Saturday, December 11, 2010

How the Ironmaster, Samuel Forbes Ran His Marriage

It seems that in every young man's life eventually comes the thoughts of romance and marriage, so be it with Samuel Forbes who later in his life became known as Squire Forbes the Ironmaster that teamed up with Ethan Allen and John Hazeltine to build the second blast furnace in Connecticut in the town of Salisbury. Although he had already worked for some time in his father's bloomery forge Sam finally reached the point in life where he thought he should be married. The object of his affections was a one Lucy Pierce the daughter of Amos Pierce and a great strapping lass was she.

When he broached the subject of marriage to her father he wouldn't hear anything of it considering Samuel to be a wastrel, so not being one to take no for an answer they eloped to Poughkeepsie New York writing on a single horse. Can't you just imagine the headlines on the “Canaan Post-Dispatch” the following morning, “Heiress Elopes with Ne’r do Well!” Meanwhile the poor horse was all tuckered out from carrying them all away from Canaan to Poughkeepsie a distance around 40 miles that included climbing some rather respectable mountains.

Once the happy couple returned from their wedding and told her father and Amos they were married no doubt Amos Pierce took his hat off, threw it on the ground and stomped on it he was so mad as he bit his cigar in two. It didn't do any good however because the deed had already been done.

Lucy Forbes was supposed to be as much of a Titan as her husband Samuel, so you could just about imagine this coy couple writing off to Poughkeepsie on the same long-suffering horse. When they got back from Poughkeepsie you could just about imagine the horror saying, “Thank goodness that's over!”

Now all I had to be done was designed who was going to rule the roost in the new Forbes house. Being a man of action Samuel Forbes took a long rope and through one end of the rope over the roof of his barn, and told his new bride Lucy that whoever could pull the other over the roof of the barn to the other side would be the ruler of the Forbes household.

He actually said, “And now my sweet, do you draw down on your end and I will draw down on the other end, whichever draws the other over the roof is to rule this roost!”


With that, they each took a hold of the rope on opposite sides of the barn and started pulling. After several hours of this labor of love neither of them could pull the other over the roof of the barn. In the end they both gave up and decided that was how Forbes household was to be run.

Samuel Lucy Adams only had one child a girl named Abigail, but they went on to found an iron dynasty in northwestern Connecticut that lasted for over 150 years with some of their descendents still living at the old homestead in East Canaan, Connecticut.  


1 comment:

  1. a fine story which put humanity back in the cold subject of iron..the spine of recent history..glad to explore your site john, ns

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