Notes:

He was a Colonel in the militia and a member of the Council. He moved his family back to Clifton, England and still has living descendants in western England today. (F-604, 606)

Nathaniel married Arabella Chavasse MILLARD on 13 Oct 1840. Arabella (daughter of John MILLARD and Arabella CHAVASSE) was born about 1815; died on 4 Mar 1851. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Nathaniel FORTE was born on 19 Aug 1841; died in in Clifton, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
2. Cockburn FORTE was born on 11 Dec 1842; died in 1903 in Clifton, Bristol, ENG.
3. Bryan FORTE was born on 26 Mar 1844; died in 1870 in Clifton, Bristol, ENG.
4. Sophia Jane FORTE was born in 1845; died in 1913 in Clifton, Bristol, ENG.
5. Joseph FORTE was born on 27 Mar 1847; died in 1916.
6. Frances Arabella FORTE was born in 1849; died in 1925 in Clifton, Bristol, ENG.
7. Arabella Chavasse FORTE was born in 1851; died in 1851.

Notes:

Nathaniel was the Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1829-1835, as well as J.P. and Colonel of the Militia. (F-458, 604) There is a story in the genealogical magazines of Barbados that goes like this. At an election party, a young soldier, Lieutenant John Cage was, in jest, hit on the back by a young Mr. Samuel Forte. A fight followed. Lieutenant Cage was not forgiving and demanded that a duel be held in lieu of an apology. Mr. Forte of "good family and high social position" accepted the duel and shot Cage dead. When the military tried to arrest him, he was taken into hiding by "Aunt Peg" of General William's family at the Welchman Hall plantation. He is said to have escaped the island after receiving "Aunt Peg's" help and lived the rest of his life abroad. This particular story coined the phrase "AS DEAD AS CAGE". (F-162)

However, a cousin in New Zeland has it handed down from his great grandfather's genealogy (Claude Forte) that this actually occurred to the above Nathaniel Weekes Forte.... and he obviously still went on to become Speaker of the House. The pistols used in the duel are still in possession of the family in New Zealand. Nigel Forte, gr.grandson of the above Claude does not know where he got the information that the duel happened to Nathaniel instead. It's really still in question. (F-602)

Nathaniel married Jane ADAMSON on 21 Nov 1801. Jane (daughter of Esq. George ADAMSON) died in Feb 1843 in , St. Thomas Parish, , Barbados. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The origins of this family in England might be Clifton, Bristol, Gloucester, England. I theorize this because Christopher's great-grandson, Nathaniel, son of Nathaniel and Arabella Millard, returned to live in Clifton along with multiple siblings. It was known as Clifstone in the Doomsday Book which needs checked for Forte ancestors. The surname has been suggested to have been Fortesque or Fortibus previous to their departure to Barbados for political necessities.

Christopher, (b.1712) did have a son named Christopher. This Christopher's birthday or christening have not been able to be located. He was the 3rd son of Christopher. (F-194, F-205) Notice that the names Christopher and Samuel are in all 7 generations in Barbados if this line is the correct one. In fact, it supports the truth of this lineage.

Both Christopher and Elizabeth died in a hurricane in Barbados in 1780. At least 79 persons died in that hurricane. However, he is not amongst the listing of burials in that year. (F-604)

An article in the Advocate Magazine dated Jan. 21, 1979 in Barbados implies that the Forte family was one related branch that was in Barbados from early times. It mentions several plantation houses that the Forte Family owned. The Forte Family owned Haynes Hill Plantation, St. John's Parish in 1700 on which a tomb still exists inscribed "Within this wall are interred the remains of Samuel Forte 1711 and his wife Ursula 1700 and many members of the Forte family." (When Jim and I visited the Haynes Hill House in 1990, we saw the tomb, and learned that the house now standing had been built in 1831 after the original house the Forte's had lived in was destroyed in a hurricane.) The "Fort" family is listed as possessing land in the area of Haynes Hill House on maps in 1729 and 1794. The Forte family (A Mr. T. or J. Forte) purchased the Bennett mansion about 1831 (possibly due to the hurricane??) in St. Thomas Parish.

This early Forte family was also highly involved in the government. Lt. Col. Samuel Forte was a representative in St. John's Parish House of Assembly from 1715-1719, 1721 and 1723-1727. (This is probably Samuel Forte Jr., son of the original Samuel Forte, Sr. who is buried on Haynes Hill). From 1787 to 1803, Dr. Samuel Forte of St. Thomas represented St. Thomas in the House of Assembly. His brother Nathaniel represented it from 1831 to 1836, as Speaker of the Assembly. Two William Forte's represented it between those times. (F-193)

Christopher married Elizabeth WEEKES on 27 Oct 1764 in , St. Phillip Parish, , Barbados. Elizabeth (daughter of President Ralph WEEKES) was born about 1744; died in 1780. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Burke's Landed Gentry gives her father as Ralph Weekes. That means he was probably the grandson of the Rev. Ralph Weekes who had sons Ralph, Nathaniel, John, Thomas, and Roger listed in his will in St. Philips Parish, dated 6 Aug 1700. (F-160) At least one of these Weeke's was of Quaker persuasion. A Ralph Weekes is buried in a Quaker burial Ground in St. Phillips Parish on Robert Taylor's Plantation. (F-161)

Notes:

This Christopher Forte is the son of Samuel Forte, Jr. as verified in the 1715 Census of St. Johns Parish in Barbados. All of Samuel Jr.'s children had been born by 1715 except for son Enoch. We know 4 of Christopher's children for sure, to be Samuel, William, Christopher and Ann from Christopher's brother, Samuel (III)'s will. (F-458)

Christopher married Thomasin LESLIE after 1732. Thomasin (daughter of Colonel William LESLIE and Thomasine FORTE) was born in 1711 in , St. Johns Parish, , Barbados; died in 1759. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He was President of the Council of the Island of Barbados. (C-548) His title is listed as President of the Island of Barbados in Claude James Forte's Ancestry. He is listed as the father of Elizabeth Weekes in Burkes Colonial Gentry. Ralph is probably the Ralph who was age 5 in the 1715 Barbados census and the son of Doctor and Esquire Ralph and Madam Jane Weekes. His family and ancestry are listed here connected to Elizabeth Weekes. (F-309,310) Additional evidence that this is the correct line, is that Samuel Forte deeded land to this Ralph Weekes in Vol. 30, p.140, and p. 179.