1732-1931
Guide to the Microfilm Edition
Sponsored by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Abstract
This collection consists of the correspondence and other papers of the Forbes family of Milton, Mass., mostly Robert Bennet Forbes (1804-1889), Francis Blackwell Forbes (1839-1908), and James Murray Forbes (1845-1937).
Biographical Sketch
The first member of the Forbes family to come to the United States was the Rev. John Forbes (1740-1783), a member of a distinguished Scottish family. Appointed minister at St. Augustine's in 1763, Forbes emigrated to East Florida the following year. From the beginning, the position was difficult and unrewarding, and the climate injurious to Forbes's health. In 1769, he traveled to Boston, where he married Dorothy Murray (1745-1837), a member of another well-known Scottish family and the daughter of loyalist James Murray. The couple spent some time in Florida in the early years of their marriage, but Dorothy Murray Forbes eventually returned to Boston with the children. From 1763 to 1783, John Forbes served in a variety of governmental positions; he was a member of the Governor's Council and held various judgeships, including the position of chief justice. When the Revolution came, John Forbes and East Florida remained loyal to the crown until, in 1783, the area was ceded to Spain in the Treaty of Paris. Forbes returned to England and died later that same year.
John Forbes and Dorothy Murray Forbes had three sons: James Grant Forbes (1769-1825), John Murray Forbes (1771-1831), and Ralph Bennet Forbes (1773-1824). The eldest, James Grant Forbes, moved to England with his father in 1783. The second son, John Murray Forbes, born in East Florida and brought up in Milton, Mass., was a Harvard classmate and friend of John Quincy Adams. After practicing law for a short time in Boston, he moved to Europe in the late 1790s. From 1801 to 1819, he served as consul for the United States, first in Copenhagen and then in Hamburg, paying particular attention to commercial issues. When he returned to the United States, he was asked by newly appointed Secretary of State John Quincy Adams to represent the U.S. in Argentina, where he served with distinction until his death in 1831.
Ralph Bennet Forbes, the third son of John Forbes and Dorothy Murray Forbes, became a merchant. In 1799, he married Margaret Perkins, the sister of well-known Boston merchants James and Thomas Handasyd Perkins. In the early 1800s, he engaged in some unsuccessful commercial ventures in Europe. Ralph Bennet Forbes and Margaret Perkins Forbes had three sons: Thomas Tunno Forbes (1802-1829), Robert Bennet Forbes (1804-1889), and John Murray Forbes (1813-1898). One significant incident in the Forbes family occurred in 1811, when Margaret Perkins Forbes and her two older sons, sailing on the Midas to meet Forbes at Marseilles, were captured by British patrols and, after some difficulty, finally returned to the United States.
Thomas Tunno Forbes was the first in the Forbes family to take an active part in the China trade. As a young man, he was sent to the Far East by his uncles James and Thomas Handasyd Perkins to represent their commercial interests in China. Thomas Tunno Forbes and fellow agent John P. Cushing were just getting established when Forbes was drowned in a typhoon in 1829. After his death, the Perkinses, having already established close connections with the powerful Hong merchant Houqua, joined forces with the firm of Russell & Co., which went on to dominate American commerce in the Far East throughout the 19th century.
Ralph Bennet Forbes's second son, Robert Bennet Forbes, attended Milton Academy for 3 years, but due to his father's financial difficulties, had to leave school and go to work. After a short stint as clerk for his Perkins uncles, he sailed to China at the age of 13 and eventually became a sea captain and China trader associated with Russell & Co. Receiving his first command at the age of 20, he was prosperous enough at 28 to return to Boston and set up shop as a merchant. In 1834, he married Rose Greene Smith (1802-1885), and the couple moved to Milton, Mass., where Forbes had built a house the previous year. Unfortunately, Forbes was hit hard by the Panic of 1837 and was forced to return to China to rebuild his fortune. He lived in the Far East from 1837 to 1840 and again from 1849 to 1851; during that time, he became the head of Russell & Co., played a prominent role in the outbreak of the Opium War, and served as United States vice-consul. In 1847, distressed at accounts of the famine in Ireland, he convinced the federal government to make the U.S.S. Jamestown available for relief purposes, and he himself took command of the mission. In 1851, he returned to Boston and became a ship-owner and ship-builder, later using his expertise to assist the Northern cause during the Civil War by acting as a consultant in the construction of gunboats and building warships for the Union Navy.
After the war, Captain Robert Bennet Forbes retired from business and embarked on a new career as a philanthropist and writer. He wrote several pamphlets on methods and devices for improving the safety of ocean travel. He was one of the first to propose East-West sea lanes in the Atlantic to prevent mid-ocean collisions, and he supported Lieutenant Matthew F. Maury's efforts to create wind and sea charts, assisting Maury for many years in collecting statistical information. Forbes maintained an interest in ship construction and rigging and developed a rig for sailing vessels that bore his name. He also helped to establish a home for retired sailors in Massachusetts and was an active supporter of the Massachusetts Humane Society, serving on its board of directors for many years. Between 1868 and 1869, Forbes and his wife spent a year in Pau, France, and he later made several excursions to the American West.
Ralph Bennet Forbes's third son, John Murray Forbes, like his two older brothers, went to China at an early age and soon acquired a great fortune. Unlike them, he then transferred his business interests to projects within the United States, especially railroads. He was the driving force behind the construction of the Michigan Central and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroads, serving as president of the latter in the 1880s. During the Civil War, he aided the Northern cause in many ways: he acted as consultant to the Navy, traveled to England to prevent the Laird "rams" from falling into Confederate hands, and urged Lincoln to allow the enlistment of more African American troops. John Murray Forbes and his wife Sarah Hathaway Forbes had a daughter named Mary Hathaway Forbes. Their son William Hathaway Forbes (1840-1897) married Edith Emerson in 1865 and became the first president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.
Robert Bennet Forbes and Rose Smith Forbes had three children: Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr. (1837-1891), Edith Forbes (1843-1925), and James Murray Forbes (1845-1937). The eldest, Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., proved a disappointment to his father for his spendthrift ways. He never married and died only two years after his father. Edith Forbes was a devoted daughter and a correspondent of her father's. In 1864, she married Charles Elliott Perkins, and they moved to Burlington, Iowa, where Perkins became president of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. James Murray Forbes followed in his father's footsteps and became a prosperous China merchant. After attending school in Concord, Mass., he went to the Far East in 1863 at the age of 18 and spent most of the next 10 years there. Starting as a clerk with Russell & Co., he advanced rapidly in the firm and, in 1871, returned to the United States a wealthy man. That same year, he married Alice Bowditch, granddaughter of navigator Nathaniel Bowditch, and the couple settled permanently in Boston and Milton.
Francis "Frank" Blackwell Forbes (1839-1908) was the son of clergyman John Murray Forbes (1807-1885), the grandson of James Grant Forbes, and the great-grandson of Rev. John Forbes. He had a brother named John Murray Forbes, Jr. (1844-1921) and a sister named Adelaide Forbes Carmichael. In 1857, after a secondary-school education at the Columbia College Grammar School in New York, Francis Blackwell Forbes went to China, where he became a partner in Russell & Co. He was also active in the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company, which operated a fleet of flat-bottomed steamers up and down the Yangtze River. In 1867, he married Isabel Clarke, and they had three sons: Francis Murray Forbes (1874-1961), who lived with James Murray Forbes while he was in school and starting off in business; Charles Stuart Forbes (1877-1949); and James Grant Forbes (1879-1955). Their daughter Isobel Forbes married Albert de Mimont.
While in the Far East, Francis Blackwell Forbes developed an interest in Chinese botany and became a leading specialist in the subject. He also took part in promoting what became the Shanghai Country Club, served as consul in Shanghai for Norway and Sweden, and wrote some papers on the Burlingame Mission. In the early 1880s, Forbes moved from China to Europe, spending most of the next 20 years in England and France. He became managing director of the Serrell Automatic Silk Reeling Company and was hit hard by the company's failure in 1894, as well as the earlier failure of Russell & Co. in 1891. During the later years of his life, he became interested in bimetallism and corresponded widely with silverites in Europe and the United States.
Francis Blackwell Forbes's uncle, Paul Siemen Forbes (1808-1886), also lived in China during the same period. He had three sons: William Howell Forbes (1837-1896), Henry De Courcy Forbes (1849-1920), and Paul Revere Forbes (1860-1936).
For a genealogical chart of the members of the Forbes family that appear in this collection, see the Appendix: Condensed Genealogy of the Forbes Family.
Collection Description
The Forbes family papers consist of the correspondence and other papers of the Forbes family of Milton, Mass. mostly Robert Bennet Forbes (1804-1889), Francis Blackwell Forbes (1839-1908), and James Murray Forbes (1845-1937). The collection primarily documents the commercial activities of various members of the family engaged in the China trade and other business interests during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Other subjects include: the ships Macedonian and Jamestown and their voyages to relieve the Irish famine; the ships Niantic, Coquette, Canton Packet, and Alert; sea-faring life; botany in China; the Massachusetts Humane Society; bimetallism; the Opium War; descriptions of Canton, China; and the history of Shanghai. Among the many correspondents are the merchant firms T. H. Perkins & Sons, Baring Bros., and Russell & Co., as well as the Hong merchant Houqua, Robert C. Winthrop, National Bowditch and other Bowditch family members, Benjamin F. Butler, George Bancroft, Theodore Lyman, Alfred Richardson, and others.
The collection also contains scrapbooks and diaries, including the diaries of John Cunningham (1839), James Murray Forbes (1857-1858, 1874-1875, 1884-1930), Mary Hathaway Forbes (1859-1861), and Alice Bowditch Forbes (1871). Other diaries describe a voyage to Greenland in the schooner Nautilus by an unknown author (1860), a trip to China by James Murray Forbes (1870-1871), and a trip to Germany and Spain by Paul Revere Forbes (1883).
For a list of select individuals, organizations, places, events, ships, and subjects of significance that appear in the collection, see the Select Index below.
Arrangement
This collection has been broken down into 6 series, each of which is subdivided into numbers. The 6 series are as follows: I. Robert Bennet Forbes letterbooks, consisting of 38 numbers (Reel 1-10); II. Robert Bennet Forbes papers, consisting of 17 numbers (Reel 11-20); III. Francis Blackwell Forbes letterbooks, consisting of 11 numbers (Reel 21-24); IV. Francis Blackwell Forbes papers, consisting of 20 numbers (Reel 25-37); V. James Murray Forbes papers, consisting of 21 numbers (Reel 38-41); and VI. Forbes miscellany, consisting of 12 numbers (Reel 42-47). Many of the numbers have been further subdivided into individual folders. A single number may contain anywhere from 3 or 4 documents to 15 or 20 folders.
Omitted from the microfilm edition of this collection are papers dated after World War I--for example, some letters of Allan Forbes written in the 1930s and 1940s--and papers of distant relatives of wives of Forbes family members, such as material on the Civil War activities of a member of the Amory family. With these two exceptions, everything in the Forbes family collection has been microfilmed.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the China Trade Museum, Milton, Mass., 1984.
Other Formats
Digital facsimiles of most of the Forbes family papers are available on China, America and the Pacific, a digital publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This digital resource is available at subscribing libraries; speak to your local librarian to determine if your library has access. The MHS makes this resource available onsite; see a reference librarian for more information.
Digital facsimiles of the logs of the ship Alert and schooner Nautilus are available on Life at Sea, a digital publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This digital resource is available at subscribing libraries; speak to your local librarian to determine if your library has access. The MHS makes this resource available onsite; see a reference librarian for more information.
Papers of Forbes family members have been published in:
Forbes, John Murray. Letters and Recollections of John Murray Forbes. Ed. Sarah Forbes Hughes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1899.
Forbes, John Murray. Reminiscences of John Murray Forbes. Ed. Sarah Forbes Hughes. Boston: George H. Ellis, 1902.
Forbes, John Murray. Letters (Supplementary) of John Murray Forbes. Ed. Sarah Forbes Hughes. Boston: George H. Ellis, 1905.
Forbes, Robert Bennet. Personal Reminiscences. Boston: Little Brown, 1892.
Forbes, Robert Bennet. Letters from China: The Canton-Boston Correspondence of Robert Bennet Forbes, 1838-1840. Ed. Phyllis Forbes Kerr. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1996.
Perkins, Charles Elliott, and Edith Forbes Perkins. Family Letters, 1861-1869. Ed. Edith Perkins Cunningham. Boston: Privately printed, 1949.
Perkins, Edith Forbes. Letters and Journals of Edith Forbes Perkins, 1908-1925. Ed. Edith Perkins Cunningham. [Cambridge, Mass.]: Printed at the Riverside Press for private distribution, 1931.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Expand allI. Robert Bennet Forbes letterbooks, 1825-1889
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in China, South America, Europe, and the United States to T. H. Perkins & Sons, Baring Bros., Russell & Co., John P. Cushing, Thomas T. Forbes, William Sturgis, and others, including a long account of Robert Bennet Forbes's troubles getting out of the River Plata in 1827, 1825-1832
Notes on the remission of funds to the Far East, packing goods for the China trade, and specific goods, including cloth, birds' nests, shark fins, ginseng, fish, coral, and opium, 1828-1829 [?]
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes about the voyage to China, daily life in Canton, and business dealings with Russell & Co., 1838-1839
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes about daily life in Canton, 1838
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes about life in Canton, Macao, Hong Kong, and aboard the bark Trenton, written in the form of a journal, 1839
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes about life in Canton and aboard various vessels in local waters, written in the form of a journal, and letters to Margaret Perkins Forbes, 1839-1840
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes and Margaret Perkins Forbes about life in Canton and his plans to return home because of the Opium War, 1840
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes about his voyage from Macao to New York on the ship Niantic, written in the form of a journal, 1840
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Samuel Mather and George S. Paine, 1840
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes about a trip to Europe, 1841
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Thomas G. Cary, Margaret P. Forbes, and F. H. Delano, 1841-1845
Report by Robert Bennet Forbes on the expedition of the ship Jamestown to relieve Irish famine, letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston to President Polk, David Henshaw, Josiah Quincy, Jr., William Rathbone in Liverpool, and various firms in China, letters to Lieutenant Matthew F. Maury and ship captains about navigational matters, and letters to Boston associates about local concerns, 1847-1848
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston to ship captains, Lieutenant M. F. Maury, Robert C. Winthrop, Cary & Co. in New York, and other firms in England and the United States, with index, 1848
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston to Baring Bros. and Forbes Forbes & Co. in London, William Rathbone in Liverpool, James Scott & Co. in Ireland, and others, with index, 1848
Mostly letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes, Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., and John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) about his voyage to Canton via Europe and Egypt, 1849
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes and Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., about life in Canton and Hong Kong, 1849-1850
Letters from Rose Smith Forbes and Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., to Robert Bennet Forbes in China about Forbes family life in Milton during his absence, 1849-1851
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to Joseph Lyman, T. H. Perkins, W. W. Swann, and Margaret P. Forbes, with index, 1849-1850
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to Rose Smith Forbes about life in Canton, written in the form of a journal, and letters to Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., and others, 1850
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to various ship captains, partners in Russell & Co., F. T. Bush in Hong Kong, Henry and James Sturgis in Hong Kong and Macao, Edward Cunningham, and Paul Siemen Forbes, with index, 1850-1851
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston and Milton to Russell & Co., the Sturgises in Canton, Edward Cunningham in Shanghai, D. N. Spooner and Warren Delano in Canton, Rathbone Bros. in Liverpool, Baring Bros. in London, Lieutenant M. F. Maury in Washington, W. H. Seward, Charles Sumner, various ship captains and shipbuilders, and some family members, 1851-1852
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston to J. P. Cushing and Edward and James Cunningham in China, Paul Siemen Forbes in Paris and China, Russell Sturgis in London, Warren Delano, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Daniel Webster, Charles Francis Adams, W. H. Seward, Lewis Cass, N. P. Banks, and various ship captains, with index, 1851-1861
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston to Baring Bros., Bates & Co. of Boston, W. R. Bush, Cary & Co. of New York, Nelson Curtis, Gustavus V. Fox, Commodore F. H. Gregory, Admiral S. P. Lee, S. M. Pook, Russell & Co., Gideon Welles, and various ship captains, with index, 1862-1863
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston and Milton to Gustavus V. Fox, Admiral S. P. Lee, Admiral F. H. Gregory, Admiral L. M. Goldsborough, John and Edward Cunningham, Warren Delano, various members of the Forbes family in China, Charles Sumner, R. C. Winthrop, Russell Sturgis in London, and various ship captains, including letters about Civil War matters and Robert Bennet Forbes's part in them, with index, 1863-1865
Mostly letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston and Milton to James Murray Forbes in China, 1865-1866
Mostly letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Pau, France, to James Murray Forbes and Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., including loose documents from the volume, 1868-1869
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to Rose Smith Forbes, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Charles E. Perkins, Benjamin F. Butler, and various officials in the Navy Department, 1877-1878
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to John P. Bayley, Edward Cunningham, Warren Delano, H. W. Hubbell, S. I. Kimball, Richard Lewis, A. A. Low, Commodore F. A. Parker, and Russell Sturgis, letters from John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) and Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., to Robert Bennet Forbes, and a history of Russell & Co. by Robert Bennet Forbes, with index, 1878-1879
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., James Murray Forbes, Charles E. Perkins, A. H. Clark, John P. Cushing, John Ericsson, J. S. Paine, L. R. Hamersley & Co. in Philadelphia, B. S. Osborn, Admiral J. R. Ward in London, and various naval officers, with index, 1879-1880
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., James Murray Forbes, William Hathaway Forbes, Warren Delano, John Ericsson, Hannibal Hamlin, George B. Hanover, W. C. Hunter in Paris, Senator George F. Hoar, S. I. Kimball, A. A. Low, Richard Lewis, Admiral John Rodgers, Russell Sturgis in London, H. A. Whitney, and various naval officers, with index, 1880-1881
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., James Murray Forbes, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Charles E. Perkins, Sir Thomas Brassy in England, Admiral George H. Preble, General M. B. Hazen, Lieutenant-Commander F. E. Chadwick, Senator George F. Hoar, and Philip K. Dumaresq, with index, 1881-1883
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Rose Smith Forbes, Admiral D. D. Porter, Admiral J. R. Ward, Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge, and Admiral C. P. R. Rogers, Commodore R. W. Shufeldt, John Ericsson, David W. Low, S. H. Pook, and various Scottish mercantile houses, with index, 1883
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to E. Bell in London, H. and D. C. Babson in Gloucester, Mass., B. W. Crowninshield, Captain G. W. Creasy, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), William Hathaway Forbes, W. C. Hunter, S. I. Kimball, J. D. Long, H. A. Pierce, Captain Pryce Protheroe, H. E. Scudder, and E. S. Tobey, with index, 1883-1885
Family letters and memoranda from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to Rose Smith Forbes, Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., and James Murray Forbes about Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr.'s financial irresponsibilities and other subjects, with index, 1883-1886
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to D. J. Dixwell, W. Delano, Sir Roderic Cameron, General J. A. Cunningham, John Ericsson, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), James Murray Forbes, George H. Folger, E. E. Hale, W. C. Hunter, S. I. Kimball, Inspector D. M. C. Long, D. McLean, A. A. Low, Richard Olney, Charles and Edith Forbes Perkins, H. S. Russell, Moorfield Storey, Roland Worthington, and various government officials and naval officers, 1885-1886
Business letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton and Boston to W. S. Barrett, J. W. Collins, Arthur H. Clark, James Murray Forbes, Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., Captain A. W. Greely, W. C. Hunter, S. I. Kimball, A. A. Low, Charles and Edith Forbes Perkins, Admiral D. D. Porter, Peck & Snyder, J. C. Rogers, Commodore W. S. Schley, Moorfield Storey, Russell Sturgis, E. A. Tonzalien, George L. Vose, and other business associates, 1886-1889
Letters and memoranda from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton, mostly about famous voyages, shipwrecks, and rescues, including accounts of the voyages of the Jamestown and Macedonian to relieve the Irish famine and a few family letters, with index, 1889
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Milton to various newspaper editors about safety at sea, with index, 1889
Two drafts of Robert Bennet Forbes's "Autobiography" (later published as Personal Reminiscences), 1870s
II. Robert Bennet Forbes papers, 1768-1889
Bound volume of family letters, mostly from Ralph Bennet Forbes to Dorothy Murray Forbes, James Grant Forbes (1769-1825), and John Murray Forbes (1771-1831), with a few Murray letters, 1768-1813
Account by Ralph Bennet Forbes of the capture of the schooner Coquette and associated documents, 1807-1811
Letter to Robert Bennet Forbes from his aunt Mary Abbot, 1821
Letter from Robert Bennet Forbes in Rotterdam to Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1822
Letter from Houqua in Canton, 1838
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to Russell & Co., 1838
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in China and Boston to James P. Sturgis, 1840-1842
Letters from various ship captains to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1838-1839
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to John C. Green in New York, 1849
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to Warren Delano, Forbes Forbes & Co. in London, and the British consul in Canton, 1850
Mostly letters of instruction from Thomas Tunno Forbes and Thomas H. Perkins & Sons to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1823-1829
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Paul Siemen Forbes, 1850-1868
Documents concerning Russell, Sturgis & Co. and Russell & Co., 1818-1849
Account of expenses of the ship Canton Packet, 1817-1818
"An Account of Failed Paper," written by Robert Bennet Forbes during the Panic of 1837, 1837
Extracts of letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton and Macao, 1840
Accounts of Robert Bennet Forbes with Russell & Co., 1824-1839
Bills of exchange drawn from China, 1838
Drafts of letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to officials in the State Department, 1857
Report of a committee on Chinese affairs, 1857
Report by Robert Bennet Forbes to the Boston Board of Trade, 1857
Drafts of letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to the Secretary of State on the opium situation in China, 1857
Letters from William B. Reed in Philadelphia and Washington to Robert Bennet Forbes on a Chinese trade mission, 1857
Letter from Robert Bennet Forbes to Secretary of State William L. Marcy on the Chinese situation, 1854
Letter from Robert Bennet Forbes to Alice Bowditch Forbes, 1871
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to James Murray Forbes, draft of a report by Robert Bennet Forbes to the Secretary of the Navy, and letters from Edward Cunningham, John Griswold, Warren Delano, and A. A. Low to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1849-1879
Letter from Robert Bennet Forbes to J. G. Palfrey, letter from Palfrey to Forbes, letter from Charles Bradford to Forbes, and undated expense accounts and newspaper clippings, 1846-1879
Correspondence between Robert Bennet Forbes and A. A. Low, Edward Cunningham, Russell & Co., Russell Sturgis, T. J. Coolidge, Charles P. Bradford, E. Carrington, S. Wells Williams, Paul Siemen Forbes, Warren Delano, W. C. Hunter, and others, 1879
Letter from Ralph Bennet Forbes and Margaret Perkins Forbes to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1819
Letter from Thomas Tunno Forbes in Canton to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1822
Letter from Samuel Russell in Canton to John P. Cushing, 1829
Letter from Samuel Russell in New York to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1836
Letters from Lewis Cass, Admiral S. I. Du Pont, Charles E. Perkins, and others to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1838-1873
Two linguists' reports on cargoes exported from China, 1838
Printed table of tea prices, 1838
Letter from E. Emery in Chile to Robert Bennet Forbes with bill of lading, 1838
Mostly letters to Robert Bennet Forbes from Major W. B. Scott, Thomas Appleton, R. C. Winthrop, George Ashmon, David Henshaw, Marcus Morton, John W. Davis, British consul in China, George B. Loring, Professor A. D. Bache, Lewis Cass, William B. Reed, Isaac Toucey, R. C. Schenk, John G. Palfrey, Charles F. Adams, Joshua Bates, Charles G. Loring, Josiah Quincy, William W. Wood, Vice President Henry Wilson, George S. Boutwell, Zachariah Chandler, Anson Burlingame, and other government officials, 1846-1879
Mostly letters from Captain Louis M. Goldsborough to Robert Bennet Forbes about ships Forbes was having built, 1851-1879
Letter from Dr. Peter Parker in Canton to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1851
Report on China written by Robert Bennet Forbes for Secretary of State William L. Marcy, 1854
Report of a committee of Boston merchants on Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan, undated
Letter from John T. Moore to Robert Bennet Forbes covering an account entitled "Operation in Rye," 1856
Mostly letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston to James Murray Forbes, 1858-1861
Mostly letters from Rose Smith Forbes to James Murray Forbes, 1858-1868 [?]
Letters to Robert Bennet Forbes and Rose Smith Forbes from a nephew named Smith in Chile, 1865-1867
Account of a cargo of tea imported by Robert Bennet Forbes, 1867
Letter from Robert Bennet Forbes in Geneva, Switzerland, to Edward Cunningham, 1868
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to James Murray Forbes in China, 1870
Letters of condolence to members of the Forbes family on the death of Rose Smith Forbes, 1885
Memorandum on Canton affairs by John P. Cushing and two letters from Cushing to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1828-1852
Account of a portrait of Robert Bennet Forbes painted by George Chinnery at Canton in 1832, 1838
Mostly letters from Rose Smith Forbes in Boston to Robert Bennet Forbes in China, 1838-1839
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to Rose Smith Forbes, 1838
Two accounts of Robert Bennet Forbes's ship Canton Packet, 1838
Linguist's report, 1838
Letters from Russell & Co. and Baring Bros. to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1838
Letters from Rose Smith Forbes in Boston to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1839-1841
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in China to Rose Smith Forbes, 1839-1840
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in China and Boston to Russell & Co., Warren Delano, Baring Bros., and other merchants in England, France, and India, 1843-1864
Letters from Warren Delano in Hong Kong and George Tyson in Shanghai to Robert Bennet Forbes and a letter from S. K. Lothrop to James Murray Forbes, 1863-1867
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) in Canton to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1834
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) in Canton and Manila to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1835
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) in Canton to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1836
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in England and en route to China to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), 1849
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Canton to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), 1850-1851
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Boston to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), 1852
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in England, Holland, and Boston to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), 1853
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), 1850s
Letters from various naval officers to Robert Bennet Forbes about safety at sea, 1836-1881
Letters to Robert Bennet Forbes from Samuel H. Pook and other naval officers about ship construction, 1854-1881
Letters from Lieutenant Matthew F. Maury to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1848-1857
Report by Captain Charles Breck, U.S. Navy, of an expedition to explore the River Plata in Argentina, 1858
Letters from John Ericsson to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1875-1876
Documents on the subject of a new lifeboat, 1876
Letters related to the U.S.S. Guerriere, 1870-1871
Resolution of the Boston Marine Society on Robert Bennet Forbes's 60th anniversary as a member, 1887
Personal letters from family and friends to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1889
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in either Boston or China to Paul Siemen Forbes about the family's business ventures in China and other subjects, 1838-1866
Letters from Commander Joseph Smith and others about the China trade and other subjects, pamphlet of reminiscences of Ralph Bennet Forbes, and pamphlet by Robert Bennet Forbes entitled "Personal Memoranda," 1828-1881
Memorandum of agreement between Robert Bennet Forbes and Samuel Hall to build the bark Coquette, 1844
Miscellaneous letters about the Macedonian, Irish famine relief, and other subjects, 1847-1888
Arthur H. Clark's copy of Robert Bennet Forbes's pamphlet entitled "The Forbes Rig," 1862
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) and memoranda on Robert Bennet Forbes's Milton property, 1872-1881
Pencil drawing by Robert Bennet Forbes of the warship Meteor, 1876
Personal letters from family and friends to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1889
Typewritten copy of Robert Bennet Forbes's article "How to Construct a Model Yacht," undated
Typewritten copies of material from the Forbes papers, including 121 pages of letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to Rose Smith Forbes in 1838 and 1839, 1838-1889
Mostly letters from George Bancroft, Isaac Toucey, and other officials in the Navy Department to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1843-1880
Letters from Commander Charles S. Morris to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1845-1855
Letters from Lieutenant John A. Dahlgren, U.S. Navy, later chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1855-1862
Letters from D. N. Ingraham, chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1856-1859
Mostly letters from Commander S. B. Luce to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1864-1881
Letters from Lieutenant F. E. Chadwick to Robert Bennet Forbes and a printed report of the superintendent of the Naval Academy, 1881-1882
Business letters to Robert Bennet Forbes from various customs collectors, Treasury Department officials, and political leaders, including Howell Cobb, Salmon P. Chase, John B. Floyd, A. D. Bache, Abbot Lawrence, and R. C. Winthrop, 1846-1869
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes in Europe to Edith Forbes Perkins and others, 1868-1869
Letters to Robert Bennet Forbes from various federal officials, including W. Hunter, Admiral George Preble, and Benjamin F. Butler, about safety at sea, 1870-1880
Letters from Admiral David Porter to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1871-1878
Personal letters from family and friends to Robert Bennet Forbes about his 85th birthday and other subjects, 1889
Letters to Robert Bennet Forbes about safety at sea, 1845-1880
Correspondence between Robert Bennet Forbes and A. T. Perkins and other documents related to Forbes's association with the Massachusetts Humane Society, 1847-1878
Letters from Commander Daniel Ammen to Robert Bennet Forbes about proposed regulations to prevent collisions at sea, 1857-1880
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to James Murray Forbes in China, Warren Delano, and Russell & Co., 1862-1871
Correspondence between Robert Bennet Forbes and S. K. Lothrop, 1873-1877
Letters from various admirals and commodores to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1839-1880
Letters from various naval officers to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1842-1881
Letters from officials in the Treasury Department to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1844-1880
Miscellaneous letters and documents, including letters from Robert Bennet Forbes to family members and Josiah Quincy and a printed list of the partners of Russell & Co., 1838-1889
Letter from William Sturgis to John P. Cushing mentioning Robert Bennet Forbes, 1819
Letters from John P. Cushing, mostly from Watertown, Mass., to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1829-1857
Letter from John P. Cushing in London to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1830
Papers related to Margaret Perkins Forbes, 1834-1848
Letters from Caleb Cushing to Robert Bennet Forbes and Senator Holmes and a letter from Conway Whittle to Cushing, 1843-1859
Letters from Samuel A. Brimblecom to family members while on a voyage to the Far East onboard Robert Bennet Forbes's brig Antelope, 1843-1844
Note: These documents are photocopies of the originals in the possession of Philip Jones of Shelton, Connecticut, and may not be quoted in print without his permission.
III. Francis Blackwell Forbes letterbooks, 1869-1895
Francis Blackwell Forbes's notebook on botany in China, including memoranda about Chinese forest trees and shrubs, Shanghai flora, the origins of cultivated plants, botanical nomenclature, and other subjects, 1869-1880s
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in China to J. B. Cunningham, De Courcy Forbes, William Howell Forbes, John Murray Forbes, Jr. (1844-1921), William Pethick, J. B. Manson, J. S. Wheaton, Major-General Pakenham, General Starring, W. Harwood, John L. Cadwalader, S. W. Pomeroy, W. V. Drummond, and others, 1881-1882
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes to H. F. Hance in England, R. Franchot in France, C. J. Maximowicz in Russia, Professor Carnel in Florence, W. Carruthers at the British Museum, N. Rondot in Paris, and others about Chinese botany, with index, 1882-1885
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in London to E. L. Godkin, William Howell Forbes, G. H. Wheeler, the Rev. John Watt, Russell & Co., and others, with index, 1885-1886
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Paris to E. W. Serrell, Alfred Bie and Charles Guerin in Lyons, W. Harwood in London, William Keswick, W. H. Tottie, Thomas Wardle, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, Cornelius Roosevelt, John Munroe & Co., Russell & Co., and others about the Serrell Silk Reeling Co., 1887-1888
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Paris to E. W. Serrell, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, Cornelius Roosevelt, Charles Guerin, the English law firm of Harwood & Stephenson, S. W. Pomeroy, W. H. Tottie, Mrs. George Walker, William Keswick, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, and others about the Serrell Co., with index, 1888-1889
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Paris to E. W. Serrell, William Keswick, B. W. Frazier, Russell & Co., Harwood & Stephenson, W. H. Tottie, James Murray Forbes, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), R. Blackwell, Cornelius Roosevelt, John Munroe & Co., F. D. Hitch (Francis Blackwell Forbes's trustee), Endicott Peabody of Groton, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, Edward Luckemeyer, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, and others about the Serrell Co., 1888-1890
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Paris, St. Moritz, Venice, Florence, and Milan to E. W. Serrell, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, Chabrieres, Cornelius Roosevelt, William Keswick, W. H. Tottie, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, and others about the Serrell Co., 1890-1891
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Paris to E. W. Serrell, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, Morel & Co. in Lyons, W. H. Tottie, James G. King & Sons, W. Harwood, F. D. Hitch, Ewen Cameron of the Hong Kong Bank in London, Russell & Co., S. W. Pomeroy, Edward Luckemeyer, F. O. Ritz, Endicott Peabody, Cornelius Roosevelt, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, and others on business matters, including the affairs of the Serrell Co. and the failure of Russell & Co., 1891-1892
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Paris to E. W. Serrell, J. G. King & Sons, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), William Howell Forbes, Baring Bros., A. C. Hunter in Shanghai, W. Harwood, S. W. Pomeroy, W. H. Tottie, Walter de H. Scott in London, Professor H. S. Foxwell in Cambridge, England, Professor F. J. Edgeworth in Oxford, Sir William Houldsworth, G. H. Wheeler in Shanghai, Charles E. Perkins, B. W. Frazier, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, and others, including some material on the use of silver as currency, 1892-1894
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Paris to Professor F. J. Edgeworth of Oxford, Sir William Houldsworth, J. G. King & Sons, Ewen Cameron, William Howell Forbes, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Murray Forbes, W. H. Tottie, W. Harwood, Charles E. Perkins, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China, and others, 1894-1895
IV. Francis Blackwell Forbes papers, 1839-1931
Letters from family members to Francis Blackwell Forbes at school and reports on him from the Columbia College Grammar School, New York, 1850-1857
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes en route to China and in China to family members, 1857-1863
Letters and reports from Francis Blackwell Forbes in China, including letters to his family and material related to the Burlingame Mission, silk consumption, the Shanghai Country Club, and the liquidation of the Shanghai Silk Filature Co., 1858-1902
Business letters from Edward Cunningham in Boston and Milton to Francis Blackwell Forbes in China, 1868-1886
Newspaper clippings from Shanghai newspapers about the Tientsin Massacre of 1870, 1870
Deed and power of attorney signed by Edward Cunningham, 1871-1872
Letters from Edward Cunningham and Thomas Wheelock to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) and letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes to Cunningham, 1875-1902
Letters from Edward Cunningham in Shanghai to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1875
Letters from Edward Cunningham to Russell & Co., 1877-1880
Correspondence and reports from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Shanghai and Tientsin to William Pethick, Li Ching-fong, O. N. Denny, and others, including memoranda by Forbes about loans to China, 1879-1882
Correspondence of Francis Blackwell Forbes with Harwood & Stephenson and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China about the liquidation of Russell & Co. and other subjects, 1891-1896
Correspondence of Francis Blackwell Forbes with John Barrett, William Keswick, Everett Frazier, William Harwood, R. Gundry, Ewen Cameron, and others, 1899-1901
Papers related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's service as Swedish-Norwegian consul in China, including correspondence, passports, certificates, and other documents, 1857-1894
Letter of introduction for Francis Blackwell Forbes written in Latin by Archbishop John Hughes, an exchange of letters between Sir Rustomjee Jamsetjee[?] and Houqua, and an undated petition supporting the nomination of Theodore Lyman for Congress, 1857-1859
Four Confederate bonds, 1861-1865
Personal correspondence of Francis Blackwell Forbes about family and household matters, 1863-1907
Correspondence between Francis Blackwell Forbes and R. S. Gundry of London about the "Goodnow Fiasco" in Shanghai, ca. 1900
Mostly letters from Paul Siemen Forbes to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1859-1906
Mostly letters from J. M. Forbes & Co. to Francis Blackwell Forbes about money matters, 1862-1896
Papers related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's children, including birth certificates and children's letters, 1865-1902
Papers related to Isabel Clarke Forbes, including family letters, legal papers, and financial memoranda, 1867-1908
Letters to Isabel Clarke Forbes from her sister Alice Frazier and others, 1867-1872
Papers and newspaper clippings related to the last years of Rev. John Murray Forbes (1807-1885) and the settlement of his estate, 1880s
Business letters from John Murray Forbes, Jr. (1844-1921) in Boston, New York, and China, 1879-1906
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes, John Murray Forbes, Jr. (1844-1921), and Paul Siemen Forbes to Francis Blackwell Forbes , 1883-1889
Mostly letters from James Murray Forbes to Francis Blackwell Forbes about Francis Murray Forbes, 1885-1902
Documents related to a legacy given by George Dent to Ethel Forbes, 1885-1893
Letters and reports related to the education of Francis Murray Forbes at Albion House in England, at Groton, and at Harvard, 1885-1900
Letters and reports related to the education of Charles Stuart Forbes at Albion House and Uppingham in England, 1887-1900
Letters and reports related to the education of James Grant Forbes (1879-1955) at Albion House and Uppingham, 1889-1897
Documents related to the marriage settlement of Isobel Forbes de Mimont and Albert de Mimont, 1905
Letters from R. G. Harper Plympton in Baltimore, Gery Cullom in England and Florence, and an unidentified correspondent to Charles Stuart Forbes in Paris about World War I and other subjects, 1912-1920
Mostly financial statements from Russell & Co. to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1861-1891
Letters to Francis Blackwell Forbes from Russell & Co. officials, including G. H. Wheeler, William Pethick, F. D. Hitch, and F. D. Bush, about the failure of Russell & Co. and other subjects, 1861-1892
Mostly papers related to property owned by Francis Blackwell Forbes in Shanghai, 1862-1872
Francis Blackwell Forbes's accounts with Russell & Co., 1863-1877
Financial statements from Baring Bros., Jardine & Matheson, and other banks to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1865-1894
Papers related to "The Lawn" (later the Country Club), Chefoo, China, 1872-1882
Financial statements from the French banking houses Munroe & Co. and Hottinguer & Co. to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1875-1901
Documents related to the claim of W. Scott Fitz against Russell & Co., 1877-1886
Letters from Henry De Courcy Forbes in Paris and China to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1878-1882
Letters from William Howell Forbes in China and the United States to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1880-1896
Papers related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's business affairs with the Keechong Filature Association and Russell & Co., 1882-1891
Letters and legal and financial documents from London lawyers Harwood & Stephenson and the firm of Jardine & Matheson to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1880-1890
Documents related to the Alabama claims of the partners of Russell & Co., 1886-1891
Letters and financial statements from the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1886-1901
Letters and legal documents related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's trust properties, 1899-1904
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes at sea and in China to Isabel Clarke, 1866-1867
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in Shanghai to Isabel Clarke Forbes, 1868-1869
Letters from Francis Blackwell Forbes in China to Isabel Clarke Forbes, 1870-1875
Letters from Isabel Clarke Forbes in New York, China, and Europe to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1866-1896
Papers related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's interest in Chinese botany, including correspondence with C. J. Maximowicz, W. T. Thistleton Dyer, and W. B. Hansley, 1875-1893
Letters and memoranda related to a passport question, 1901-1902
Bills and other financial papers related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's life in Europe, 1871-1904
Papers related to the leasing of houses in England and France by Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1882-1900
Accounts of Isabel Clarke Forbes with Russell & Co., 1873-1890
Business papers of Isabel Clarke Forbes, mostly accounts from James G. King & Sons in New York and her brother-in-law B. W. Frazier in England, 1881-1898
Business papers of Isabel Clarke Forbes, mostly accounts from James G. King & Sons in New York, 1883-1906
Personal letters to Francis Blackwell Forbes from family and friends, including Adelaide Forbes Carmichael, B. W. and Alice Frazier, Edith Forbes Perkins, F. D. Hitch, Mrs. Howard Kennedy (Aunt Fanny), J. H. Campbell, and S. H. Pakenham, 1877-1908
Papers related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's life insurance policies, 1867-1893
Papers related to the Yangtze Insurance Association, including printed reports, 1881-1900
Notes and accounts related to the Serrell Automatic Silk Reeling Co., 1885-1886
Papers related to bimetallism, including letters to Francis Blackwell Forbes from Arnold Hepburn and Henry McNeil of the London Bimetallic League, Sir William Houldsworth, Edward Tuck, F. W. Taussig, President E. B. Andrews of Brown University, John Macdonald, and others, 1886-1903
Business correspondence of Francis Blackwell Forbes with E. W. Serrell, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, Cornelius Roosevelt, and William Harwood about the Serrell Silk Reeling Co., 1886-1887
Business correspondence of Francis Blackwell Forbes with E. W. Serrell, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, William Harwood, F. O. Ritz, and Cornelius Roosevelt about the Serrell Silk Reeling Co., 1888
Business correspondence of Francis Blackwell Forbes with E. W. Serrell, Colonel Harrison Ritchie, Cornelius Roosevelt, and F. O. Ritz about the Serrell Silk Reeling Co., 1889-1893
Business correspondence of Francis Blackwell Forbes with E. W. Serrell, F. O. Ritz, and others about the Serrell Silk Reeling Co., 1894-1902
Letters and postcards from Dana Horton and R. S. Gundry to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1894-1902
Papers related to the Ernest Seyd slander and the "Crime of '73," including correspondence with Sir William Houldsworth, 1894-1896
Letters and papers related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's connection with the Associated Charities of Boston and other charitable organizations, 1898-1908
Documents related to the Stone Telephone and Telegraph Co., 1904-1907
Letters from Mrs. Howard Kennedy (Aunt Fanny), Adelaide Forbes Carmichael, Ellen M. Griswold, and other relatives to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1891-1901
Letter from W. Cameron Forbes to Francis Murray Forbes about Harvard clubs and a letter from Francis Murray Forbes to Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1893-1896
Correspondence with John Hay, John Bassett Moore, Whitelaw Reid, Sir Andrew Clarke, Everett Frazier, and others related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's interest in the Far East, especially the Philippines, 1889-1902
Correspondence with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Senator H. M. Teller, A. M. Townsend, Sir Ewen Cameron, Secretary of the Treasury Lyman Gage, J. Howard Gwyther, Nelson Aldrich, William B. Allison, Thomas S. Hopkins, Edward Brush, W. W. Rockhill, Edward G. Gardiner, and others related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's interest in the Far East, especially the currency problem in the Philippines, 1900-1903
Accounts and other documents between Francis Blackwell Forbes and Russell & Co., 1868-1886
Accounts of the trustees of the property of Isabel Clarke Forbes, 1874-1886
Documents related to the estates of William M. and Isabella Clarke, the parents of Isabel Clarke Forbes, 1874-1885
Miscellaneous business papers, 1874-1911
Documents related to the settlement of the estate of Isabel Clarke Forbes's father William M. Clarke, 1878-1883
Accounts and other documents between Francis Blackwell Forbes and Russell & Co., 1879-1884
Miscellaneous personal papers related to Chinese botany and other subjects, with photographs of Chinese scenes, 1886-1906
Accounts and other documents between Francis Blackwell Forbes and Munroe & Co., 1887-1896
Documents related to the property of Isabel Clarke Forbes, 1891
Documents related to the New Jersey Zinc Co., 1897-1901
Family papers, including baptismal certificates, trust agreements, and other documents, 1839-1907
Documents related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's North Bank estate in Shanghai, 1861-1881
Documents related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's first name (he was christened "Francis" and married as "Frank"), 1867-1896
Indentures related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's North Bank estate in Shanghai, 1872-1881
Wills, estate papers, and other documents related to Isabel Clarke Forbes, 1874-1931
Documents related to the leasing of property by Francis Blackwell Forbes, 1882-1900
Indentures related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's property on 9th Avenue in New York City, 1899
Papers related to Charles F. Dunbar's 1899 article about the gold standard, 1899
"The Chivalrous French--Journalists of Paris and the Queen," copies of French newspaper articles about Queen Victoria and other subjects, 1899
Documents related to Francis Blackwell Forbes's will, 1903-1906
Inventory of personal effects brought by Francis Blackwell Forbes from Shanghai, 1880s
Manuscript of Francis Blackwell Forbes's article entitled "The Reverend John Forbes in East Florida, 1764-1783," 1885
Printed articles, mostly about the currency question, 1886-1902
V. James Murray Forbes papers, 1813-1930
Mostly letters from Nathaniel Bowditch to Elizabeth Clarke and his son Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch, 1813-1831
Letters from Nathaniel I. Bowditch and Nathaniel Bowditch and one printed poem, 1838-1847
Papers related to N. I. Bowditch's interest in establishing a scholarship at Harvard, 1841-1865
Mostly letters from N. I. Bowditch to his brother Dr. Henry Bowditch, 1832-1861
Miscellaneous Bowditch family letters, 1832-1860
Letters from N. I. Bowditch to his niece Bessie Mason, 1859-1860
Letters from Elizabeth Bowditch to her daughter Alice Bowditch, 1858 and undated
Letters from William Bowditch, several written from Madeira, to his sister Alice Bowditch Forbes and James Murray Forbes, undated
Journal kept by James Murray Forbes at school in Concord, Mass., 1857
Letters from Rose Smith Forbes to James Murray Forbes at school in Concord, Mass., 1857-1858
Letters from various correspondents to James Murray Forbes at school, 1857-1861
Letters from James Murray Forbes to his parents at school, 1857-1858
Letters from Philip K. Dumaresq to James Murray Forbes and others, 1858-1859
Letters from S. Kirkland Lothrop to James Murray Forbes, 1859-1860
Letters to Rose Smith Forbes from James Murray Forbes at school and en route to Hong Kong, with one unidentified letter, 1853-1863
Letters from Edith Forbes, Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., and Philip K. Dumaresq to James Murray Forbes, 1855-1860
Letters from James Murray Forbes en route to China to Rose Smith Forbes, 1863
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Hong Kong and Shanghai to Rose Smith Forbes, 1864
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Shanghai to Rose Smith Forbes, 1865-1866
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Shanghai, Canton, and other parts of the Far East to Rose Smith Forbes, 1867
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Canton and Shanghai to Rose Smith Forbes, 1868
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Hong Kong and Alexandria, Egypt, to Rose Smith Forbes, 1870
Letters from James Murray Forbes en route to China to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1863
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Hong Kong and Shanghai to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1864
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Shanghai to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1865-1866
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Canton, Shanghai, and other Chinese ports to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1867
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Canton, Hong Kong, and Paris to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1868
Letters from James Murray Forbes in Canton and at sea to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1870
Letters from James Murray Forbes to Alice Bowditch and Edith Forbes, 1869-1909
Letters from James Murray Forbes to Robert Bennet Forbes, 1877
Letters from James Murray Forbes in China to family and friends, 1865-1866
Letters from James Murray Forbes in China to Edith Forbes, 1864
List of wedding presents received by James Murray Forbes and Alice Bowditch Forbes, 1871
Journal kept by James Murray Forbes, 1858
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), Edward Cunningham, George Tyson, and Paul Siemen Forbes to James Murray Forbes, 1865-1869
Journal kept by James Murray Forbes on his second voyage to China, 1870-1871, including miscellaneous letters and memoranda from the back of the volume, 1849-1921
Diary of Alice Bowditch Forbes, 1871
Letters from S. Kirkland Lothrop to James Murray Forbes and Alice Bowditch Forbes, 1872-1887
Letters from various relatives and friends to Alice Bowditch Forbes, 1861-1900
Journal kept by James Murray Forbes (in French), 1874-1875
Journal kept very intermittently by James Murray Forbes about his travels in Europe and other subjects, including loose papers from the back of the volume, 1884-1930
Letters from Allan Forbes to Alice Bowditch Forbes, 1880s
Letters to Alice Bowditch Forbes from her daughters Mary and Dorothy, 1891 and undated
Bound volume of letters to Edith Forbes Perkins and others from James Murray Forbes, Alice Bowditch Forbes, and their children while traveling in Europe, 1892-1893
Scrapbook of menus, programs, and other mementoes of the Forbes family trip to Europe, 1892-1893
Typewritten account of a Forbes family trip to the west coast and Mexico illustrated with family photographs, 1903
Notebook of typewritten reminiscences by James Murray Forbes entitled "The Rice Field, 1905," with photographs of Forbes family life, 1905-1908
Notebook of typewritten reminiscences by James Murray Forbes, 1905-1929
VI. Forbes miscellany, 1732-1930
Typed copies of letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to family members, 1783-1797
Note: Originals at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Typed copies of letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1788-1802
Note: Originals at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1788-1802
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to various friends, 1789-1801
Bills paid by John Murray Forbes (1771-1831), 1785-1792
Typed copies of letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to John Clark Nightingale, 1792
Note: Originals at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Legal document signed by John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) as attorney, 1792
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1800-1819
Typed copies of letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) in Copenhagen and Hamburg to Robert Smith, John Quincy Adams in Russia, General John Armstrong in Paris, Jonathan Russell, Henry Clay, William Jones, James Madison, J. J. Astor, and other European correspondents, 1809-1815
Note: Originals not located.
Copies of letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to European business correspondents, 1813-1815
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to his aunt Elizabeth Robbins, 1814-1816
Letter from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to Thomas C. Amory & Co, 1817
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) and photocopies of Forbes business documents, 1804-1829
Note: Originals of the latter at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Typed copies of letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to Paul Siemen Forbes, 1828-1831
Note: Originals not located.
Letters from John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) to William Tudor, 1829
Letterbook of John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) containing correspondence with Martin Van Buren, John D. Mendenhall, the Lawrence brothers, Joshua Bates, and others, with index, 1829-1831
Forbes family correspondence, mostly letters to Ralph Bennet Forbes and John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) from John Adams, James Monroe, Robert Mackay, family members, and others, 1808-1816
Mostly letters to John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) and John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) from John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Daniel Brent, John G. Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William C. Bryant, Daniel Webster, W. H. Seward, Gideon Welles, Charles Sumner, and others, 1817-1862
Mostly letters to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) from Edwin M. Stanton, Salmon P. Chase, Charles Sumner, Charles Francis Adams, U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, Richard Cobden, John G. Whittier, and others, 1863-1890
Papers related to the Forbes family, including letters to John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), a copy of Professor Henry Jones Ford's 1913 report on the Philippines, and a covering letter from W. Cameron Forbes, 1891-1928
Letters from John P. Cushing in Canton to family members, 1810-1822
Letter from Thomas T. Forbes in Canton to James M. Robbins, 1823
Correspondence of John P. Cushing with Perkins & Co., Russell & Co., and others, 1823-1829
Letterbook containing letters from Thomas T. Forbes in Manila to Perkins & Co. in Canton and others, 1825
Account book containing memoranda on China trade matters, presumably kept by John P. Cushing in China, ca. 1830
Photocopies of documents related to the China trade, 1830-1842
Note: Originals at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Log of the ship Alert kept by John Murray Forbes (1813-1898) on his return from China to Boston, 1833
Digital facsimiles of the log of the ship Alert are available on Life at Sea, a digital publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This digital resource is available at subscribing libraries; speak to your local librarian to determine if your library has access. The MHS makes this resource available onsite; see a reference librarian for more information.
Miscellaneous documents related to the China trade, 1838-1906
Note: Four originals and three photocopies of originals at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Journal kept by John Cunningham at Penang and Singapore, 1839
Letter from John P. Cushing to Houqua, 1839
Article by Edward Cunningham entitled "Our Commercial and Political Relations with China by an American Resident in China," 1855
Article on Russell & Co. published in the Boston Globe, 1908
Typed copies of Murray and Forbes family letters, mostly those of James Murray, 1732-1837
Note: Originals at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Letter from Dr. Earle[?] Barker to Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1778
Letter from James Murray to his daughters, 1781
Letter from Catherine Goldthwait to Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1783
Mostly typed copies of letters from James Grant Forbes (1769-1825) to Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1783-1810
Note: Originals at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Bills paid by Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1785
Lease of land between Dorothy Murray Forbes and Andrew Spooner, 1789
Letter to Dorothy Murray Forbes[?] from W. Wilkins[?], 1800
Letters from Ralph Bennet Forbes to Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1789-1804
Invoice of cargo of brandy and wine shipped from Bordeaux for Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1795
Business letters from various correspondents to Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1800-1810
Document attesting the birth date of Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1804
Business correspondence of Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1808
Papers related to the bark Coquette, 1808-1809
Business letters from various correspondents to Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1809
Business letters from Thomas Amory, Henry Higginson, C. R. Codman, G. Darby, and others to Ralph Bennet Forbes , 1809
Business letters from Thomas Amory and others to Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1809
Letters from James Grant Forbes (1769-1825) to Ralph Bennet Forbes, 1810-1819
Letter from Stephen Cathalan to Jonathan Russell about Dorothy Murray Forbes, 1811
Letters from Margaret Perkins Forbes to Ralph Bennet Forbes, ca. 1815
Deed of land in Milton to Nathaniel Robbins, 1768
Miscellaneous bills paid by Murray family members, 1771-1809
Conveyance of land to John Forbes under the will of Elizabeth Inman, 1794
Typed copies of miscellaneous Forbes family letters, including letters from James Grant Forbes (1769-1825) and Paul Siemen Forbes, 1797-1845
Note: Originals not located.
Deed to land in Boston mentioning Edward H. Robbins, 1796
Bill signed by E. H. Robbins, 1802
Letters from James H. Robbins in Russia to his father E. H. Robbins, 1819
Letter from James Grant Forbes (1769-1825) to Thomas Tunno Forbes, 1823
Letter from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Elizabeth B. Francis (later the mother of Alice Bowditch), 1825
Letter from H. Pratt McKean to Joseph Cabot, 1838
Letter from Charles C. Perkins to Emma Perkins Forbes, 1843
Correspondence of Isaac Sweetser about insurance business, 1867-1878
Letters from John Murray Forbes, Jr. (1844-1921) in China to Alice Bowditch Forbes, 1873
Printed copy of the will of John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), 1896
Typed copies of letters about the relationship between Rev. John Murray Forbes (1807-1885) and the Catholic Church, with a covering letter from Paul Revere Forbes, 1857-1930
Note: Originals not located.
Photocopies of Murray letters, 1769-1776
Note: Originals at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School.
Notebook used by Dorothy Murray Forbes in the 1770s, a drawing by Thomas Tunno Forbes in 1813, and a pocket diary used by various Forbes family members, 1770-1830
Miscellaneous family papers, including Paul Siemen Forbes's customs receipts and a printed program of an 1894 Forbes family theatrical, 1776-1894
Documents related to James Grant Forbes (1769-1825), 1784-1807
Printed ship's log with details of voyages, 1807-1834
Letters and a notebook of clippings related to Nathaniel I. Bowditch and Mrs. Revere's undated account of Brush Hill in Milton, 1834-1865
Typewritten copies of three journals of a trip to Europe taken by Paul Siemen Forbes and his family, 1836
Note: Originals not located.
Diary of Mary Hathaway Forbes describing life in Concord, Boston, and Naushon Island, Mass., 1859-1861
Manuscript diary of the 1860 voyage of the schooner Nautilus to Greenland, including additional notes on later voyages, author unknown, 1860-1878
Digital facsimiles of the log of the schooner Nautilus are available on Life at Sea, a digital publication of Adam Matthew Digital, Inc. This digital resource is available at subscribing libraries; speak to your local librarian to determine if your library has access. The MHS makes this resource available onsite; see a reference librarian for more information.
Scrapbook of letters from Paul Siemen Forbes to Paul Revere Forbes and others, 1868-1881
Miscellaneous family letters from James Murray Forbes in China and others, 1860-1880
Manuscript diary of a trip to Germany and Spain taken by Paul Revere Forbes, 1883
Undated pamphlet entitled "Fossils In Re Free Ships and Reform of Tariff and Civil Service" and speeches of John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), 1890s
Letters from Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr., to his mother and uncle, undated
Pamphlets and other writings, 1849-1891
"A New Rig for Ships and Other Vessels, Combining Economy, Safety, and Convenience," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1849)
"A New Rig for Ships and Other Vessels, Combining Economy, Safety, and Convenience," by Robert Bennet Forbes, 3rd ed. (Boston, 1851)
"Shipwreck by Lightning: Papers Relative to Harris's Lightning Conductors," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1853)
"An Appeal to Merchants and Ship Owners on the Subject of Seamen, etc.," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1854)
"Remarks on Ocean Steam Navigation," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1855)
"Report to Boston Marine Society and a Memorial to Congress on the Subject of Seamen and Marine Disasters," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1855)
"The Forbes Rig," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1862)
"Remarks on the Steam-Power Rig, etc. of the United States' Steam Sloops Building 1864-5," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1865)
"Report on the Sailors' Snug Harbor, with List of Officers, Act of Incorporation, By-Laws, etc.," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1866)
"Construction of Ships for the Merchant Service," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1866)
"Reports of the President, Superintendent, and Treasurer of the Sailors' Snug Harbor presented at the Annual Meeting, May 15, 1867," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1867)
"Means for Making the Highways of the Ocean More Safe," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1867)
"List of Life-Boats, Mortar Stations, and Huts of Refuge of the Massachusetts Humane Society," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1867)
"R. B. Forbes' New Rig for Schooners," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1869)
"R. B. Forbes' New Rig for Square-Rigged Vessels," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1869)
"The Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1869)
"The Case of R. B. Forbes versus the American Mutual Life Insurance Company of New Haven, Conn.," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1861)
"Remarks on Magnetism and Local Attraction," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1857)
"History of the Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: with a Selected List of Premiums awarded by the Trustees, from its Commencement to the Present Time, and a List of the Members and Officers," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1876)
"The Humane Society of Massachusetts," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1871)
"Extracts from a Circular Issued by the Royal National Life-Boat Institution of England," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1866)
"The Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1873)
"Forbes's System of Sails and their Management," by Robert Bennet Forbes (reprinted from the Nautical Magazine, October 1869) (London, 1869)
Letter from Robert Bennet Forbes describing a buffalo hunt, Burlington, Iowa, 19 Sep. 1871
Letter from Robert Bennet Forbes "to my Associates on the Committee of the Social Science Association," Milton, 11 July 1874
"Second Letter of Mr. Forbes," by Robert Bennet Forbes, Milton, 2 Aug. 1874
"Constructive Damages," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"Rules and Regulations Adopted by the Board, etc.," Treasury Department, U.S. Life-Saving Services (Washington, 1879)
"Life-Boats and Life-Saving Devices," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"The Tea Trade," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"Notes in Regard to the Voyages of Small Vessels in Which I Have Been Concerned," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"Memorandum in regard to R. B. Forbes' Newest or Latest Rig for Ships," by Robert Bennet Forbes
Letter from F. C. Sanford, Nantucket, 22 Apr. 1884
Plate of Forbes's new rig of 1869
Plate of new rig for schooners, Mar. 1889
"Life-Boats, Projectiles, and Other Means for Saving Life," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1872)
"R. B. Forbes' Newest or Latest Rig," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, undated)
"R. B. Forbes' New Rig for Schooners," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1872)
"The Rigs of Vessels," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1883)
"Steam-Lanes across the Atlantic," by unknown author (Washington, 1872)
"The Ship of the Future for the Inter-Oceanic Route," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1880)
"The Hammock as a Life Preserver," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1873)
"The Life Boat and other Life-Saving Inventions," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1880)
"Losses of Life at Sea and the Means for the Saving of Life," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"Seamen Past and Present: A General Compilation of Opinions of their Condition and the Means for their Improvement," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1878)
"Reminiscences of Ralph B. Forbes" (Boston, undated)
"Description of the Contribution of R. B. Forbes to the Marine Department of the M.C.M.A. Exhibition," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1878)
"Memoranda concerning the Iron Yacht Edith, Iron Steamers Argentina and Alpha, and the Iron Brig Nankin," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1881)
"New Rig for Steamers about 368 feet over all," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1883)
"Notes on Navigation," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1884)
"Loss of the Essex, Destroyed by a Whale: With an Account of the Sufferings of the Crew, who were driven to Extreme Measures to Sustain Life," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Cambridge, 1884)
"A Discursive Sketch of Yachting Forty and More Years Ago," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1888)
"Notes on Ships of the Past," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1888)
Notes on Some Few of the Wrecks and Rescues During the Present Century, by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, 1889)
"Memoir of Robert Bennet Forbes as prepared by Leverett Saltonstall and recorded with the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, December 1890" (Cambridge, 1891)
"The Loss of the Oregon," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, undated)
"Voyage of the Midas, 1811," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, undated)
"The Isthmus Ship Railway and Canal as Commercial Routes," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"Personal Memoranda," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"A Letter from Hon. R. B. Forbes to Prof. W. A. Rogers," by Robert Bennet Forbes
"The Governor Ames As She Was and As She Should Be," by Robert Bennet Forbes (Boston, undated)
Bills, receipts, and other papers related to the business affairs of Theodore Lyman in Boston and Alfred Richardson of the firm of Bacon & Richardson in the Far East, 1817-1829
Bills, receipts, accounts, letters, and other papers related to the business affairs of Theodore Lyman in Boston and Alfred Richardson of Bacon & Richardson, 1817-1870
Six scrapbook diaries kept by Edith Forbes Perkins, including newspaper clippings related to the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, 1888-1904
Copies of inventories of Forbes papers at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School, and in the possession of R. Forbes Perkins of Manchester, Mass.
Select Index
Expand allListed below are the names of select individuals, organizations, places, events, ships, and subjects of significance that appear in the collection. Following each item is the reel, number, and folder where information about that item or correspondence with that individual is located.
Both William Hathaway Forbes and William Howell Forbes appear in the collection as "W. H. Forbes." It is most likely that the "W. H. Forbes" in Series I (a correspondent of Robert Bennet Forbes) is William Hathaway Forbes and the "W. H. Forbes" in Series III and IV (a correspondent of Francis Blackwell Forbes) is William Howell Forbes, so they have been indexed as such.
Abbot, Mary
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 1
"An Account of Failed Paper"
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 13
Adams, Charles Francis
Reel 3, Number 20
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 3
Adams, John
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 1
Adams, John Quincy
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Alabama claims
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder 13
Albion House
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 11-13
Aldrich, Nelson
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Alert (ship)
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 7
Allison, William B.
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Ammen, Comdr. Daniel
Reel 18, Number 13, Folder 3
Amory, Thomas
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 8-10
Amory, Thomas C. & Co.
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 13
Andrews, E. B.
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Antelope (brig)
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 6
Appleton, Thomas
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Armstrong, Gen. John
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Ashmon, George
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Associated Charities of Boston
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 11
Astor, J. J.
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Aunt Fanny
See Kennedy, Mrs. Howard
"Autobiography" of Robert Bennet Forbes
Reel 10, Number 37-38
Babson, H. and D. C.
Reel 7, Number 31
Bache, Prof. A. D.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 1
Bacon & Richardson
Reel 47, Number 9-10
Bancroft, George
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 1
Banks, N. P.
Reel 3, Number 20
Baring Bros.
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 2, Number 12
Reel 3, Number 19
Reel 4, Number 21
Reel
13, Number 6, Folder 4
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 8
Reel 24, Number 10
Reel 29,
Number 6, Folder 5
Barker, Dr. Earle[?]
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 2
Barrett, John
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 10
Barrett, W. S.
Reel 9, Number 34
Bates, Joshua
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Bates & Co.
Reel 4, Number 21
Bayley, John P.
Reel 5, Number 26
Bell, E.
Reel 7, Number 31
Bie, Alfred
Reel 22, Number 5
Blackwell, R.
Reel 23, Number 7
Boston
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 8
Boston Board of Trade
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 18
Boston Globe
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 12
Boston Marine Society
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder 8
Botany (Chinese)
Reel 21, Number 3
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 9
Botany ("Oriental")
Reel 21, Number 1
Boutwell, George S.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Bowditch, Alice
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 7-8
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 16
See
also Forbes, Alice Bowditch
Bowditch, Elizabeth
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 7
Bowditch, Dr. Henry
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 4
Bowditch, Nathaniel
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 1-2
Bowditch, Nathaniel Ingersoll
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 1-4
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 6
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder
6
Bowditch, William
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 8
Bradford, Charles P.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 24-25
Brassy, Sir Thomas
Reel 7, Number 29
Breck, Capt. Charles
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder 4
Brent, Daniel
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Brimblecom, Samuel A.
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 6
Brush, Edward
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Brush Hill, Milton, Mass.
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 6
Bryant, William C.
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Bureau of Ordnance
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 3-4
Burlingame, Anson
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Burlingame Mission
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 1
Bush, F. D.
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 2
Bush, F. T.
Reel 3, Number 18
Bush, W. R.
Reel 4, Number 21
Butler, Benjamin F.
Reel 5, Number 25
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 3
Cabot, Joseph
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 10
Cadwalader, John L.
Reel 21, Number 2
Cameron, Sir Ewen
Reel 24, Number 9
Reel 24, Number 11
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 10
Reel 37,
Number 17, Folder 2
Cameron, Sir Roderic
Reel 8, Number 33
Campbell, J. H.
Reel 34, Number 13
Canton, China
Reel 1, Number 3-7
Reel 2, Number 14
Reel 3, Number 17
Canton Packet (ship)
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 12
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 4
Carmichael, Adelaide Forbes
Reel 34, Number 13
Reel 37, Number 15
Carnel, Prof.
Reel 21, Number 3
Carrington, E.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Carruthers, W.
Reel 21, Number 3
Cary, Thomas G.
Reel 1, Number 9
Cary & Co.
Reel 2, Number 11
Reel 4, Number 21
Cass, Lewis
Reel 3, Number 20
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 4
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Cathalan, Stephen
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 12
Catholic Church
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 15
Chabrieres
Reel 23, Number 8
Chadwick, Lt. Comdr. F. E.
Reel 7, Number 29
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 6
Chandler, Zachariah
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China
Reel 22, Number 6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 24, Number 9-11
Reel 25, Number 3,
Folder 9
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder 14
Chase, Salmon P.
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 1
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 3
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad
Reel 47, Number 11
China trade
Reel 1, Number 2
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 1
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 5-6
Reel
43, Number 3, Folder 8
Chinese botany
See Botany (Chinese)
Chinnery, George
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 1
"The Chivalrous French--Journalists of Paris and the Queen"
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 9
Civil War
Reel 4, Number 22
Clark, Arthur H.
Reel 6, Number 27
Reel 9, Number 34
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 4
Clarke, Sir Andrew
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 1
Clarke, Elizabeth
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 1
Clarke, Isabel
Reel 31, Number 7
See also Forbes, Isabel Clarke
Clarke, Isabella
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 5
Clarke, William M.
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 5
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 7
Clay, Henry
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Cobb, Howell
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 1
Cobden, Richard
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 3
Codman, C. R.
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 8
Collins, J. W.
Reel 9, Number 34
Columbia College Grammar School
Reel 25, Number 1
Concord, Mass.
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 8
Coolidge, T. J.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Coquette (bark)
Reel 11, Number 2
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 2
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 6
Country Club, Shanghai
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 6
Creasy, Capt. G. W.
Reel 7, Number 31
"Crime of '73"
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 10
Crowninshield, B. W.
Reel 7, Number 31
Cullom, Gery
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 15
Cunningham, Edward
Reel 3, Number 18-20
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 5, Number 26
Reel 11, Number 3,
Folder 23
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 17
Reel 25,
Number 3, Folder 2
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 4-7
Reel 40, Number 8
Reel 43, Number
3, Folder 11
Cunningham, Gen. J. A.
Reel 8, Number 33
Cunningham, J. B.
Reel 21, Number 2
Cunningham, James
Reel 3, Number 20
Cunningham, John
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 9
Curtis, Nelson
Reel 4, Number 21
Cushing, Caleb
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 5
Cushing, John P.
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 3, Number 20
Reel 6, Number 27
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder
3
Reel 12, Number 5
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 1-3
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder
1
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 3
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 5
Reel 43, Number 3,
Folder 10
Dahlgren, Lt. John A.
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 3
Darby, G.
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 8
Davis, John W.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 8
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Delano, F. H.
Reel 1, Number 9
Delano, Warren
Reel 3, Number 19-20
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 5, Number 26
Reel 6, Number
28
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 8
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder
23
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 8-9
Reel 19, Number
14
De Maximowicz, C. J.
Reel 21, Number 3
Reel 33, Number 10, Folder 1
De Mimont, Albert
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 14
De Mimont, Isobel Forbes
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 14
Denny, O. N.
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 8
Dent, George
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 10
Dixwell, D. J.
Reel 8, Number 33
Drummond, W. V.
Reel 21, Number 2
Dumaresq, Philip K.
Reel 7, Number 29
Reel 38, Number 4, Folder 3
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 1
Dunbar, Charles F.
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 8
DuPont, Adm. S. I.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 4
Dyer, W. T. Thistleton
Reel 33, Number 10, Folder 1
Edgeworth, Prof. F. J.
Reel 24, Number 10-11
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 9
Emery, E.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 6
Ericsson, John
Reel 6, Number 27-28
Reel 7, Number 30
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel 15, Number 8,
Folder 5
Fitz, W. Scott
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 8
Floyd, John B.
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 1
Folger, George H.
Reel 8, Number 33
Forbes, Alice Bowditch
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 22
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 20
Reel 40, Number
10-12
Reel 41, Number 15-17
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 13
See
also Bowditch, Alice
Forbes, Allan
Reel 41, Number 15
Reel 41, Number 17
Forbes, Charles Stuart
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 12
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 15
Forbes, Dorothy
Reel 41, Number 16-17
Forbes, Dorothy Murray
Reel 11, Number 1
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 2-3
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 2
Reel
44, Number 4, Folder 4-8
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 1
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder
12
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 2
Forbes, Edith
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 1
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 16
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder
19
See also Perkins, Edith Forbes
Forbes, Emma Perkins
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 11
Forbes, Ethel
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 10
Forbes, Francis Blackwell
Reel 21, Number 1-3
Reel 22, Number 4-6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 24, Number
9-11
Reel 25, Number 1-2
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 1-2
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder
5-6
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 8-10
Reel 26, Number 4, Folder 1-2
Reel 26, Number
4, Folder 4-6
Reel 27, Number 5, Folder 1-3
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 8-9
Reel 29,
Number 6, Folder 1-5
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 7
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder
9-12
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder 14-15
Reel 31, Number 7-8
Reel 32, Number 9, Folder
1-2
Reel 33, Number 10, Folder 1
Reel 33, Number 10, Folder 3-4
Reel 34, Number
13
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 1
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4-5
Reel 36, Number 14,
Folder 6-9
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 11
Reel 37, Number 15-16
Reel 37, Number 17,
Folder 1-2
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 1-3
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 8
Reel 37,
Number 18, Folder 10
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 2-4
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder
6-7
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 9-10
Reel 37, Number 20, Folder 1-2
Forbes, Francis Murray
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 9
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 11
Reel 37, Number 16
Forbes, Henry De Courcy
Reel 21, Number 2
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder 9
Forbes, Isabel Clarke
Reel 27, Number 5, Folder 4-5
Reel 31, Number 8
Reel 32, Number 9, Folder
1-2
Reel 34, Number 11, Folder 1-2
Reel 34, Number 12
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder
4
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 11
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 5
See also Clarke, Isabel
Forbes, Isobel
See De Mimont, Isobel Forbes
Forbes, J. M. & Co.
Reel 27, Number 5, Folder 2
Forbes, James Grant (1769-1825)
Reel 11, Number 1
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 5
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 11
Reel
44, Number 6, Folder 4
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 8
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 4
Forbes, James Grant (1879-1955)
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 13
Forbes, James Murray
Reel 5, Number 23-24
Reel 6, Number 27-28
Reel 7, Number 29
Reel 8, Number
32-33
Reel 9, Number 34
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 23
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder
13-14
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 18
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 9
Reel 19, Number
14
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 9
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder
8
Reel 38, Number 2-3
Reel 38, Number 4, Folder 1-4
Reel 38, Number 5
Reel 39,
Number 6, Folder 1-20
Reel 40, Number 7-9
Reel 40, Number 11
Reel 40, Number
13-14
Reel 41, Number 17
Reel 41, Number 20-21
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 11
Forbes, John
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 3
Forbes, John Murray (1771-1831)
Reel 11, Number 1
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 1-17
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 1-2
Forbes, John Murray (1813-1898)
Reel 2, Number 13
Reel 3, Number 20
Reel 5, Number 25-26
Reel 6, Number
27-28
Reel 7, Number 29-31
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel 14, Number 7, Folder
1-9
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 5
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 24, Number 9-11
Reel
25, Number 3, Folder 5
Reel 40, Number 8
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2-4
Reel 43,
Number 3, Folder 7
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 14
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 13
Forbes, Rev. John Murray (1807-1885)
Reel 27, Number 5, Folder 6
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 15
Forbes, John Murray, Jr. (1844-1921)
Reel 21, Number 2
Reel 27, Number 5, Folder 7
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 8
Reel
44, Number 6, Folder 13
Forbes, Margaret Perkins
Reel 1, Number 6-7
Reel 1, Number 9
Reel 3, Number 16
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder
1
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 4
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 13
Forbes, Mary
Reel 41, Number 16-17
Forbes, Mary Hathaway
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 8
Forbes, Murray
Reel 24, Number 11
Forbes, Paul Revere
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 15
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 10
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder
12
Forbes, Paul Siemen
Reel 3, Number 18
Reel 3, Number 20
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 10
Reel 11, Number
3, Folder 25
Reel 16, Number 9
Reel 27, Number 5, Folder 1
Reel 28, Number 5,
Folder 8
Reel 40, Number 8
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 15
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder
4
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 3
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 7
Reel 45, Number 7,
Folder 10
Forbes, Ralph Bennet
Reel 11, Number 1-2
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 2
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 1
Reel
17, Number 10, Folder 1
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 8-9
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder
1
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 1-5
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 7-11
Reel 44, Number 5,
Folder 13
Forbes, Robert Bennet
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 1, Number 3-10
Reel 2, Number 11-15
Reel 3, Number
16-20
Reel 4, Number 21-22
Reel 5, Number 23-26
Reel 6, Number 27-28
Reel 7,
Number 29-31
Reel 8, Number 32-33
Reel 9, Number 34-36
Reel 10, Number
37-38
Reel 11, Number 1-2
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 1-2
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder
4-10
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 13-15
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 17-25
Reel 12,
Number 4, Folder 1-4
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 6-10
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder
12-13
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 15-18
Reel 12, Number 5
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder
1-9
Reel 14, Number 7, Folder 1-9
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder 1-3
Reel 15, Number 8,
Folder 5
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder 8-10
Reel 16, Number 9
Reel 17, Number 10,
Folder 1-2
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 4-9
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 1-6
Reel 18,
Number 12, Folder 1-5
Reel 18, Number 13, Folder 1-3
Reel 19, Number 14-15
Reel
20, Number 16, Folder 1-4
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 1-3
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder
5-6
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 8
Reel 38, Number 4, Folder 2
Reel 39, Number 6,
Folder 9-15
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 17
Reel 46, Number 8
Forbes, Robert Bennet, Jr.
Reel 2, Number 13-15
Reel 3, Number 17
Reel 5, Number 24
Reel 5, Number
26
Reel 6, Number 27-28
Reel 7, Number 29-30
Reel 8, Number 32
Reel 9, Number
34
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 1
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 14
Forbes, Rose Smith
Reel 1, Number 3-9
Reel 2, Number 13-15
Reel 3, Number 17
Reel 5, Number
24-25
Reel 7, Number 30
Reel 8, Number 32
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 14-15
Reel
12, Number 4, Folder 19
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 2-3
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder
5-7
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 9
Reel 38, Number 3
Reel 38, Number 4, Folder
2
Reel 38, Number 5
Reel 39, Number 6, Folder 2-8
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 14
Forbes, Thomas Tunno
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 9
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 2
Reel
43, Number 3, Folder 2
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 4
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder
8
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 2
Forbes, W. Cameron
Reel 37, Number 16
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 4
Forbes, William Hathaway
Reel 6, Number 28
Reel 7, Number 31
Forbes, William Howell
Reel 21, Number 2
Reel 22, Number 4
Reel 24, Number 10-11
Reel 30, Number 6,
Folder 10
Forbes Forbes & Co.
Reel 2, Number 12
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 8
Forbes papers
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 9
Reel 47, Number 12
The Forbes Rig
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 4
Ford, Prof. Henry Jones
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 4
"Fossils In Re Free Ships and Reform of Tariff and Civil Service," by John Murray Forbes (1813-1898)
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 13
Fox, Gustavus V.
Reel 4, Number 21-22
Foxwell, Prof. H. S.
Reel 24, Number 10
Franchot, R.
Reel 21, Number 3
Francis, Elizabeth B.
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 9
Frazier, Alice
Reel 27, Number 5, Folder 5
Reel 34, Number 13
Frazier, B. W.
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 24, Number 10
Reel 34, Number 11, Folder 2
Reel 34,
Number 13
Frazier, Everett
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 10
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 1
Gage, Lyman
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Gardiner, Edward G.
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Godkin, E. L.
Reel 22, Number 4
Goldsborough, Adm. Louis M.
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 8
Goldthwait, Catherine
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 4
"Goodnow Fiasco"
Reel 26, Number 4, Folder 6
Grammar School, Columbia College
See Columbia College Grammar School
Grant, Ulysses S.
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 3
Greely, Capt. A. W.
Reel 9, Number 34
Green, John C.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 7
Gregory, Adm. F. H.
Reel 4, Number 21-22
Griswold, Ellen M.
Reel 37, Number 15
Griswold, John
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 23
Groton School
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 11
Guerin, Charles
Reel 22, Number 5-6
Guerriere, U.S.S.
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder 7
Gundry, R. S.
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 10
Reel 26, Number 4, Folder 6
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder
9
Gwyther, J. Howard
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Hale, E. E.
Reel 8, Number 33
Hall, Samuel
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 2
Hamersley, L. R. & Co.
Reel 6, Number 27
Hamlin, Hannibal
Reel 6, Number 28
Hance, H. F.
Reel 21, Number 3
Hanover, George B.
Reel 6, Number 28
Hansley, W. B.
Reel 33, Number 10, Folder 1
Harvard University
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 11
Reel 37, Number 16
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 3
Harwood, William
Reel 21, Number 2
Reel 22, Number 5
Reel 24, Number 9-11
Reel 25, Number 3,
Folder 10
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 5
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 6
Harwood & Stephenson
Reel 22, Number 6
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 9
Reel 30, Number
6, Folder 12
Hay, John
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 1
Hazen, Gen. M. B.
Reel 7, Number 29
Henshaw, David
Reel 1, Number 10
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Hepburn, Arnold
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Higginson, Henry
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 8
Hitch, F. D.
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 24, Number 9
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 2
Reel 34, Number
13
Hoar, Sen. George F.
Reel 6, Number 28
Reel 7, Number 29
Holmes, Oliver Wendell
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Holmes, Sen.
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 5
Hong Kong
Reel 1, Number 5
Reel 2, Number 14
Hopkins, Thomas S.
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Horton, Dana
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 9
Hottinguer & Co.
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 7
Houldsworth, Sir William
Reel 24, Number 10-11
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 10
Houqua (Hong merchant)
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 3
Reel 26, Number 4, Folder 2
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder
10
"How to Construct a Model Yacht," by Robert Bennet Forbes
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 8
Hubbell, H. W.
Reel 5, Number 26
Hughes, Archbishop John
Reel 26, Number 4, Folder 2
Hunter, A. C.
Reel 24, Number 10
Hunter, W. C.
Reel 6, Number 28
Reel 7, Number 31
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel 9, Number 34
Reel
11, Number 3, Folder 25
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 3
Ingraham, D. N.
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 4
Inman, Elizabeth
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 3
Irish famine
Reel 1, Number 10
Reel 9, Number 35
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 3
J. M. Forbes & Co.
See Forbes, J. M. & Co.
James G. King & Sons
See King, James G. & Sons
James Scott & Co.
See Scott, James & Co.
Jamestown (ship)
Reel 1, Number 10
Reel 9, Number 35
Jamsetjee[?], Sir Rustomjee
Reel 26, Number 4, Folder 2
Jardine & Matheson
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 5
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder 12
John Munroe & Co.
See Munroe, John & Co.
Jones, William
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Keechong Filature Association
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder 11
Kennedy, Mrs. Howard (Aunt Fanny)
Reel 34, Number 13
Reel 37, Number 15
Keswick, William
Reel 22, Number 5-6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 10
Kimball, S. I.
Reel 5, Number 26
Reel 6, Number 28
Reel 7, Number 31
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel
9, Number 34
King, James G. & Sons
Reel 24, Number 9-11
Reel 34, Number 11, Folder 2
Reel 34, Number 12
L. R. Hamersley & Co
See Hamersley, L. R. & Co
"The Lawn"
See Country Club, Shanghai
Lawrence, Abbot
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 1
Lawrence brothers
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 17
Lee, Adm. S. P.
Reel 4, Number 21-22
Lewis, Richard
Reel 5, Number 26
Reel 6, Number 28
Li, Ching-fong
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 8
Lodge, Henry Cabot
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
London Bimetallic League
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Long, Inspector D. M. C.
Reel 8, Number 33
Long, J. D.
Reel 7, Number 31
Loring, Charles G.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Loring, George B.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Lothrop, S. Kirkland
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 9
Reel 19, Number 15
Reel 38, Number 4, Folder 4
Reel
40, Number 11
Low, A. A.
Reel 5, Number 26
Reel 6, Number 28
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel 9, Number 34
Reel
11, Number 3, Folder 23
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Low, David W.
Reel 7, Number 30
Luce, Comdr. S. B.
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 5
Luckemeyer, Edward
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 24, Number 9
Lyman, Joseph
Reel 3, Number 16
Lyman, Theodore
Reel 26, Number 4, Folder 2
Reel 47, Number 9-10
Macao
Reel 1, Number 5
Macdonald, John
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Macedonian (ship)
Reel 9, Number 35
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 3
Mackay, Robert
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 1
Madison, James
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Manson, J. B.
Reel 21, Number 2
Marcy, William L.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 21
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 10
Mason, Bessie
Reel 38, Number 1, Folder 6
Massachusetts Humane Society
Reel 18, Number 13, Folder 2
Mather, Samuel
Reel 1, Number 8
Maury, Lt. Matthew F.
Reel 1, Number 10
Reel 2, Number 11
Reel 3, Number 19
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder
3
Maximowicz, C. J. de
See De Maximowicz, C. J.
McKean, H. Pratt
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 10
McLean, D.
Reel 8, Number 33
McNeil, Henry
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Mendenhall, John D.
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 17
Meteor (warship)
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 6
Mimont, Albert de
See De Mimont, Albert
Mimont, Isobel de
See De Mimont, Isobel Forbes
Monroe, James
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 1
Moore, John Bassett
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 1
Moore, John T.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 12
Morel & Co.
Reel 24, Number 9
Morris, Comdr. Charles S.
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 2
Morton, Marcus
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Munroe, John & Co.
Reel 22, Number 5
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 7
Reel 37, Number
18, Folder 10
Murray, James
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 1
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 3
Naushon Island, Mass.
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 8
Nautilus (schooner)
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 9
New Jersey Zinc Co.
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 12
Niantic (ship)
Reel 1, Number 8
Nightingale, John Clark
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 6
North Bank estate, Shanghai
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 2
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 4
Olney, Richard
Reel 8, Number 33
"Operation in Rye"
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 12
Opium War
Reel 1, Number 7
"Oriental" botany
See Botany ("Oriental")
Osborn, B. S.
Reel 6, Number 27
"Our Commercial and Political Relations with China by an American Resident in China," by Edward Cunningham
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 11
Paine, George S.
Reel 1, Number 8
Paine, J. S.
Reel 6, Number 27
Pakenham, Maj.-Gen. S. H.
Reel 21, Number 2
Reel 34, Number 13
Palfrey, John G.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 24
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Panic of 1837
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 13
Parker, Comm. F. A.
Reel 5, Number 26
Parker, Dr. Peter
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 9
Peabody, Endicott
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 24, Number 9
Peck & Snyder
Reel 9, Number 34
Perkins, A. T.
Reel 18, Number 13, Folder 2
Perkins, Charles C.
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 11
Perkins, Charles E.
Reel 5, Number 25
Reel 6, Number 27
Reel 7, Number 29
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel
9, Number 34
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 4
Reel 24, Number 10-11
Perkins, Edith Forbes
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel 9, Number 34
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 2
Reel 34, Number
13
Reel 41, Number 17
Reel 47, Number 11
See also Forbes,
Edith
Perkins, T. H.
Reel 3, Number 16
Perkins, T. H. & Sons
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 9
Perkins & Co.
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 3-4
Perry, Comm. Matthew C.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 11
Personal Memoranda, by Robert Bennet Forbes
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 1
Personal Reminiscences, by Robert Bennet Forbes
Reel 10, Number 37-38
Pethick, William
Reel 21, Number 2
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 8
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 2
Pierce, H. A.
Reel 7, Number 31
Plata (river)
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder 4
Plympton, R. G. Harper
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 15
Polk, Pres. James K.
Reel 1, Number 10
Pomeroy, S. W.
Reel 21, Number 2
Reel 22, Number 6
Reel 24, Number 9-10
Pook, Samuel H.
Reel 7, Number 30
Reel 15, Number 8, Folder 2
Pook, S. M.
Reel 4, Number 21
Porter, Adm. David D.
Reel 7, Number 30
Reel 9, Number 34
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 4
Preble, Adm. George H.
Reel 7, Number 29
Reel 18, Number 12, Folder 3
Protheroe, Capt. Pryce
Reel 7, Number 31
Queen Victoria
Reel 37, Number 19, Folder 9
Quincy, Josiah
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Reel 20, Number 16, Folder 4
Quincy, Josiah, Jr.
Reel 1, Number 10
Rathbone, William
Reel 1, Number 10
Reel 2, Number 12
Rathbone Bros.
Reel 3, Number 19
Reed, William B.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 20
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Reid, Whitelaw
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 1
Revere, Mrs.
Reel 45, Number 7, Folder 6
"The Reverend John Forbes in East Florida, 1764-1783," by Francis Blackwell Forbes
Reel 37, Number 20, Folder 2
"The Rice Field, 1905," by James Murray Forbes
Reel 41, Number 20
Richardson, Alfred
Reel 47, Number 9-10
Ritchie, Col. Harrison
Reel 22, Number 5-6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 24, Number 9
Reel 35, Number 14,
Folder 5
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 6-7
Ritz, F. O.
Reel 24, Number 9
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 6-8
River Plata
See Plata (river)
Robbins, Edward H.
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 5-7
Robbins, Elizabeth
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 12
Robbins, James H.
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 7
Robbins, James M.
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 2
Robbins, Nathaniel
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 1
Rockhill, W. W.
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Rodgers, Adm. John
Reel 6, Number 28
Rogers, Adm. C. P. R.
Reel 7, Number 30
Rogers, J. C.
Reel 9, Number 34
Rondot, N.
Reel 21, Number 3
Roosevelt, Cornelius
Reel 22, Number 5-6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 24, Number 9
Reel 35, Number 14,
Folder 5
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 6-7
Russell, H. S.
Reel 8, Number 33
Russell, Jonathan
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Reel 44, Number 5, Folder 12
Russell, Samuel
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 3
Russell, Sturgis & Co.
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 11
Russell & Co.
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 1, Number 3
Reel 3, Number 18-19
Reel 4, Number
21
Reel 5, Number 26
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 4
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder
11
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 15
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Reel 13, Number 6,
Folder 4
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 8
Reel 19, Number 14
Reel 20, Number 16, Folder
4
Reel 22, Number 4-5
Reel 23, Number 7
Reel 24, Number 9
Reel 25, Number 3,
Folder 7
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 9
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 1-2
Reel 29, Number
6, Folder 4
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 8
Reel 30, Number 6, Folder 11
Reel 30,
Number 6, Folder 13
Reel 34, Number 11, Folder 1
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder
1-3
Reel 37, Number 18, Folder 8
Reel 43, Number 3, Folder 3
Reel 43, Number 3,
Folder 12
Schenk, R. C.
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Schley, Comm. W. S.
Reel 9, Number 34
Scott, James & Co.
Reel 2, Number 12
Scott, Maj. W. B.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Scott, Walter de H.
Reel 24, Number 10
Scudder, H. E.
Reel 7, Number 31
Secretary of the Navy
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 23
Secretary of State
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 19
Selfridge, Adm. Thomas O.
Reel 7, Number 30
Serrell, E. W.
Reel 22, Number 5-6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 24, Number 9-10
Reel 35, Number 14,
Folder 5
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 6-8
Serrell Automatic Silk Reeling Co.
Reel 22, Number 5-6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 24, Number 9
Reel 35, Number 14,
Folder 3
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 5
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 6-8
Seward, W. H.
Reel 3, Number 19-20
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Seyd, Ernest, slander
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 10
Shanghai Country Club
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 1
Shanghai Silk Filature Co.
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 1
Sherman, W. T.
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 3
Shufeldt, Comm. R. W.
Reel 7, Number 30
Smith
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 15
Smith, Comdr. R. W.
Reel 17, Number 10, Folder 1
Smith, Robert
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 10
Spooner, Andrew
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 7
Spooner, D. N.
Reel 3, Number 19
Stanton, Edwin M.
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 3
Starring, Gen.
Reel 21, Number 2
Stone Telephone and Telegraph Co.
Reel 36, Number 14, Folder 12
Storey, Moorfield
Reel 8, Number 33
Reel 9, Number 34
Sturgis, Henry
Reel 3, Number 18
Sturgis, James P.
Reel 3, Number 18-19
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 5
Sturgis, Robert
Reel 3, Number 19
Sturgis, Russell
Reel 3, Number 19-20
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 5, Number 26
Reel 6, Number
28
Reel 9, Number 34
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Sturgis, William
Reel 1, Number 1
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 1
Sumner, Charles
Reel 3, Number 19
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2-3
Swann, W. W.
Reel 3, Number 16
Sweetser, Isaac
Reel 44, Number 6, Folder 12
T. H. Perkins & Sons
See Perkins, T. H. & Sons
Taussig, F. W.
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Teller, Sen. H. M.
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Thomas C. Amory & Co.
See Amory, Thomas C. & Co.
Thomas H. Perkins & Sons
See Perkins, Thomas H. & Sons
Tientsin Massacre of 1870
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 3
Tobey, E. S.
Reel 7, Number 31
Tonzalien, E. A.
Reel 9, Number 34
Tottie, W. H.
Reel 22, Number 5-6
Reel 23, Number 7-8
Reel 24, Number 9-11
Toucey, Isaac
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Reel 17, Number 11, Folder 1
Townsend, A. M.
Reel 37, Number 17, Folder 2
Trenton (bark)
Reel 1, Number 5
Tuck, Edward
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 4
Tudor, William
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 16
Tyson, George
Reel 13, Number 6, Folder 9
Reel 40, Number 8
Uppingham
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 12-13
Van Buren, Martin
Reel 42, Number 1, Folder 17
Victoria, Queen
See Queen Victoria
Vose, George L.
Reel 9, Number 34
Walker, Mrs. George
Reel 22, Number 6
Ward, Adm. J. R.
Reel 6, Number 27
Reel 7, Number 30
Wardle, Thomas
Reel 22, Number 5
Watt, Rev. John
Reel 22, Number 4
Webster, Daniel
Reel 3, Number 20
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Welles, Gideon
Reel 4, Number 21
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2
Wheaton, J. S.
Reel 21, Number 2
Wheeler, G. H.
Reel 22, Number 4
Reel 24, Number 10
Reel 29, Number 6, Folder 2
Wheelock, Thomas
Reel 25, Number 3, Folder 5
Whitney, H. A.
Reel 6, Number 28
Whittier, John G.
Reel 43, Number 2, Folder 2-3
Whittle, Conway
Reel 20, Number 17, Folder 5
Wilkins[?], W.
Reel 44, Number 4, Folder 8
Williams, S. Wells
Reel 11, Number 3, Folder 25
Wilson, Vice Pres. Henry
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Winthrop, Robert C.
Reel 2, Number 11
Reel 4, Number 22
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
Reel 18, Number
12, Folder 1
Wood, William W.
Reel 12, Number 4, Folder 7
World War I
Reel 28, Number 5, Folder 15
Worthington, Roland
Reel 8, Number 33
Yangtze Insurance Association
Reel 35, Number 14, Folder 2
Appendix: Condensed Genealogy of the Forbes Family
Expand allThe genealogy below contains only the names of Forbes family members represented in this collection. Each generation is numbered, so that members of the same generation are preceded by the same number. For example, the brothers James Grant Forbes (1769-1825), John Murray Forbes (1771-1831), and Ralph Bennet Forbes (1773-1824) are all preceded by the number 2. For more detailed biographies of the Forbes family members listed here, see the Biographical Sketch.
1. Rev. John Forbes (1740-1783)
m. Dorothy Murray, 1769
2. James Grant Forbes (1769-1825)
3. Rev. John Murray Forbes (1807-1885)
4. Francis Blackwell Forbes (1839-1908)
m. Isabel Clarke, 1867
5. Francis Murray Forbes (1874-1961)
5. Charles Stuart Forbes (1877-1949)
5. James Grant Forbes (1879-1955)
5. Isobel Forbes
m. Albert de Mimont
4. John Murray Forbes, Jr. (1844-1921)
4. Adelaide Forbes
m. Carmichael
3. Paul Siemen Forbes (1808-1886)
4. William Howell Forbes (1837-1896)
4. Henry De Courcy Forbes (1849-1920)
4. Paul Revere Forbes (1860-1936)
2. John Murray Forbes (1771-1831) (died without issue)
2. Ralph Bennet Forbes (1773-1824)
m. Margaret Perkins, 1799
3. Thomas Tunno Forbes (1802-1829) (died without issue)
3. Robert Bennet Forbes (1804-1889)
m. Rose Greene Smith, 1834
4. Robert Bennet Forbes, Jr. (1837-1891) (died without issue)
4. Edith Forbes (1843-1925)
m. Charles Elliott Perkins, 1864
4. James Murray Forbes (1845-1937)
m. Alice Bowditch, 1871
3. John Murray Forbes (1813-1898)
m. Sarah Hathaway, 1834
4. William Hathaway Forbes (1840-1897)
m. Edith Emerson, 1865
4. Mary Hathaway Forbes
Preferred Citation
Forbes family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives. See separate descriptions of the daguerreotypes (Photos. 1.361L, 1.371L, 1.404, and 1.478) and ambrotypes (Photos. 2.3, 2.20, 2.24, 2.44, and 2.116-124), which are stored in the MHS Photo Archives by format.