William Huntington Forbes
William Huntington Forbes, farmer and stockman, proprietor of a fine farm in Miami township, on rural route No. 3 out of Yellow Springs, and who also is engaged in the sale of agricultural implements and a special line of dairy supplies, was born on a farm near the confluence of the forks of the Little Miami in Greene township, in the neighboring county of Clark, November 27, 1862, son of Arthur and Anna E. (Huntington) Forbes, both of whom were born in that same county, members of pioneer families and whose last days were spent in the village of Yellow Springs, in this county.
Arthur Forbes was born in 1834, a son of Alexander Forbes and wife, pioneers of Clark county, and grew to manhood on the home farm there, becoming a farmer on his own account in due time and continuing to reside there until his retirement from the farm and removal to Yellow Springs, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of four children, of whom the subject of this biographical sketch was the first-born, the others being Margaret, who married Mitchell W. Collins, now living at Cedarville, and has one child, a daughter, Anna; Florence E., wife of T. M. Hanna, a real-estate dealer and farmer living in Iowa, and Fannie, who died when four years of age.
Reared on the home farm in Clark county, William H. Forbes received his early schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and remained there until he was fifteen years of age, when he came with his parents into Greene county, the family locating on the farm on the pike between Clifton and Yellow Springs that his father had purchased, and was living there at the time of his marriage in 1883. After his marriage Mr. Forbes continued farming there until 1892, in which year he bought the farm on which he is now living, northeast of Clifton, and has ever since made that farm his place of residence. On that place Mr. Forbes put up the first silo erected in that part of the country and in other ways his farm plant is modern and up-to-date. For years Mr. Forbes has made a specialty of raising pure-bred Polled Jersey dairy stock and has exhibited his stock all over the country. One year he had the honor of taking sweepstakes at the Ohio state fair and at the New York state fair and at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo his exhibit, "Nubbin Ridge Queen." a Jersey cow, took the first prize as the richest producer of ten different breeds there tested for quality and richness of cream. This test covered a period six months and was thoroughly convincing, "Nubbin Ridge Queen's" milk testing higher than that of any other cow exhibited at the great exposition. In addition to his general farming and stock raising interests Mr. Forbes also is interested in the sale of special dairy supplies and of agricultural implements, including threshing-machines. Politically, he is a Democrat and, fraternally, is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias at Clifton and of the uniformed rank of that order at Springfield, and of the local branch of the United Commercial Travelers at Springfield.
On September 18, 1883, William H. Forbes was united in marriage to Margaret J. Johnson, daughter of Joseph R. and Lydia E. (Estle) Johnson, the former of whom formerly operated the mill at Clifton, and to this union three children have been born, namely: Nora, who married C. F. Henry, of Kansas City, Missouri, now a first lieutenant in the Veterinary Corps of the United States army, and has one child, a daughter, Ruth Frances; Arthur, who died in 1894, and George Curtis Forbes, who remains at home on the farm assisting his father in the management of the same. Mr. and Mrs. Forbes are members of the Presbyterian church and take a proper interest in church work, as well as in the general good works of the community.
From History of Greene County Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, vol. 2. M.A.Broadstone, editor. B.F.Bowen & Co., Indianapolis. 1918