Contents [hide]

Forrester History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Forrester History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Forrester family roots are found in the Boernician Clan of ancient Scotland. They lived in areas near or inside a forest. Some research suggests that the surname is also a shortened form of Forester. The Middle English word forest referred specifically to an area of woodland reserved by law as hunting grounds for the king or his nobles. As such, the surname, Forrester would have appeared independently in various parts of Britain.

Early Origins of the Forrester family

The surname Forrester was first found in Newlands, a parish, in the historic county of Peeblesshire. 1 The first on record was William de Forest who was a tenant of the Douglases in the barony of Newlands in 1376. In the same year, Hugh de Forest was a Douglas tenant in Drumcorke. A few years later, Morgan de Forest in Aberdeen was "cherged" with being a forestaller in 1402 and Master Thomas de Foresta, licentiate in decrees, was rector of the parish of Soudon (Southdean) in 1404. 2

Early History of the Forrester family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forrester research. Another 187 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1390, 1411, 1430, 1453, 1463, 1472, 1518, 1520, 1526, 1527, 1533, 1540, 1588, 1602, 1608, 1633, 1635, 1642, 1654, 1664, 1668, 1698, 1701, 1703, 1706, 1709, 1711, 1714, 1715, 1720 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Forrester History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Forrester Spelling Variations

In the Middles Ages scribes spelled names by their sound. Often a name was written under a different spelling variation each time it was recorded. Forrester has appeared as Forrester, Forester, Forrest, Forster, Foster, Forrestor and many more.

Early Notables of the Forrester family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

Sir Thomas Forster (d. 1527) of Etherston, Northumberland; and his son, Sir John Forster (c.1520-1602), an English military commander and Warden of the Middle Marches; Sir George Forrester (d. 1654)...

Forrester Ranking

In the United States, the name Forrester is the 3,313^rd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Forrester family to Ireland

Some of the Forrester family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 129 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Forrester migration to the United States +

The ancestors of Boernician-Scottish settlers dot North America even today. They settled all along the east coast when they came over, but some went north as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the War of Independence. However, these strong lines endured as Scottish families in the United States and Canada have rediscovered much of the heritage that was taken from them centuries ago. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Forrester, or a variant listed above:

Forrester Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Toby Forrester, who settled in Virginia in 1655
Toby Forrester, who landed in Virginia in 1658 4
John Forrester, who landed in Maryland in 1669 4

Forrester Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Geo Forrester, who landed in New York in 1751 4

Forrester Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Forrester, aged 24, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1803 4
George Forrester, who arrived in Portsmouth, NH in 1810 4
Robert Forrester, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1836 4
Stephen Forrester, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 4
James Forrester, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Forrester migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Forrester Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Samuel Forrester, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Sarah Forrester, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Mr. George Peabody Forrester U.E. (b. 1757) who settled in Hampton, Kings County, New Brunswick c. 1784 he died in 1840 5
Mr. John Forrester U.E. (b. 1735) born in Rhode Island, USA who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 he died in 1821 in Hampton 5
Mr. John Forrester Jr., U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Forrester migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Forrester Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Forrester, British Convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1806 6
Mr. Thomas Forrester, (Finester, Forester), (b. 1785), aged 36, English farm labourer who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 8th April 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
William Forrester, a weaver, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
William Forrester, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Dauntless" in 1840 8
Robert Forrester, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Dauntless" in 1840 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Forrester migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Forrester Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Forrester, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Mr. William Forrester, (b. 1814), aged 27, British agricultural labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lord William Bentinck" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 24th May 1841 9
Mrs. Elizabeth Forrester, (b. 1817), aged 24, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lord William Bentinck" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 24th May 1841 9
Miss Forrester, (b. 1832), aged 9, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lord William Bentinck" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 24th May 1841 9
Miss Forrester, (b. 1833), aged 8, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Lord William Bentinck" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 24th May 1841 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Forrester (post 1700) +

Gary Jeshel Forrester (b. 1946), American-born New Zealand musician, composer, novelist, poet, and memoirist
Jay Wright Forrester (1918-2016), American pioneering computer engineer and professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor (1972), Howard N. Potts Medal and National Medal of Technology and Innovation (1989)
Patrick Graham Forrester (b. 1957), United States Army officer and a NASA astronaut with over 950 hours in space 10
Cay Forrester (1921-2005), American film and television actress
Joel Forrester (b. 1946), American jazz pianist and composer
J. B. Forrester, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 1888 11
George B. Forrester (b. 1862), American Republican politician, Merchant; Member of Michigan State Senate 20th District, 1917-22 11
George B. Forrester, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1892 11
Elizabeth G. Forrester, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1928 11
Elijah Lewis Forrester (1896-1970), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 1948, 1952; U.S. Representative from Georgia 3rd District, 1951-65 11
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Forrester family +

HMS Hood

Mr. John J Forrester (b. 1899), English Chief Petty Officer Writer serving for the Royal Navy from Broughton, Cumberland, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 12

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Joseph Forrester, British Petty Officer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 13

St. Francis Dam

Mrs. Forrester, American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAUNTLESS 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Dauntless.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Patrick Forrester. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/forreste.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html