Francis Blackwell "Frank" Forbes

• Francis Blackwell Forbes (New York, August 11, 1839 - Boston, Massachusetts, May 2, 1908) was a China merchant, opium trader and botanist, son of Rev. John Murray Forbes, Rector of St. Luke's, New York (New York, May 5, 1807 – Elizabeth, New Jersey, October 11, 1885) and his wife (m. December 26, 1838) Anne Howell ( – July 21, 1849).
• He and other members of the Forbes family were active in the opium trade and the Old China Trade during the Opium Wars, amassing a large fortune. Due to his family's deep involvement with the opium trade and opium, Forbes developed a lifelong interest in the poppy and other plants, and in Chinese botany in general.
• He married in New York City, New York on May 8, 1867 Isabel Clark, born in New York, c. 1846, daughter of William Mather Clark, a banker (Litchfield, Connecticut, May 26, 1805 – Berkley House, 5th Avenue, New York City, New York, November 21, 1878) and wife Isabella Staples (New York, c. 1805 – living 1870). She died of coronary thrombosis, with underlying arteriosclerosis in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1931 with the age estimated of 89 years and 2 months. They were the parents of William Hathaway Forbes and James Grant Forbes.
• He was the grandson of James Grant Forbes I and cousin of John Murray Forbes. He is a maternal great-grandfather of 2004 US Presidential candidate John Kerry.

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• From http://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0269:
  • "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."

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Francis Blackwell Forbes (New York, August 11, 1839 - Boston, Massachusetts, May 2, 1908) was a China merchant, opium trader and botanist, son of Rev. John Murray Forbes, Rector of St. Luke's, New York (New York, May 5, 1807 – Elizabeth, New Jersey, October 11, 1885) and his wife (m. December 26, 1838) Anne Howell ( – July 21, 1849).
He and other members of the Forbes family were active in the opium trade and the Old China Trade during the Opium Wars, amassing a large fortune. Due to his family's deep involvement with the opium trade and opium, Forbes developed a lifelong interest in the poppy and other plants, and in Chinese botany in general.
He married in New York City, New York on May 8, 1867 Isabel Clark, born in New York, c. 1846, daughter of William Mather Clark, a banker (Litchfield, Connecticut, May 26, 1805 – Berkley House, 5th Avenue, New York City, New York, November 21, 1878) and wife Isabella Staples (New York, c. 1805 – living 1870). She died of coronary thrombosis, with underlying arteriosclerosis in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1931 with the age estimated of 89 years and 2 months. They were the parents of William Hathaway Forbes and James Grant Forbes.
He was the grandson of James Grant Forbes I and cousin of John Murray Forbes. He is a maternal great-grandfather of 2004 US Presidential candidate John Kerry.
From http://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0269:
"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."