Forbes, William

d. ca. September 1751

William Forbes, colonial official, immigrated to North Carolina from Scotland early in the 1730s. Settled in the Lower Cape Fear region, he soon gained the notice of Governor George Burrington, who placed him on the royal council briefly in 1733 to fill the vacancy of a recently deceased member. With over 1,400 acres of land in Bladen County, Forbes became a prosperous man. In 1734 he was made a justice of the peace for Bladen, and in 1736 he assumed the same office in New Hanover County. He was liked by fellow Scot Gabriel Johnston, the new governor, who named him assistant baron of the exchequer court in 1735. In May Johnston also nominated him to the Privy Council; although confirmed by the council six months later, Forbes for some unexplained reason did not take his seat until January 1741. However, he did serve in the lower house of assembly from Bladen in 1736 and 1739 and was made county sheriff in the latter year. Late in 1743 he was appointed as one of the surveyors for the Granville grant and performed that service the following year. At some point in the early 1740s Forbes apparently purchased a home in or near Brunswick. He was named to the vestry of St. Philip's Parish in 1741 and to the committee to prepare the defense of Brunswick against the Spaniards in 1747.

Forbes's service on the council was marked by uneven attendance and a lack of controversy except for an argument with James Murray over seniority in October 1749, an argument that Murray won. Afterwards Forbes dropped out of politics, disabled by "sickness and old age" as Governor Johnston reported. When he dictated his will in New Hanover in September 1751, Forbes mentioned no family and left his whole estate, including the rights to enslaved six people, to two friends in the county.