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Title Letters from James Murray Forbes to Robert Bennet Forbes
Reference Ms. N-49, box 40
Library Massachusetts Historical Society
Collection Forbes Family Papers
Collection Series James Murray Forbes Papers, 1813-1930
Date 1865-1866
Author / Creator Forbes, James Murray
Description Letters to James Murray Forbes's father, describing business in China and discussing news of family and friends.
Document Type Manuscript, Correspondence
Theme(s) Trade and Commerce
Keywords ship, trade, business, adventure, travel, merchant, coolie, import, export, cargo, freight, news, family, captain, voyage, steam, food, weather
Countries China; USA; Japan
Ports Shanghai, China; Hong Kong, China; Boston, USA; Yokohama, Japan; Guangzhou, China
Additional Information

James Murray Forbes was born in 1845, the son of Rose and Robert Bennet Forbes (1804-1889). He had a brother, Robert Bennet Forbes (1837-1891) and a sister Edith (1843-1925) who married Charles Elliott Perkins in 1864. In 1871, James married Alice Francis Bowditch (1848-1929), and the couple had three children: Allan (1874-1955), Mary Bowditch (1878-1961), and Dorothy Murray (1881-1944).

James Murray Forbes travelled abroad to China to work for Russell and Company in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Canton. After his marriage in 1871 he served as Russell and Company's agent in Boston for a time, and then worked as an officer for several railroad and investment companies. He maintained a house at 107 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, one at Milton, and one at Dark Harbor, Maine.

Please note that some of the metadata for this document has been drawn from the Massachusetts Historical Society catalogue.

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