Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet

Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet
Born	1739-04-05 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	1806-11-12 Edinburgh, Scotland
Occupation(s)	Banker, landowner, philanthropist, author
Known for	Leadership of Forbes, Hunter & Co.; philanthropy; authoring Memoirs of a Banking-House

Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet (1739–1806), often referred to as William Forbes of Pitsligo, was a prominent Scottish banker, landowner, philanthropist, and author.

Life and career

William Forbes was born in Edinburgh on 5 April 1739, the son of Sir William Forbes, 5th Baronet, who practiced law as an advocate. The family’s estate at Monymusk in Aberdeenshire had been sold by his grandfather. On his maternal side, his grandmother was connected to Alexander Forbes, 4th Lord Forbes of Pitsligo, whose lands were confiscated in 1745. After losing his father at the age of four, Forbes’s mother relocated the family first to Aberdeen for educational reasons before settling back in Edinburgh in 1753.

Leveraging family ties, Forbes commenced an apprenticeship in 1754 at Messrs. Coutts, a leading banking establishment in Edinburgh. After completing seven years as an apprentice and clerk, he advanced to partner status. Following John Coutts’s death in 1761, a new partnership was established in 1763 that included Forbes. In 1770, he married Elizabeth Hay, daughter of Sir James Hay of Smithfield.

Between 1763 and 1773, the firm operated under the Coutts name with partners Sir Robert Herries and James Hunter. The firm was renamed Forbes, Hunter, & Co. in 1773 with Forbes assuming leadership. He concentrated the company’s efforts solely on banking activities and successfully navigated it through financial upheavals in 1772, 1788, and 1793. The institution began issuing banknotes from 1783 and eventually transformed into the Union Bank of Scotland by 1838.

Forbes earned a reputation as a financial expert; he played a role in shaping the Bankruptcy Act revision of 1783 and provided fiscal counsel to William Pitt the Younger. Although Pitt offered him an Irish peerage in 1799, Forbes chose to decline the honor.

He committed resources to reclaiming his ancestral lands at Pitsligo, ultimately acquiring the entire barony by 1781 and establishing the village of New Pitsligo in 1783. That same year he helped found the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His charitable contributions extended to several Edinburgh institutions including the High School, Merchant Company, Morningside Lunatic Asylum, and Blind Asylum. Together with his partner Hunter Blair, he supported the construction of South Bridge and advocated for enhanced rights for Scottish Episcopalians in Edinburgh.

Forbes owned property on the Royal Mile before relocating to Edinburgh’s New Town around 1770. It is noteworthy that some partners associated with his firm were engaged in the Atlantic slave trade.

In 1792 Forbes was elected as Rector of Marischal College in Aberdeen, a position he held until 1794. In 1801 he commissioned architect Richard Crichton to design Colinton House on land acquired from the Foulis family; this estate later served as the main building for Merchiston Castle School.

Although he declined offers to stand for Parliament, Forbes maintained an active social life as a member of Samuel Johnson’s literary dining club and is referenced in James Boswell’s Tour to the Hebrides. He passed away at his residence at 39 George Street, Edinburgh on 12 November 1806 and was interred in Greyfriars Kirkyard within a vault constructed for protection against grave robbing prevalent at that time.

Works

His enduring friendship with poet James Beattie culminated in the publication of An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, LL.D., including many of his Original Letters, released in two quarto volumes (1806) and reissued as three octavo volumes a year later. Earlier, Forbes had composed a tribute to his mother which remained unpublished until 1875; this work also contained a memorial dedicated to his wife within the Narrative of the last Sickness and Death of Dame Christian Forbes. Additionally, he authored Memoirs of a Banking-House (1803).

Children

On 20 September 1770, Forbes wedded Elizabeth Hay (who passed away on 26 December 1789), the daughter of Sir James Hay, 4th Baronet of Smithfield. Elizabeth gained recognition as a singer affiliated with the Edinburgh Music Society at St Cecilia's Hall.

Together, they had thirteen offspring:

1. Sir William Forbes, 7th Baronet of Pitsligo (1773–1828)
2. Christian Forbes (1775–1863), spouse of Sir Alexander Wood
3. John Hay Forbes, Lord Medwyn (1776–1854)
4. James Forbes (born 1778)
5. Rebecca Forbes (1779–1826), married to Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry
6. Elizabeth Forbes (1781–1840), wife of Colin Mackenzie of Portmore WS FRSE, portrayed by Sir Henry Raeburn
7. Daniel Forbes (born 1782)
8. Adam Forbes (born 1783)
9. Grace Forbes (born 1785)
10. Jane Forbes (1787–1862), married James Skene of Rubislaw, parents of William Forbes Skene
11. Frances Farquharson Forbes (born 1788)
12. George Forbes (1790–1857), banker
13. Charles Forbes (born 1791)

Among his distinguished descendants are grandchildren James David Forbes and Sir John Stuart Hepburn Forbes, as well as the great-grandchild scientist George Forbes.

References

• Profile, electricscotland.com. Accessed 16 June 2007
• Profile, stirnet.com. Accessed 16 June 2007
• "Memoirs of a Banking-House" (fully online)