| Notes |
- According to cousin James Forte, the Forte's came from Normandy, France originally. There are two Forte brothers that assisted William the Conqueror and were given titles and land in England for their services. The Forte family had settled in Somersetshire, England during the 16th and 17th centuries. Samuel Forte came to Barbados in 1680 from the Somersetshire family according to Burkes Landed Gentry. However, he is likely the Samuel Forte who was a witness to George Foster's will on Nov. 23, 1670, in St. John's Parish, Barbados. Another of the witnesses was Edmund Haynes. Samuel later owned land that became known as Haynes Hill Plantation in St. John's Parish.
He was supposedly exiled from England, obviously with some portable wealth in tack. James Forte, a cousin, states that the Fortes lost their property, title, and the "scue" on the end of their name when siding with the Royalists against Cromwell. The name was originally Fortibus according to the "General Armory". It states the Forte's from Somerset were originally from the name de Fortibus.
The coat of arms for the Fortes in Somerset also comes from Fortibus. This could have occurred when Samuel was a child as Cromwell came into power about 1651. It would have been his unproven father who lost his title and lands. Thus when Samuel was in his 20's to 30's he would have immigrated to Barbados to make his way in the world. (F-469)
Samuel came to own what was later owned by a Mr. Haynes and named Haynes Hill Plantation in Barbados. He and Thomas Estwick are listed as beneficiaries of Mary Combs Adamson's will in 1689 in St. John's Parish. He is in a position in the transcription where it is difficult to tell if he is a friend of the family or a brother-in-law. He was a friend and executor for John Pearnell's will dated 1691 on an island called Hothersall's Poole.
He is named as a friend of Augustin Dry's will dated May 1692 in St. John's Parish. The will names his 2 oldest daughters of Samuel Forte Senior. Thomasin was named in the will and was only 12 at the time. Augustin's will transcription then names the following persons as executors: Frances (age 20 if it's Samuel's daughter), Ursula (wife of Samuel Forte Sr.), Mrs. Ula Forte (likely wife of Codrington), a Mary Franck, and Codrington Forte as executors. Here are possible theories about the relationships in this will.
As far as we know, all Forte's in Barbados descend from this Dr. Samuel Forte, Esquire, making it likely that Codrington is his son named after the very wealthy Codrington family of Barbados who were Sugar Barons.
If Mrs. Ula is the wife of Codrington, she might be the daughter of Arlington. Since Samuel is about 43 at the time and Arlington is about 40 this would suggest that Ula was a young married woman. Codrington could be Augustin's son-in-law. That would mean that his friend Samuel Forte's 20-year-old daughter and wife was named Executor along with Codrington and his wife. They would have been family to Codrington. The name Codrington is the same as the Honorable Christopher Codrington that Samuel names in his will as having given his third wife, Elizabeth Estwick, a silver plate since they (Samuel and she) had been married. Perhaps that is how they met as Samuel appears to have given a son the name Codrington after someone he admired previous to his marriage to Elizabeth Estwick.
Augustin's young married daughter might have requested to have her mother-in-law and sister-in-law's help along with her husband. Samuel's daughter Thomasin who was only about 12 at the time was also named in Augustin's will. He certainly was close to Samuel as a friend. I can't find a family relationship through Samuel's first wife who was Mary Culpepper explaining why his daughters were named in the will. The most likely scenario is that the Fortes were Augustin's daughters-in-laws and friends of the family to Augustin. That would suggest that Codrington was a son of Samuel who died before Samuel wrote his will.
He is named in his son-in-law, William Collymer's will in 1705. In Samuel's own will dated Oct. 16, 1711, in St. John's Parish, he bequeaths his wife the silverplate that she had been given by the Honorable Christopher Codrington after he had married Elizabeth Estwick. He give money to his grandchildren due him from the estate of William Collymore. (F-164) He and the members of his family were buried in a tomb on his plantation. (F-24) Note the name Codrington appearing as a Codrington Forte in this family. It was Christopher Codrington III who lived till 1610 that Samuel is likely referring to in his will. A Sarah Codrington in her will names her kinswoman, Jane.
In his will, he stipulated that the tomb should always be available for whoever wished to visit. When my past husband and I visited Barbados in Apr. of 1990, we were able to visit Haynes Hill House and see the tomb - plaque and all. The current owner of the House, Jean Porter, stated that the small plot of land surrounding the tomb does not belong to anyone. It was bought by an English descendant in the 1900's and left as a preserved space which he had planned to grow hedgerows to honor his ancestors. That never occurred.
The house that is now standing on Haynes Hill is not the house that Samuel originally lived in. It was blown down in the 1831 hurricane and the one that now stands was built then. This house is, according to Jean Porter, haunted. The ghost walks around at night in what sounds like heavy men's work boots and is harmless.
The Coat of Arms for the Forte family is a shield with a Rooster and 3 red mallets as symbols. The motto is Forte Scutum Salas Ducum. Forte means strong. Scutum in ancient Rome was a leather shield, Salus means health, and Ducum means of or relating to Dukedom. (F-465)
Although the parentage of this Samuel Forte is unknown, I have two working theories as to his parentage based on baptismal, marriage, and burial records for all towns in Somersetshire having records in the 1600s. The information was supplied by James Forte of Ontario and was researched professionally in 1977-78. Upon sorting it, it is possible Samuel's parents were Thomas and Thomasine Forte of South Petherton or Samuel of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Taunton, Somerset, England.
The first theory that he is the son of Thomas and Thomasine is based on the following pattern. They had a daughter, Thomasine in April of 1663. Baptismal records from that town were missing for seven years from 1653 to 1660, the likely time period of birth for our Samuel Forte. Thomasine, his possible mother, is the name that clued me in. Samuel has a daughter named Thomasin, which is rather unusual. Secondly, his son Samuel only has one male and female name unaccounted for from his wife's or his side, and that is Thomas and Thomasin. I believe it is likely that he named them after his parents. This theory needs further verification in lawsuit or deed records.
The second theory is that he is the son of Samuel Forte of St. Mary Magdelen in Taunton, Somerset, England. Only one child, Thomas, has been recorded as the son of this Samuel. Thomas was christened on Nov. 18, 1650. Thomas's spelling of his surname is interpreted as Forde by freereg.org.uk. This Samuel still could be the father of our Samuel as he has the correct name and right age. He is also the only Samuel that has been found in the records of Somerset Co., England. Possible children of this Samuel Sr. whose fathers are unreadable by FreeReg translators were George, Joan, Hannah, John, and Elizabeth, none of which are names carried down by Samuel. The records again are not conclusive, as the microfilm is nearly unreadable. The original records from St. Mary Magdelen were still privately held when a professional researcher last tried to check them.
There are two other mysteries about this Forte family. When we were in Barbados and saw Haynes House in the early 1990's, we also got to view the family crypt. The plaque on the exterior indicated that it contained the remains of Samuel and Ursula Forte and family. This plaque according to a manuscript by Ralph Greenidge who was raised at Haynes House in the early 1900's was not the original. The plaque had been replaced twice since the original carvings on the coral walls of the crypt. When he was there, it stated that it also contained the remains of Mary Culpepper (who would have been the mother of the 3 daughters of the original Samuel Forte.) This was verified by a family friend whose friend stole the nameplate off of Mary Culpepper's coffin sometime in the 1900's. Therefore, Samuel had 3 wives in his life that we know about. It is entirely possible that Mary Culpepper died in childbirth in 1685 at which point Samuel married Ursula. In that case, Samuel would also be the son of Mary Culpepper. That actually sounds probable to me and is my current theory.
Lastly, there is a Samuel Forte, Mariner, from Wapping, Middlesex, England who wrote a will when he was outward bound to sea on February 25, 1675/1676. The will proved on July 29, 1680, gives his estate to his friend Andrew Davison of Wapping. Because the date of probate is the same year as my children's ancestor Samuel entering Barbados, a connection to this Samuel needs to be studied. Instead of a will, was this possibly a settlement of his estate in England when he decided to move to Barbados for good?
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Bef 1654 - Aft 1712 (> 59 years)
