] as “my respected son Frederick by Ann Macdonnell of Aberdeenshire”. Little Frederick was bequeathed 20,000 Bombay Rupees, only 5,000 Rupees less than Alexander, the son Theodore had with Eliza Kevork. Frederick was born in Scotland on 22 November 1808 and it would seem that after Theodore’s death, Frederick came under the care of his uncle (Theodore’s brother) Alexander Forbes and his wife Annabella nee Reid and their children.

Conveniently ignoring his illegitimacy, Frederick became fully absorbed into the Forbes family, and he went on to graduate from Marischal University in 1827[3]. In 1831 Frederick was nominated by his cousin, John Forbes (son of Alexander Forbes the uncle that took in Frederick)  for entry into the East India Company as an Assistant Surgeon[4]. His preparations for a military career didn’t quite go to plan. Having studied medicine for some time, The Royal College of Surgeons in London wrote that Frederick was “found to be unqualified for the situation” and was therefore referred back to his professional studies for a further six months. Frederick was finally examined and passed as an Assistant Surgeon in February 1832.

The Royal College of Surgeons found Frederick Forbes "unqualified"


From the book: The Visit of Frederick Forbes to the Somali Coast in 1833” by Roy Bridges[5]: an explanation is give as to why: “…..Frederick found himself in the Gulf of Aden in the Red Sea in 1833 because his ship, the brig Tigris, had been ordered to Mocha to keep an eye on developments there as Mohammed Ali's campaigns against his nominal Turkish overlord proceeded…….


….at the time of his [Frederick’s] visit to the Somali Coast he was attached to the Indian Navy. His regrettably brief subsequent life shows that he was on the way to becoming a notable scholar-explorer. At this early stage he obviously had some hopes of travelling in Africa[6] but the accidents of his career led him to make expeditions in the Mesopotamian and Persian regions of South-West Asia.[7]

Frederick’s thesis in 1840 on the “Nature and History of Plague as Observed in the North Western Provinces of India” gained him a gold medal awarded by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Edinburgh. Touchingly, Frederick dedicated the book to his uncle 


 
“Alexander Forbes, Esquire
of
Boyndlie, Aberdeenshire.
This Treatise is Inscribed
As A
Mark Of Respect And Gratitude”

Like so many about to embark into unknown territories, Frederick made a Will on the 3rd April 1841 in Tehran, Persia.  Witnesses were Frederick Hughes of the Madras Company and Syeed Khan.  Frederick appointed “Charles Forbes Esquire or the managing partner for the time being of the firm of Forbes and Company, Bombay, Alexander Forbes Esquire of Boyndlie [his uncle] in the county of Aberdeen, and James Crombie [his half sister Kitty Forbe’s husband and ancestor to Princes William and Harry respectively] now lately residing at Swailand of Elrick in the parish of Newmachar and county of Aberdeen, to be the executors of this my will.”


Frederick ensured his mother (Ann) was provided an annuity for her lifetime.


Frederick’s Will is also evidence of his blood relationship to Alexander Scott Forbes.

I give and bequeath to Alexander Scott Forbes son of my late father
Theodore Forbes of Bombay........


Frederick’s last bequest: “I give and bequeath the residue of my personal estate whatsoever or wheresoever to my said executors Alexander Forbes and James Crombie for their absolute use and benefit for and on account of the trouble they may have in the performance of the trusts of this my will, to be equally divided between them, their heirs or assigns.”

Frederick Forbes left the residue of his estate to his uncle, Alexander Forbes and James Crombie, his half sister Kitty's husband.

 Just 5 months later, in September 1841 Frederick was murdered. 



“Intelligence was yesterday received at Agra of the murder of Dr. Forbes, by Ibrahim Khan, the Beelochee chief of Seistan.  Dr. Forbes, under the protection of Mohumud Reza Khan, the most influential chieftain in Seistan, had completed the circuit of the lake [at Seistan] and visited all sites of interest in the province, accompanied by one Persian servant. From the residence of Mohumud Reza Khan he was escorted to Jehanabad, the fort of Ibrahim Khan, Beelochee, and after remaining with that chief a few days, he left for Sash, with a party of Ibrahim Khan’s horse for a guide.  The Khan joined him at a short distance from the fort; they breakfasted together in a friendly manner, and Dr. F. was immediately murdered. Our report says, that being attacked by a large hound brought out to hunt the hog, he shot it in self-defence, and the Khan in a moment of irritation immediately fired on him.  The other and more probable story is, that the Khan, on pretence of examining his arms, got possession of his gun, pistols, and sword, then immediately gave the signal to his horsemen, who seized the doctor, dragged him through the water of the lake until he was half-drowned, and when he was brought out, the Khan shot him with his own hand.  His Persian attendant was barbarously murdered a day or two after.[8]

Nearly 10 years with the East India Company, and he was dead at 34.

Direct male Forbes descendants of Theodore and Eliza Forbes
 
Turning now to Alexander Scott Forbes, son of Theodore and Eliza. He married Elizabeth Cobb 29 June 1865 at Dundee, her father James was a Scottish weaver. Alexander and Elizabeth had two children Catherine Forbes in June 1866[9] and Frederick Forbes in February 1869[10]. Alexander Scott Forbes was an insurance agent and comfortably placed financially, so much so that they also fostered two other children Louis and Jenny Mudie[11]. Alexander Scott Forbes died 7 April 1887[12] and by 1891 his widow Elizabeth and their son Frederick where living alone in the family house 14 Ann Street, Arbroath, Scotland. Elizabeth’s income derived from her husband’s estate whilst Frederick was a clerk with a shoe manufacturing company.

Birth record for Frederick Forbes



Alexander and Elizabeth Forbes’s son Frederick married Agnes Low Petrie 27 December 1897 in Arbroath[13]. Agnes was a working girl and employed as a flax reeler, her father was a hairdresser. Frderick and Agnes had 3 children, Elizabeth Ross Forbes born 1898[14], David Buik Forbes born 1903[15] and Ethel Agnes Forbes born 1904[16]. Frederick Forbes was a commercial traveller/shoe salesman, he died of pneumonia in 1909 in Arbroath[17], the death was registered by his brother-in-law Alexander Buik (who had married Catherine, Frederick’s sister in 1888 in Arbroath) leaving Agnes with 3 young children to bring up alone.

 
Birth record of David Buik Forbes


The vast fortune that had been left to Alexander Scott Forbes by his father Theodore in his Will of 21 September 1820 was diminishing, In the Will Theodore wrote days before his fateful demise: “To my respected son Alexander Scott Forbes by the said Eliza Kewark [sic] and now in India where it is my wish that he should remain, the sum of twenty five thousand 25, 000 Bombay Rupees.” A handsome bequest for the day.

By 1920, Agnes’s eldest daughter Elizabeth had struck up a blossoming friendship  with a fellow Scot, James A. Keith. He was a grocer’s assistant and in December of that year sailed from Liverpool to New York[18] with a view to starting a new life.  It is this innocuous migration of an unrelated Scottish lad that would end up influencing the remaining Forbes family to leave Scotland and start their own new lives in the land of the brave and the free.

On the 23rd June 1923 (Elizabeth) Lizzie Forbes sailed from Glasgow to Boston to meet James Keith, a month later on the 6th August James and Lizzie had married in Troy, Rensselaer, New York[19] a town which would become the home of the migrated Forbes whose roots where originally from India. Lizzie and Keith had two children, Ronald Bruce Keith born 1926 died 2006 and David Forbes Keith born 1929 died 1985.

Missing her daughter and with nothing to keep her and the two remaining children in Scotland, Agnes followed Lizzie to New York in September 1925[20], taking David and Ethel with her. The three of them took up residence in Stow Avenue, Troy, David found employment as a book-keeper whilst Ethel was a cashier.

In 1928 Agnes’s son, David Buik Forbes married a Scottish woman called Una Smith moving just a few houses away in Stow Avenue. David and Una lived in several locations but stayed in Troy for the rest of their days.


In September 1929[21] Agne’s daughter, Ethel married Alexander Smith a migrant Scot like herself. With David and his sister Ethel now married, Agnes moved in with James, Lizzie and their family, where she lived out her days, dying in 1939. 

Image via findagrave.com

Agnes is remembered on a marker stone at Elmwood Hill Cemetery along with that of her son-in-law James Keith who at the time of his death in 1956, had been the manager of the Mohican Markets in Troy and Albany for 20 years. Agnes’s beloved daughter Lizzie Keith died in 1963 and had been an integral member of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church choir for over 40 years[22]. Remembered on the same memorial is one of James and Elizabeth’s children David Forbes Keith.

David and Una Forbes had two children a boy and girl and thus continued the direct male Forbes descendancy from Theo and Eliza of Surat in India. David was a salesman for over 20 years with the Tetley Tea Co and heavily involved with community life in Troy whilst Una worked for the Denby’s department store and became a well loved and trusted member of staff.


It might come as a surprise that today there are living descendants in New York who share the same common ancestors of Princes William and Harry, Scottish Theodore Forbes and Indian Armenian Eliza Kevork.



[1] For the personal papers of Theodore Forbes including letters from Eliza Kevork to her daughter Kitty Forbes see GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections, MS2740: Ogilvie-Forbes, various family members in India, including merchants William Forbes and Theodore Forbes, and in military service, including Captain William Ogilvie and Dr Frederick Forbes: 19th century. http://calms.abdn.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqServer=Calms&dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28RefNo%3D%27MS%202740%27%29

[2] British Library: L/AG/34/29/344
[3] Roll of the Indian Medical Service 1615-1930
[4] British Library: Cadet Paper L/MIL/9-382
[5] The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 19, No. 4 (1986), pp.679-691. Frederick Forbes left a manuscript journal record of his cruise along the Somali coast and experiences in Berbera in 1833-1834.
[6] Journal of Frederick Forbes, 29 February 1836
[7] More details on Forbes's family background and life appear in Roy C. Bridges, "An Aberdeenshire Family and the Indian-African Connection in the Early Nineteenth Century," An African Miscellany for John Hargreaves, Roy Bridges, ed. (Aberdeen, 1983), 5-10. Forbes's Asian journeys of note were recorded in Journal Royal Geographical Society, IX (1839), 409-430 and XIV (1844), 145-192. Forbes also wrote a medical treatise, Thesis on the Nature and History of the Plague as Observed in the North West Provinces of India ... (Edinburgh and London, 1840)

[8] Agra Ukhbar, 16 September 1841
[9] Scottish Statutory Registers: Births 272/ 0 319
[10] Scottish Statutory Registers: Births 272/0 151
[11] Evidence of this can be seen in the Scottish 1881 census
[12] Scottish Statutory Registers: Deaths 272/ 124
[13] Scottish Statutory Register: Marriages 272/ 1 199
[14] Scottish Statutory Register: Births 272/ 1 539
[15] Scottish Statutory Register: Births 272/1 70
[16] Scottish Statutory Register: Births 272/1 442
[17] Scottish Statutory Register: Deaths 272/1 19
[18] Ancestry.com: New York\u002C Passenger Lists\u002C 1820-1957
[19] Troy Irish Genealogy Society Rensselaer County Marriage Index Vols. 4 & 5

[20] Ancestry.com the New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957. Glasgow to New York 25 September 1925

[21] Troy Irish Genealogy Society Rensselaer County Marriage Index Vol. 9
[22] The Troy Record, 25 March 1963

27 June 2016

The Oldest Christian Grave in Chennai is Armenian



                                                                                                     
This story is brought to you with the support of the
AGBU UK Trust.
                                                                                                    

Some of the oldest Christian graves and tombstones in India and Bangladesh are Armenian.


*NOTE: The hyperlinks in square brackets [ ] do not work in this blog, please scroll to the bottom to read the links.*

Madras


For many a tourist, the start of an afternoon’s visit to a small church in Chennai begins at the foot of a large flight of stone steps, leading on to the Little Mount Catholic Church of ‘Our Lady of Good Health’. Already they have missed a significant monument of historical importance, one that has been written about many times, but for some reason not popular enough to photograph and record as they eagerly climb up to visit the wonders of the church and its caves. The language is unfamiliar to many, the script tricky for locals to read; Armenian history is at their feet as the daily routines of people pass by.  It is the oldest Christian grave in Madras, and it is Armenian.

Forgotten.
But not any longer.

Images courtesy of Very Rev. Fr. Oshagan Gulgulian


A record of the inscription can be found in at least two books, Mesrovb Seth’s ‘Armenians in India’ as well as a ‘List of Inscriptions on Tombs or Monuments in Madras’ by Julian James Cotton, but no images have so far made it in to the public domain.

Described as a milestone in shape, and perhaps maybe even mistaken as such in this busy city, the tombstone, dated 1663 of Khojah Margar, is one of a handful of the oldest Christian graves in India that happens to be Armenian. The others can be found in Surat, Agra, Calcutta, Chinsurah and Dacca respectively.



For those interested in knowing about the other centuries old Christian graves and monuments in India that are Armenian, here is a brief summary.

Agra


The Martyrose Chapel



Images from the private archive of Liz Chater

I expected the Armenian cemetery at Agra to be a little worse for wear and care, but I couldn’t have been more mistaken.  It is incredibly well preserved and conserved by the local Agra authorities, the grounds and shrubbery are well kempt and some of the stones and their inscriptions look as fresh and clear as the day they were carved.

Mesrovb Seth writing of the Martyrose Chapel said: “This Mausoleum which is not built of marble, like the world-famed Taj, is nevertheless the oldest Christian structure in Northern India. It was erected in 1611 at the old Armenian Cemetery”.

Agra Municipality are clearly showing their sympathies towards these beautiful historic stones and structure, making wonderful efforts in creating an attractive location for tourists to visit.


Image courtesy of Liz Chater’s private archive


Although not the original stone, there is a marker inside the chapel remembering the earliest Armenian burial in Agra, Khwaja Mortenepus, 1611.


Calcutta


Probably the most well known in the group of oldest Christian tombstones, is situated at the Armenian Church in Calcutta. A modern day plaque in English placed there in 1971 rests upon an 18th century intricately carved stone, bearing an inscription and date of 1630.  “This is the tomb of Rezabeebeh, the wife of the late charitable Sookias, who departed from this world to life eternal on the 21st day of Nakha in the year 15 i.e., on the 21st July, 1630.”

It is in the compound of the churchyard where other interesting tombstones and inscriptions can be found.

Image courtesy of the private archive of Liz Chater


Chinsurah


The Armenian Church in Chinsurah is the second oldest church in Bengal. It was erected by the Marcar family. Johannes Marcar laid the foundation for the church in 1695. He died just two years later and was buried inside the church. Protected from sun, wind and rain, it is in wonderfully good condition.

Image courtesy of the private archive of Liz Chater

The transcription is a combination of Mesrovb Seth’s work and present day scholar and historian Sebouh Aslanian to whom I am most grateful for his up-to-date translation: THIS IS THE TOMB WHEREIN LIES INTERRED THE FAMOUS QARIB [GHARIB OR STRANGER/WANDERER] CALLED KHWAJA JOHANNESS, THE SON OF MARCAR OF JULFA, FROM THE CITY OF SHOSH. HE WAS AN EMINENT MERCHANT, HONORED BY KINGS AND RESPECTED BY PRINCES. HE WAS HANDSOME AND AMIABLE AND HAD TRAVELED SOUTH, NORTH, WEST AND ALL THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE WORLD. HE DIED SUDDENLY, ON 27TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1697 IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTRY, AT THE CITY OF HUGLI, AND DELIVERED HIS SOUL INTO THE HANDS OF THE ANGEL AND RESTED HERE WITH NOSTALGIA FOR A HOME.

THE END OF THE WORLD SHALL COME, THE CROSS OF THE EAST WILL DAWN, THE TRUMPETS OF GABRIEL WILL BE BLOWN SUDDENLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, THE SEAT OF JUDGMENT WILL BE SET UP THAT THE BRIDEGROOM SHALL COME AND SIT THEREON AND SAY "COME YE THE BLESSED OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER." AND MAY HE DEEM HIM [KHWAJAH JOHANNESS MARCAR] EQUALLY WORTHY LIKE THE FIVE WISE VIRGINS, TO BE IN READINESS TO ENTER THE SACRED PAVILION WHICH ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS THAT ARE ON THE RIGHT, CAN INHERIT.

OH YE WHO MAY COME ACROSS THIS TOMB PRAY FOR HIM EARNESTLY AND MAY GOD HAVE MERCI ON YOUR PARENTS AND ON ME, REVEREND GREGORY WHO AM A NATIVE OF ERIVAN. HERE ENDETH THE TRANSCRIPTION."

Surat

 
In January 1907 when Mesrovb Seth was travelling around India recording Armenian tombstones and gathering research material for his book, he visited the Armenian cemetery in Surat.  There he came across a tombstone of an Armenian lady who died in Surat in 1579 A.D.

Having seen the stone, Mesrovb Seth gave the following inscription, translated from ancient Armenian verse,

"In this tomb lies buried the body of the noble
lady, who was named Marinas, the wife of the priest
Woskan. She was a crown to her husband, according
to the proverbs of Solomon. She was taken to the Lord
of Life, a soul-afflicting cause of sorrow to her faithful
husband, in the year one thousand and twenty eight of
our Armenian era, on the fifteenth day of November at
the first hour of Friday, at the age of 53.
Ye who see this tomb, pray to the Lord to grant mercy.”

The year 1028 of the Armenian era is equivalent to the
year 1579 A.D.

Sadly, it would seem that this particular stone is no longer visible, or perhaps has simply been overlooked. The cemetery is being well cared for by the Surat Municipality and monitored by the Science Museum and I know the museum regularly check the condition of the stones. The staff are very proud and tremendously passionate about the treasures in their care. However this particular grave does not appear to be in their inventory.

The oldest surviving marker stone is in the Mortuary Chapel at Surat belongs to the late Kalendar Kalendar, carved on what looks like a piece of ancient wood, and, according to Seth says:


This is the tomb of Kalandar, the son of Phanoos Kalandar of Julfa, who departed this life on Saturday, the 6th day of March 1695.

Image courtesy of Sanjay Choksi Surat Science Museum


Thank you Surat for the care and preservation you do for the remaining Armenian tombstones.


Dacca


Inside the Roman Catholic church (Note: Not the Armenian church) of "Our Lady of Rosary," at Tejgaon, two and half miles from Dacca, on the Dacca-Mymensingh Road, built in 1677, there are some old graves of Armenians who died at Dacca between the years 1714 and 1795.

Image courtesy of The Daily Star, Bangladesh from a series of articles on the Armenians in Dhaka, June 2013

The oldest Armenian marker in the cemetery is this one: “This is the tomb and resting place of Avietis the merchant, who was the son of Lazar of Erivan, whom may Christ and His Second Advent find worthy of His presence. In the year 1714 August 15[1].”

Referring once again to Mesrovb Seth’s ‘Armenians In India[2]’, he notes that,  “there is also an inscription in Portuguese, in which the date of his death is given “7 de Junho” (7th June). We cannot account for this discrepancy, but we are inclined to think that the date given in the Armenian inscription is the correct one, as the old Armenians were very particular about dates.”

It is sad that more of the very old Armenian stones and markers in India, Bangladesh and SE Asia have not survived the years, but at the same time we are very lucky that many still do survive and are falling under the protection of relevant bodies that recognise their significance in the combined history of India and Armenia.

Important historical graves exist today in the Armenian Church at Dhaka. My book, “Armenian Graves Inscriptions and Memorials in India: DACCA” is the first publication to catalogue in full the remaining tombstones in the Armenian language with English translations. For many years they were locked in the beautiful ancient Armenian language but accessible only to a limited audience. This book releases these astonishing inscriptions to the world-wide family history researcher and for the first time, allows them to trace their Armenian ancestry in Bangladesh.

To preview a selection of pages or purchase the book, please use the link.



If you ever find yourself in Chennai, take a visit to The Little Mount but look for Khojah Margar before you climb the steps to the caves.


[1] Full transcription extracted from Bengal Past and Present short article on the Armenian Church of Dacca, 1916.
[2] Armenians In India P.571. For a free download of this out of copyright publication https://archive.org/details/ArmeniansInIndia_201402