William Forbes of Callendar by Sir Henry Raeburn, SNPG

Sir William Forbes of Callendar (1743–1815) was a prosperous

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

smith and landowner who lived in

Callendar House Callendar House is a mansion set within the grounds of Callendar Park in Falkirk, central Scotland. During the 19th century, it was redesigned and extended in the style of a French Renaissance architecture, French Renaissance château fused wit ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Biography

Forbes was a

self-made man "Self-made man" is a classic phrase coined on February 2, 1842 by Henry Clay in the United States Senate, to describe individuals whose success lay within the individuals themselves, not with outside conditions. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Foun ...

. The son of an

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

merchant, he began work as a coppersmith and won a government contract to sheath ships' hulls in copper. With the fortune he made (equivalent to over $1 billion in today's terms), he purchased the estates of Callendar and

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

near Falkirk, which had been forfeited by the Jacobite

Earl of Linlithgow Earl of Linlithgow was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1600 for Alexander Livingston, 7th Lord Livingston, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Livingston and Callendar. In 1695, the Earldom of Linlithgow merged with ...

after the

1715 Jacobite rising The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, lo ...

. He bought the estates at auction and is said to have astounded bystanders by producing a banknote for £100,000, specially printed for the occasion, at the age of just 40. At the time he was the greatest landowner in the county, with some of the largest collected lands in

.He was not popular with local people, but nevertheless his family retained great influence over the area for two centuries. As a successful coppersmith from Aberdeen, among other products, he manufactured sugar boiling pans and rum stills for export to Jamaica. Connecting him and his business to the profits of

slavery in the Caribbean Slavery in the British and French Caribbean refers to slavery in the parts of the Caribbean dominated by France or the British Empire. History In the Caribbean, England colonised the islands of St. Kitts and Barbados in 1623 and 1627 respec ...

. Wishing to set himself up as a 'landed gentleman', William purchased further vast estates in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Earlstoun,

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

and

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

. He spent ten years making improvements to Callendar House, dividing his time between the house and London. He gave orders for the complete renovation and refurnishing of the entire house, adding a new wing and ripping out old rooms. He added the various turrets and exterior decoration which give the house its chateau-like appearance today. Although William preferred the newest fashion (and purchased the best furniture and household goods from makers in London and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

) he did not spend money recklessly, ordering the new servants' wing to be furnished 'in the cheapest way'. His first wife was Margaret McAdam, daughter of John McAdam of Craigengillan. She did not keep well and was sent to Madeira for her health's sake. There she died, at the early age of 28, in March 1793. Her gravestone, English marble, sent from London, can be seen in the English Cemetery, Funchal. Forbes remarried in 1806 Agnes Chalmers, daughter of John Chalmers of Old Machar in Aberdeen. This union produced two sons and three daughters. The Forbes household settled down after William's marriage and he began to spend more time in Callendar House and give his brother David greater control of the business in London. In 1794, aged 51, he retired to become a full-time landowner, rejecting the idea of employing a factor trained in the needs of estate management and elected to manage the estates himself. His first son William, 2nd of Callendar, went on to become

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP for

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

. Forbes' descendants sold Callendar House in the 1960s and are listed in ''

Burke's Landed Gentry ''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cent ...

''.

References

BiographyFind A Grave Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Sir William 1743 births 1815 deaths Scottish knights Scottish coppersmiths People from Aberdeen Scottish businesspeople People associated with Falkirk (council area) Scottish landowners