Doctor Samuel Simmons Forte

Abt 1816 - 1861  (45 years)

• Name	Doctor Samuel Simmons Forte  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
  Birth	Abt 1816	, St. Thomas Parish, , Barbados
  Christening	3 Apr 1816	St Thomas, Barbados   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1861
  Person ID	I6901	Ancestrees
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2026

  
  

  Father	Christopher Forte, **,   b. Abt 1789   d. 11 Nov 1834, , St. Thomas Parish, , Barbados (Age 45 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Anna Lamming,   b. Abt Apr 1784, St. Joseph, Barbados d. Sep 1824, , St. Thomas Parish, , Barbados (Age 40 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	13 Dec 1814	, St. Thomas Parish, , Barbados   [11]
  Family ID	F5133	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Walcott Cheeseman,   b. Bef 1820   d. of St Michaels, Barbados, West Indies
  Marriage	11 May 1837	Saint Michael,Barbadoes,Caribbean   [7, 12]
  _MARRIED	N
  Children	1. Female Forte, Died at age 11,   b. Aft 1841, Barbados or South America d. Yes, date unknown  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Samuel Heath Forte,   b. 1841, St. Michael's Parish, Barbados d. Abt 1854 (Age 13 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   3. Arabella Hinds Forte,   b. 26 Feb 1838   d. 3 Aug 1839, , St. Michaels Parish, , Barbadoes (Age 1 year)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   4. James Henry Forte,   b. 8 Jul 1839   d. 16 Dec 1899, Sydney, , AUS (Age 60 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F1037	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2026

  
  

• Notes

  There was a wonderful and tragic diary of Doctor Samuel Simmons Forte that I was sent from a descendant of this Samuel in Australia or New Zealand in the early 1990's that has sadly been lost in one of my computer crashes over the years. I will summarize it here. Let me preface their story with the story of my children's ancestor, Samuel Simmons' brother, Edward Cyrus Forte. Edward's transcribed diary still exists. In it, we know that their father died when he was 14. He said he would never forget the shock that all their father's wealth went to his oldest brother. He had to make his own way in the world, first as a farm hand and then as a shipman. His life was very tragic and he carried resentment for his oldest brother who got to return to England and become a doctor. Little did he know how tragic his oldest brother's life was too. According to Samuel Simmons Forte's wife's diary, Samuel, wife and children born in England and Barbados moved to South America where he could bring medical care to the natives. He was on horseback traveling huge distances all the time. He barely got sleep or could see his family. Here the entire family caught malaria. They had at least one daughter who was age 5 in South America who also developed a serious eye infection. No matter what they tried it just got worse. The whole family's health was so poor that they left that continent and literally took a ship back to England, then to places like Africa, India and eventually to Australia if I recall, to find a climate that gave them some relief from their reoccurring Malaria. This all occurred in the 1800's! Their daughter with the eye infection died of this when she was but 11 years of age. They had taken their nanny with them on each of these voyages from South America. You can imagine the additional grief that occurred when their Nanny laid dying years later. This woman gave a death bed confession. She told them that she had poisoned their daughter's eye until she died. When they asked her why through much anger and sadness, she replied with a spiteful tone, it's because Dr. Forte was not able to save my own 5 year old boy who was the same age as your daughter, when he passed. (An eye for an eye...) Their descendants still live in Australia and New Zealand.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1719] Nigel James Forte to Linda Coate Email letter dated Feb. 15, 1999 at kingforte@clear.net.nz (F-603). [S1094] Ancestry.com, Barbados, Church Records, 1637-1849, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2014 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), 1,9788::0. [S1576] Cheesman, Frank, email dated 2007 from fwcheesman@telus.net. [S208] Raymond & Clara Forte Corrigan, Pedigree Chart prepared by Clara Patterson Forte? deceased It is accurate to the family history passed down by Edward Cyrus Forte (1851-1942). [S209] Edward Forte, The Sea Gull: The Life and Adventures of E. Forte (Unpublished, short, autobiography). [S272] Descendants of Samuel Forte Sr. prepared by Claude Henry Forte circa early 1900's with added info by his gr. grandson, Nigel James Forte. [S108] Ancestry.com, Caribbean, Select Marriages, 1591-1905, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XLL9-TY2 [S13] Ancestry.com, England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JM6X-4S7 [S1720] Ancestry.com, Barbados, Select Marriages, 1854-1879, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F2SG-V19 [S153] Ancestry.com, Caribbean, Select Births and Baptisms, 1590-1928, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XLKH-8L5 [S1607] Ancestry.com, Caribbean, Select Marriages, 1591-1905, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2014 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), 1,60247::0. [S108] Ancestry.com, Caribbean, Select Marriages, 1591-1905, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XLL9-TYK