Charles Robertson Forbes,Sr.

Charles Robertson Forbes, Sr. (22 August 1863 - 21 December 1959) son of Mormon pioneers John Mitchell Forbes, Sr. and Ann Robertson, was born 22 August 1863 at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, three years before Utah attained statehood. He died at the age of 96 on 21 December 1959 at his home at 1020 Murray Street, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California, on the corner of Murray Street and Santa Rosa Street, where Sierra Vista Hospital now stands. He married Mary Jane Allen (1872 - 1956), daughter of James Hardy Allen and Caroline Hillis Beck, on 2 October 1893 at Bee Rock, San Luis Obispo County, California; they had five children.

Marriage and Children

Charles married Mary Jane Allen (12 January 1872 - 3 August 1956) at Bee Rock, San Luis Obispo County, California on 2 October 1893. They had five children:

1. Leona Forbes (3 August 1894 - 7 June 1997) married Archibald Thomas Stenner (31 December 1895 - 17 March 1979); no children
2. Elmer Allen Forbes (27 January 1897 - 21 December 1989) married:
   1. Evelyn Margaret Webb (13 March 1898 - 26 October 1960) and had three children:
      1. Lorelei Margaret Forbes
      2. Elmer Allen Forbes, Jr.
      3. Shirley Jean Forbes
   2. Marie Weir (died 21 January 1965); no issue
   3. Eva Leichty (21 February 1889 - 1969); no issue
   4. Madeline Triguero (born January 1907); no issue
3. Ada Carolyn Forbes (19 February 1898 - 24 December 1983) married Robert Bolling Dugger II (30 August 1904 - 23 November 1984) and had two children:
   1. Caroline Ann Dugger
   2. Robert Bolling Dugger, III
4. Charles Robertson Forbes, Jr (13 July 1909 - 12 November 1963) married:
   1. Ethel Effie Hopkns (5 March 1911 - 30 June 2002) and had two daughters
      1. Joan Ann Forbes
      2. Nancy Jane Forbes
   2. Elizabeth Kate Hathaway
5. Mary Jane Forbes (28 November 1912 - 6 July 2004) married Leonard Frank Tate (7 February 1907 - 1 February 1990) and had two daughters:
   1. Heather Deane Tate
   2. Judith Arleen Tate

Biographical Sketch

By the time he was eleven years old, Charles' father had departed for Canada in order to claim a Scottish inheritance, and was never heard from again. Charles left school in order to help support his mother and sisters. He worked in many different jobs in the ensuing years, eventually homesteading in California, marrying and raising a family, and becoming a successful butcher and civic leader. Charles was a charming man who loved to tease, a man of strong principle and character, and a devoted son, father, grandfather, and husband. His long life of hard work, community service, and devotion to family came to a close at home in San Luis Obispo, California, at the age of 96.

[For more information about Charles Robertson Forbes' life, please see scans and a transcription of his handwritten autobiography under the 'Media' tab.]

Memberships

• San Luis Obispo City Board of Education (President, 1927-1928)
• San Luis Obispo City Council
• San Miguel Lodge No. 285
• San Luis Obispo Grange (Past Master)
• Nacimiento Lodge IOOF No. 340 (Past Noble Grand)
• San MIguel Violet Chapter No. 102, Eastern Star (Past Patron)
• San Luis Obispo Rebekah Lodge No. 210
• High Twelve (honorary member)

A Saying For Every Occasion

• Never trouble trouble til trouble troubles you.
• Don't interfere with progress.
• What others can do, with a little application, so can you.
• You're as welcome as the flowers in May.

A Favorite Song

"Come my love, and go with me,
Free and happy we will be.
We'll chase the antelopes over the plain.
The tiger comes, we'll bind him with chain.
The gay gazelle with the silvery hair,
We'll have them all for playmates fair."

Sources

• Year: 1880; Census Place: Sugar House, Salt Lake, Utah; Roll: 1337; Family History Film: 1255337; Page: 232D; Enumeration District: 54; Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Year: 1900; Census Place: San Miguel, San Luis Obispo, California; Roll: T623_109; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 33. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.
• Year: 1910; Census Place: San Miguel, San Luis Obispo, California; Roll: T624_104; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 0043; Image: 438; FHL Number: 1374117. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Year: 1920;Census Place: San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, California; Roll: T625_144; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 48; Image: 916; Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Year: 1930; Census Place: San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, California; Roll: 213; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 21; Image: 350.0; Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.
• Place: San Luis Obispo; Date: 21 Dec 1959; Social Security: 0; Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
• Charles R. Forbes obituary, unidentified newspaper clipping marked '1959'. Family papers of Leona Forbes Stenner and Mary Jane Forbes Tate; inherited by Jennifer Young Forbes and Judith Leigh Young and part of their jointly-held collection
• Charles Forbes membership certificate, Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Star, February 27, 1956. Family papers of Leona Forbes Stenner and Mary Jane Tate; inherited by Jennifer Young Forbes and Judith Leigh Young and part of their jointly-held collection
• 'Charles R. Forbes Observes Birthday', Telegram-Tribune newspaper clipping. Family papers of Leona Forbes Stenner and Mary Jane Forbes Tate; inherited by Jennifer Young Forbes and Judith Leigh Young and part of their jointly-held collection
• Dutton-Thompson, Marno. "Early Remembrances of St. Luke’s-in-the-Hills Church Jolon, California." St. Luke's Jolon. Ed. Rev. Canon Robert J. Seifert. St. Luke's Church Epsicopal. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.stlukesjolon.org/links/docs/early_remembrances.pdf>.
• Tidball Store Windmill - Jolon California - Windmills on Waymarking.com. Waymarking - A Scavenger Hunt for Unique and Interesting Locations in the World. Groundspeak, Inc., 13 May 2008. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3T0R_Tidball_Store_Windmill_Jo...>.
• An amusing but erroneous account of the origin of the name "Jolon" is told in southern Monterey County. Two teamsters on a stage were pulling into the Dutton Hotel one day in the 1880s, the story goes, when one of the horses reared and became unruly. In an effort to control the uncooperative animal, the driver madly shouted "hold on" until the valley echoed with the phrase. — Don Howard, Jolon — An Introduction in Monterey County Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol.4, No.2, Winter, 1975.
• Clark, Donald T. Monterey County Place Names, Sample Pages -- Pleyto. Sample Pages. Kestrel Press, 2008. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://kestrel-press.com/pages/our-titles/monterey-county-place-nam...>.
• Living History: Plenty of Booze in Beehive State Until Prohibition. Utah News. The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Sept. 2010. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50218443-76/beer-brewery-lake-sal...>.