Forbess is a name whose ancestors lived among the Picts, a tribe in ancient Scotland. The Forbess family lived in the lands of Forbes on Aberdeenshire where the family's history dates back before 1000 AD
The surname Forbess was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, at Pitscottie from 1168, which was later named "the Braes of Forbes."
Legend has it that the founder of the Clan, Oconochar, slew a bear in order to take up residence there. One of the first records of the name from this region was Duncan de Forbeys who received a grant of lands c. 1272 from King Alexander III. Later, John de Fernboys was listed as rendering allegiance to King Edward I of England in 1296 and later still, William of Forbace was canon of Aberdeen in 1464. [1]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forbess research. Another 159 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1626, 1581, 1626, 1380, 1448, 1165, 1214, 1611, 1680, 1644, 1704, 1685, 1747, 1629, 1712, 1590, 1632, 1623, 1696, 1671 and are included under the topic Early Forbess History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The appearance of the printing press and the first dictionaries in the last few hundred years did much to standardize spelling. Prior to that time scribes spelled according to sound, a practice that resulted in many spelling variations. Forbess has been spelled Forbes, Forbose, Forbess, Forbeis (Gaelic) and others.
Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Alexander de Forbes, (c. 1380-1448) 1st Lord Forbes, progenitor of the lordship. He was "the eldest son of Sir John de Forbes of that ilk. The lands of Forbes in Aberdeenshire gave name to the family, who trace back their ancestors in it to the time of King William the Lion (1165-1214). Sir John...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Forbess Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Forbess family to IrelandSome of the Forbess family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 134 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Forbess migration to the United States +The expense of the crossing to the North American colonies seemed small beside the difficulties of remaining in Scotland. It was a long and hard trip, but at its end lay the reward of freedom. Some Scots remained faithful to England and called themselves United Empire Loyalists, while others fought in the American War of Independence. Much of this lost Scottish heritage has been recovered in the last century through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Forbess:
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