Accounts of John Forbes headed 'Money paid'
Information
Title - Accounts of John Forbes headed 'Money paid'
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Col/3/2/2
Date - 26 Dec 1821-5 Aug 1824
Scope & content - Accounts of John Forbes, 26 Dec 1821-5 Aug 1823. Divided into sections, with sums in pounds and occasionally other currencies. With pencil annotations in an unidentified hand, giving calculations of the sum totals at the bottom of the pages and 'amt [amount] brought forward' at the top of each page
England, 26 Dec 1821-10 Feb 1822, including 'four journeys to the Leven at Woolwich' 16s, '200 gun flints', 'nails for netting the roof of cabin' 2s, 'expenses on shore' 4s and 'glue' 1s 6d [here the list includes 14 more items]
Lisbon [Portugal], 23 Feb-4 Mar 1822, including 'refreshments' 3s 6d, 'boatage to and from shore' 4s 2d, 'gardener, museum keeper and porter at Adjuda [Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal]' 8s 4d, 'string for labels and packing' 8d and '18 vines' £1 3s 2d [here the list includes 24 more items]
Madeira [Portugal], 8-13 Mar 1822, including 'refreshments on the road for self and horse' 5s, 'for horse and guide, 2 days' 16s 8d, 'bed at Finchal [Funchal, Madeira, Portugal]' 2s 6d, 'breakfast' 3s and 'boatage to the ship 1s 6d [here the list includes 9 more items]
Teneriffe [Tenerife, Spain], 18-20 Mar 1822, including 'refreshments at Santa Cruiz [Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Spain] and Laguna [San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain]' 14s, 'horse for luggage' 7s 6d, 'bed and breakfast' 6s 6d, 'refreshments' 4s 8d and 'boatage to and from the ship' 5s 2d
St Nicholas [Sao Nicolau, Cabo Verde], 30 Mar 1822, including 'guide and carriage of luggage' 8s 4d
St Jago [Santiago, Cabo Verde], 5 Apr 1822, including 'refreshments', 4s 2d
Rio de Janeiro [Brazil], 2 May-8 Jun 1822, including 'dinner' Rs 1,000 [Brazilian old real, currency in Brazil] or 4s 2d, 'boy to catch insects' Rs 240 or 1s, 'negros for porterage of moss' Rs 260 or 1s 6d, '10lbs tobacco' Rs 2,700 or 8s 4d and 'two pairs of green goggles' Rs 3,200 or 13s 4d [here the list includes 90 more items]
Cape of Good Hope [South Africa], 8 Jul-12 Sep 1822, including 'brace pistols' Rds 50 [rixdollar, currency at the Cape, South Africa], 'spade, tomahawk and nails' Rds 8.4, 'metal spoon and mug for tents' Rds 4, 'arsenic and potash (for aquatic birds)', Rds 8 and 'mess on board for July, Aug, Sep' Rds 70 [here the list includes 37 more items]. Includes notes in pencil at the bottom of the page about the exchange rate
Delagoa Bay [Maputo Bay, Mozambique], Nov 1822, including 'arsenical soap' 6s 6d, '8 knives for traffic [trading]' 6s, 'one reading glass, 3 lens' 8s 6d, 'pin cushion' 6d and '10 lbs gun powder' [here the list includes 5 more items]
St Mary's Madagascar [Nosy Boraha, Madagascar], 5 Jan 1823, comprising 'mat case, Madagascar manufacture' 10s 3d, 'cloth of Sagus raffia [Raphia vinifera], 1 dollar' 5s 1 1/2d and 'mess expenses, 8 dollars' £2 1s
Johanna [Anjouan, Union of the Comoros], 22 Jan 1823, comprising 'mess expenses at Johanna, 4 dollars' £1 6d
Mozambique, 9 Feb 1823, comprising 'mess expenses at Mozambeaque [Mozambique], 6 dollars' £1 10s 9d
[Algoa Bay, South Africa], Mar 1823, comprising 'insects collected for me during our absence at Algoa Bay' Rds 35, 'refreshments on shore at Algoa Bay' Rds 5, 'sheepskin blanket for traveling into the interior' Rds 11, 'mess expenses for stock etc' Rds 12
Cape of Good Hope, 8 Apr-16 Jun 1823, including 'horse hire to Cape Town [South Africa] and back' Rds 15, 'mess establishment at the observatory' Rds 20, 'galls for preservation powder' Rds 5, 'beads for Senna [Sena, Mozambique] expedition' Rds 25 and 'swords for self and man [?Adonis, Forbes' servant for the Senna expedition]' Rds 40 [here the list includes 17 more items]
Algoa Bay, 30 Apr 1823, 'letters for England' Rds 8.60, 'shoes for man' Rds 10, 'shirts for man' Rds 10, 'duck frock and trousers' Rds 8
Annotated in pencil on the blank opposite page 'Died in August 1823'. The total sum of £164 5s 9d added in pencil
The following page contains accounts written in a different hand, in French. 'Depenses, pour differens effets achetes a Maurice avant notre depart, necessaires dans le voyage' 24 Jun-5 Aug 1824. Divided into sections according to the location and/or time, in an unidentified currency. Possibly related to the botanist Carl Theodor Hilsenberg, German botanist and naturalist, who joined HMS Leven after the death of John Forbes. Hilsenberg died in Madagascar 11 Sep 1824
Includes
'Juin 24-Juill 15', including '4 rames de papier gris non colle' [unknown currency]18, '5 lb de savon arsenical' [unknown currency]10, '2 paquets d'epingles pour insectes' [unknown currency]6, 'deux scalpels et une paire de ciseaux' [unknown currency]3 and 'une lampe' [unknown currency]0.30 [here the list includes 4 more items]
'Tamatave [?Toamasina, Madagascar]', 22 Jul, 'achete un chapeau pour moi' [unknown currency]0.50, 'achete 2 beches pour moi' [unknown currency]0.50
'Foulpointe [?Mahavelona, Madagascar]', 25 Jul, 'manger pour le domestique' [unknown currency]0.50
'St Marie [Nosy Boraha, Madagascar]', 29 Jul-4 Aug, 'employe pour moi' [unknown currency]0.75, 'pour laver' [unknown currency]0.75, '3 pirogues a diff. tems chaque 25c' [unknown currency]0.75, 'au Maroomitte pour chercher des plantes vivantes' [unknown currency]1, 'cinq jours de logement et nourriture' [unknown currency]4. The total sum of [unknown currency] 60.75 added in pencil, in the same hand as in Forbes' accounts
Extent - 10 pages (11 sheets)
Repository - Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library
Copyright - Royal Horticultural Society
Credit Line - RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)