Letter from John Forbes' family to Mr John Forbes
Information
Title - Letter from John Forbes' family to Mr John Forbes
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Col/3/5/33
Date - 2 Mar 1823
Scope & content - Written from Dukinfield by John Forbes [senior, John Forbes' father], Elizabeth Forbes [John Forbes' mother], Ann Forbes [Ann or Annabella Forbes, John Forbes' sister], James Forbes [John Forbes' brother] and George Forbes [John Forbes' brother]
An opened seal is attached to the letter
John Forbes [senior] is sorry not to have heard from his son for six months, since his last letter of 17 Sep 1822, from Alogo Bay [Algoa Bay, South Africa]; they 'bless God' for the account of his good health and good spirits then: 'John, I fondly guess from the tenor of your letter that you were both thinking on & thanking your creator & redeemer for their mercies to you'; he, Forbes' mother [Elizabeth Forbes], both brothers [George Forbes and James Forbes] and Bella [Ann Forbes] are all in good health; George has had trouble with a painful arm, but has not had to stop working, and will write a few lines to Forbes himself; James will also write, if he comes home on Sunday, 'which he usually does'; he wrote to Mr Sabine [Joseph Sabine, secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] on 28 Jan regarding the £25 'you were so good as order to be paid to me & your mother'; Sabine paid the bill on 12 Mar: 'I have not words to express how truly glad and thankful we were for the same, I do not say that we really wanted the necessaries of life, but we were got so far behind with our small debts that we were very unhappy'; they have not spent all of it; everyone in the family, apart from himself, are earning something, but not much due to reduced wages; the winter has been the stormiest in living memory; in Forbes' letter of 12 Sep from the Cape [Cape of Good Hope, South Africa] he mentioned having written to Monro [Donald Munro, gardener of the Horticultural Society of London] about James, but they have had no news regarding that; he will write to Munro himself, and asks Forbes to write as well; by mid-April, James will have been employed at P. Marsland's [Peter Marsland, owner of Woodbank Park in Stockport] for a year, and they will have to decide whether to search for a new job for him; James's wages have only been 10s a week: 'out of that 1/6 for lodgings & bed, his wages hath not sustained him, even cheap as provisions have been'; he has not been promised more than 12s next year; he does not want James to go to London if he is not paid well: 'might as well stop in the country, where he might be better able to assist us'; James is 'very much improved in his person' and in his knowledge of botany, and it would be good for him to spend six or 12 months in the Botanic Garden, 'but that Jew Mr S. [Joseph Sabine] would require a fee, which I should be very unwilling to give, although it would do much of getting James a character'; George's apprenticeship will end in June; he wishes his 'dear Johnny' to pray and to remember them in his prayers
George Forbes expects Forbes to be anxious to hear from them, especially as in their last letter they promised to write around Christmas; they decided to postpone writing until receiving the money from Forbes: 'I have no doubt it is a source of the most pleasing reflection to you, while thus far from friends and home, to have it in your power thus to administer to their comfort'; they hope to be able to have more money in the coming summer: 'our worst prospect is the rising of provisions, owing (as you will no doubt hear from better sources) namely another aggression of that bandit, the Holy Alliance [coalition of Russia, Austria and Prussia]. Things generally about here wear the appearance of prosperity, but the workman's wages are extremely low'; he will now leave space for his mother and others to write
James Forbes is in good health and wishes the same for his brother; they wish to hear from him; he has been working at Marsland's for nearly 12 months, but has not received any advance of his wages; he is expecting not to receive more than 12s; he likes his job, and would like to stay on for another year; their father is proposing to write to Munro again [annotated above the line: 'I never yet have wrat [written] to Munro, nor am I positive that I shall, until I hear either from you or him – John Forbes [senior]']; 'with regard to botany, I can't learn much at my place, as none of them takes no delight in it'; Jos Hobson [Joseph Hobson] has left for Manchester, but 'there is some about Aston who study the science'; he has learned 'a good deal of botany' and is able to recognise plants; Sweet's 'Catalogue' [?Robert Sweet, 'Hortus suburbanus Londinensis', 1816] has been very useful for him
Elizabeth Forbes does not have much to say, sending her 'fondest love and grateful thanks for your kindness to us, with my best wishes for your success and safe return, and my sincere prayers that this may meet with you as well as it now leaves us'
Anna Bella Forbes says that Mr Smith [John Smith, owner of a nursery garden in Dukinfield] is leaving the nursery at midsummer, as they have 'taken some land near Manchester' and business is quiet; the winter has been very stormy; in the first week of December there was 'almost a hurricane', with buildings falling down, 'dreadful accounts from the shores' and three vessels sunk 'in the very docks at Liverpool'; luckily no one in the family suffered any harm in that or subsequent storms
Extent - 4 page letter (1 sheet)
Repository - Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library
Copyright - Orphan work
Credit Line - RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)