FOBESDALE 2004

FOBESDALE 2004
Originally uploaded by jonfobes.

Some early Fobes / Kingsville history plucked from a variety of sources.

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• How the Fobes name was born

Most distant, directly traceable ancestor is John De Forbes, a man of "rank and importance" circa 1250, during the reign of William the Lion. According to one source, "The surname ‘Forbes’ was taken from the lands of Forbes County, Aberdeen, Scotland, granted by Alexander II of Scotland, to the progenitor of this noble family." Forbes Castle stands in the middle of a 6,000 acre estate. Burke's Peerage and Baronage tells more about the Forbes family, offering such tidbits as, "Sir Alexander Forbes, gave in 1362, a varicolored altar front to the chapel of St. Anne in the Church of St. Nicholas at Aberdeen."

“Fobes” started with John Forbes, born in Scotland, raised in Leyden, Holland, circa 1600; he arrived in Duxbury, Mass., in 1636; he was the son of the Rev. John Forbes, who left Scotland for Holland with his congregation and the rest of the Pilgrims in the late 1500s.

Most of the Pilgrims had to wait many years before coming to the New World. John Forbes the elder returned to Scotland while and John Forbes the younger remaind in Holland so long he developed an accent that resulted in a soft pronunciation of the letter "r," so upon landing in Duxbury he gave his name as Forbes, but it was recorded as "Fobes."

And that started the Fobes Family in America.

• The first settler who was a land owner in what we now know as Kingsville, was Captain Walter Fobes, who came from Norwich, Massachusetts in 1805. He died in 1816. Kingsville at one time was known as Fobes' Dale or Fobesdale. For a short while, although not officially, Kingsville was called "Fobes' Tale." However, the settlers of early Kingsville did not like that outsiders were altering the name, so they finally got together and renamed their township, “Norwich” after the town that Captain Walter Fobes came from. However, the name "Norwich" was short lived.

A traveler named King heard about the controversy and came up with a plan. He suggested that the town be named after him. In return, he would give the people four gallons of whiskey. The people agreed and Kingsville was born. The township of Kingsville was organized in 1810 and was the first township created from Ashtabula Township.

• From an essay called, “Kingsville Women”

“The first woman whose husband settled upon his own land was Amanda, wife of Walter Fobes, who came here in 1805, and their daughter, OCTAVIA, born in 1806, was the first baby to take a glimpse of the world in Kingsville.
“The other daughters were Amanda, Rosamond, Louisa and Harmony. Left a widow in 1814 Mrs. Fobes devoted herself to the care of the sick during the remainder of her life.”

• Link to a Fobes company in The War of 1812.


• WAYNE TWP. / ASHTABULA COUNTY

“In the spring of 1803, aging Simon Fobes of Somers, Connecticut, bought 1500 acres of land in the township, one entire tier of lots south of and adjoining the east and west center line. He traveled to the new lands with his son, Joshua, and Joshua's wife, Dorothy, and his young brother, Elias, age 10, a trip of 49 days. They were joined along the way by a cousin, David Fobes. Simon returned to Connecticut for a while after the Fobes lands were ascertained.
“Joshua and David began clearing land for a cabin, but were delayed when the work proved too much for the weary Joshua. It was October 8 before the family moved onto their own land, on lot 57, to become the first settlers in Wayne.”

• According to THE HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY OHIO
Published in Philadelphia by Williams Brothers in 1878

THE SIMON FOBES FAMILY. Members of six generations from this family are buried side by side in the cemetery at the centre of Wayne Township. The first death among the early settlers of Wayne was that of Mrs. Thankful Fobes, who died January 8, 1808; and three days later the funeral of her husband, Simon Fobes, took place. These aged people were married March 24, 1748. Their family consisted of eight children - four sons and four daughters - namely, Thankful, Joshua, Bethiah, Simon, Nathan, Ellis, Eunice and one who died in infancy.

Simon Fobes (2d) was born April 5, 1756. He was a soldier in the army of the Revolution, and fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, and afterwards joined the expedition under General Benedict Arnold against Canada, and was engaged in the assault upon the city of Quebec, where he was taken prisoner of war. After suffering incredible hardships, he escaped from the British on the 18th of August and reached his home on the 30th of September, 1776. He afterwards served as ensign in Colonel Levi Wells' regiment.