Jonathan Forward (1680–1760) was a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

merchant primarily responsible for

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...

transportation to the American colonies from 1718 to 1739. In accordance with the

Transportation Act 1717 The Piracy Act 1717 (4 Geo 1 c 11), sometimes called the Transportation Act 1717 (1718 in New Style), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that established a regulated, bonded system to transport criminals to colonies in North Ame ...

, Forward was contracted to transport

felons A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...

from Newgate Prison and from numerous

home counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included ...

Marriage

Forward married Susannah before 1712. Daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1712 and died in 1789. On 19 December 1734, Elizabeth married Robert Byng, fourth son of Rear-Admiral

George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733), of Southill Park in Bedfordshire, was a Royal Navy officer and statesman. While still a lieutenant, he delivered a letter from various captains ...

Career

Jonathan Forward officially became a convict transport merchant in 1718. "The proposal of Jonathan Forward, merchant, for transporting felons s read The proposer may take them gratis and transport them for his own advant ge" Forward contracted the services of numerous ships, captains, and crews to facilitate convict transportation. Among his most reliable captains was Darby Lux I commanded several ships from

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

carrying tobacco on consignment to Forward. Lux's ships contracted for convict transport to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

included: ''Gilbert'', 1720-1722; ''Jonathan'', 1723-1724; ''Patapsco Merchant'', 1732; and ''Genoa Galley'', 1738. Forward continued as sole convict transportation contractor until 1739, when he chose to retire after more than twenty years. "Andrew Reid, of London, merchant, is to be the transporter of felons loco Jonathan Forward, and the contract to be made with him for that purpose is to be for 3 years certain."

Death

Jonathan Forward died in 1760 and was buried in London.

Children

Jonathan and Susannah Forward had two daughters. One was Elizabeth, christened on 15 May 1712. The second was an unnamed girl.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forward, Jonathan 1760 deaths 1680 births 18th-century merchants Merchants from London