(Senior Missionary At Old Calabar Nigeria)
Robert Mitchell Beedie, born at New Deer, Aberdeenshire in 1841 and who was the Senior Missionary at Old Calabar Mission Station where famous Scot`s missionary, Mary Slessor laboured for the Lord, died of Malarial Fever at the home of his friend, Robert Woods, a Dublin Confectioner, on Sunday, 31st January, 1897 and was buried in Mt. Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland.
Photo : New Deer High Street.
New Deer is a settlement in Aberdeenshire, North East Scotland that lies in the valley of Deer. It was founded after monks from Deer Abbey, Old Deer built a chapel in the vicinity. The community was evangelised in the 6th century by St. Columba and St Drostan.
Rev. Robert M Beedie who, prior to his Missionary Training, had trained as a Carpenter, Civil Engineer and Architect, also designed and oversaw the building of East Nigeria`s largest Church in Duke Town where Nigeria`s Royalty were later Coronated.
Below Photos ... DUKE TOWN CHURCH & BELL TOWER....
Indeed, one of Africa`s noble sons, Efik Etim Ofiong who had converted to the Christian Faith and had gone to Scotland to train at the Bible College in 1872 to work as a Missionary amongst his own peoples and received Ordination, was accompanied on his return in 1874 to Nigeria by the Rev. Beedie (who had gone out to Old Calabar a year earlier and had been home on furlough).
Rev. Robert M. Beedie, a talented musician (he was a maker and player of violins) and linguist, helped in the translation of educational literature, both religious and secular, from the English language into the Efiki language. He also encouraged the expansion of industrial and technical education during his many years in Nigeria.
In the late 1860`s Mr Beedie first sensed a Calling to the Work of God and so made preparation to leave his carpentry profession which he was engaged in, at home in Aberdeenshire, and train for the Missions Field. In August 1873 he travelled to Old Calabar, Nigeria, with Dr. Robb under the auspices of the United Presbyter-ian Church of Scotland to labour as a teacher for the Lord under the ministry of Dr.Robb. He then underwent more training to furth-er qualify him for the work to which he had been called.
Photo : St. Kane`s Church of Scotland, New Deer
MARY MITCHELL SLESSOR the famous Scot`s Missionary who was born in Aberdeenshire, also received Ordination as a Missionary from the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and travelled to Nigeria in 1877 and joined in the Work, alongside Rev. Beedie who had arrived there 4 years earlier. They laboured as Colleagues together in the Mission Station at Old Calabar, Nigeria.
MARY MITCHELL SLESSOR
Indeed, it was no coincidence that both Robert M Beedie and Mary M Slessor held the `middle-name` Mitchell, for they shared the same grandmother from Oldmeldrum, a little village in Aberdeenshire.
AS MENTIONED EARLIER, REV. BEEDIE SUCCUMBED TO MALARIAL FEVER WHILE HE WAS HOME FROM NIGERIA ON FURLOUGH. HE DIED OF THE FEVER IN 1897 WHILST STAYING WITH HIS BUSINESSMAN FRIEND, THE DUBLIN CONFECTIONER, ROBERT WOODS.
REV. BEEDIE WAS INTERRED IN MT. JEROME CEMETERY, DUBLIN, EIRE.
Photo Below : Entrance to Mt. Jerome Cemetery Dublin Ireland--
HIS WIFE, ELIZABETH McPHUN BEEDIE DIED AT AYR, SCOTLAND, IN 1927 AND WAS INTERRED ALONGSIDE HER HUSBAND AT MT. JEROME CEMETERY.
BELOW WE REPRODUCE IN FULL, THE EULOGY GIVEN BY THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SCOTLAND IN `THE MISSIONARY RECORD` OF MARCH 1st. 1897, REGARDING THE LIFE AND MINISTRY AND DEATH OF REV. ROBERT M. BEEDIE
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THE LATE REV. ROBERT MITCHELL BEEDIE
"With heartfelt sorrow we record the death of the senior missionary in our Old Calabar staff, the Rev. R. M. Beedie, which took place at Roebuck Grove, Dundrum, Ireland, on Sabbath, 31st. January. Mr Beedie was born on 18th October 1841 at New Deer, Aberdeenshire. He was brought up as a joiner and house-carpenter, and the knowledge thus acquired proved of greatest value to him afterwards. He received most of his religious impressions and teaching from Mr. John Anderson of Little Whitehill, who then taught the Bible class in Whitehill congregation.
The earnestness which then became a marked feature of his character, was deepened under the influence of Dr. John Kerr in Glasgow, and he quitted in trade for home mission work.
When Dr Robb was returning to Ikorofiong in 1873, a European teacher was sought to fill the place which Mr Lawson, now minister at Edenshead, had been obliged to vacate, and for that position Mr Beedie was selected. On the 9th of August of that year he landed with Dr Robb in Old Calabar, and proceeding with him to Ikorofiong, then the furthest up-river station in the mission, he laboured alongside of that scholarly missionary for two years, until Dr Robb was ordered home. Then the whole care of the station rested on Mr Beedie, of whose capacity for it Dr. Robb wrote in re-assuring terms : "He is a man of vigour of body and mind; and though without a University education, yet endowed with zeal, gifted with experience derived from home mission work"
Mr. Beedie, however, sought a more complete qualification for the Charge committed to him, and pursued a systematic course of studies under the supervision of the Presbytery of Biafra, with the result that the Presbytery took him on trial for Licence, and on 20th March 1878 ordained him at Ikorofiong. So faithfulness in the lower sphere led on into higher.
In 1884 he was transferred to Duke Town, where he entered into the labours of the late Mr Anderson, whom he has so soon followed into rest. Of his missionary career we can only speak briefly. He was a man of mechanical capacity and skill, - an admirable artisan missionary, when occasion required, as well as teacher, preacher, and pastor. The characteristic of his handiwork was thoroughness. The present good condition of the children`s houses built by him at Ikoro-fiong, as well as at Duke Town, shows this; while the fact that a favourite recreation was the making of violins indicates the finer qualities of his work. His household was itself a mission field. The succession of boys placed under his care, and over whom he and Mrs. Beedie watched with wise and patient affection, carried the influence of that Christian household out into the wider sphere of their after-lives. But the strength of Mr. Beedie`s work lay in his preaching and pastorate. He loved the Gospel of Christ, and believed in it`s power and illustrated it in the godly simplicity of his life, and in his solid, sincere, and unassuming character. In a rare degree he combined a massive steadfastness with a soft gentleness and a quiet patience. As his friend the Rev. A. B. Barkway of Liverpool writes, "He was a sturdy, dependable, manly man; he was retiring and humble, trusty and trustworthy."
We have had to mourn the lessening of the Old Calabar staff by the striking down of young lives entering into fulness of service; Latterly it is the loss of veterans we have had to mourn. And their withdrawal means the withdrawal of a matured knowledge of the country and the people, their language and customs, and the past workings of Christianity and heathenism in relation to one another, which is a treasure of greatest value in actual service. An incident, communicated by Mr Marwick illustrates this.
Writing to Mr Marwick regarding King Duke, who recently died, Mr. Beedie says : "A few weeks before I left, I called on King Duke about a man whom he had put in chains to keep him from being baptised. He said that when men wanted to get away from their masters they professed to have become Christians. I challenged him to name a single individual who had ever left his master, or been encouraged by the mission to believe that he could do so by becoming a Christian. He said, `All men say so.` I then said, `I have been nearly twenty-four years in Calabar, and do not know of one. Will you tell me of one?` - He admitted that he could not.`"
Mr Marwick adds: "His last term of service has been specially fruitful in spiritual result. He translated two of the Rev. Andrew Murray`s books, `Abide in Christ` and `Like Christ` and gave them as addresses at the prayer-meetings. They were greatly appreciated and much blessed. It is to be hoped that they will yet be printed as a much-needed addition to the too scanty literature in Efik.
He also translated several hymns, such as his own favourite, `Take my life and let it be` Mrs Beedie told me of the joy with which they received the candidates for church membership, and how he took them into his study, one by one, and talked to them about the Christian life.
The tidings of his youngest son`s death saddened his last days in Calabar, and the sorrow still lay at his heart, though he was resigned to the Lord`s will concerning the lad, when his own call came.
Mr. Beedie was thrice married. His first wife, who went out with him, died in this country (Scotland) during Furlough in 1886.
In the following year he married Miss Rodgerson, sister of our Minister in Lasswade. But after a six months residence in Old Calabar, she became so ill that she was ordered home, and Mr. Beedie accompanied her, only to bury her at sea a few days after sailing, and by transferring himself shortly afterwards to an outgoing steamer, to return alone to Duke Town.
Thereafter he married Miss McPhun, one of our mission agents. Mr Beedie returned home in the end of November (1896), and was present in the end of December with the Mission Board.
It was stated in the January (The Missionary) `Record` that he returned home on `sick furlough,` but he wrote (too late for the February Record ) asking that the statement should be corrected, as he came home because his furlough was due; and although the doctors had objected to Mrs. Beedie and himself remaining longer, as they desired to do owing to the dearth of workers, yet he was in better health than when he last went out.
On Sabbath, 24th January, Mr. and Mrs. Beedie attended church; they had planned to leave Dublin on the Tuesday for Scotland, but on Monday afternoon Mr. Beedie was siezed with a shivering, and on Tuesday pneumonia was developed. The attack was a serious one, but on Saturday it seemed to have been overcome, and every hope was entertained of his recovery. Quite suddenly on Sabbath morning there was a change, and hardly was it observed before he had breathed his last, the symptoms pointing to a complication resulting from Malarial influence.
On the Wednesday following, he was laid to rest in the St. Jerome cemetery, where Hope Waddell also lies. No kindred were present , - his two sons at sea, his brothers detained by snowblocks in the North of Scotland. The Rev. G. Davidson, Bsc.; Edinburgh, brother of his first wife, and the Rev. William Marwick conducted the Service. The sun broke through the clouds after the coffin was lowered, and the Blessed Hope of a Glorious Resurrection at the coming of the Lord dispelled the gloom of the grave.
Mr. Beedie`s father died while he was still a child, but his aged mother still survives, and with her, as well as with his bereaved widow and his two surviving sons, the deepest sympathy is felt. We sympathise also with our missionaries in Old Calabar, mourning again, and so soon, the loss of their senior comrade.
Is not their loss itself an earnest appeal to those on the threshold of service in the ministry of the Gospel, "Who will come forward to be baptised for the dead?"
THE ABOVE EULOGY GIVEN BY THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SCOTLAND IN
`THE MISSIONARY RECORD`
OF MARCH 1st. 1897, REGARDING THE LIFE, MINISTRY AND DEATH OF THE REV. ROBERT M. BEEDIE.
Photo : KING DUKE 1X OF NIGERIA, FRIEND AND CONFIDANTE OF REV ROBERT MITCHELL BEEDIE.
Below: Back Row, 2nd. on Left: Rev. Robert M. Beedie (1841-1897) and seated immediately in front of him is his wife, Elizabeth McPhun Beedie
Reverend Beedie`s Mother, Mrs Isabella Barclay Beedie (1816-1905) Is Seated Front Row, 2nd From Right
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TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE
Words: Frances R. Havergal 1836-1879.
http://nethymnal.org/htm/t/m/tmlalib.htm
To Listen To Melody, Click Link Above`...
Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord to Thee,
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of Thy Love.
Take my feet, and let them be, swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect,
and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.
________________
The Reverend William and Louisa Anderson
Missionaries to Jamaica and Old Calabar and Colleagues of Rev. Robert M. Beedie at Old Calabar
A report of the death of Rev. William Anderson by William Marwick
Full Report (31 chapters) Of The Life And Amazing Ministry of This Beloved Saint Of God Found At :
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/anderson/index.htm
"The materials for the record of the life and work of William Anderson were widely scattered, and had to be gathered by degrees. For most periods the material has been copious. The greatest difficulty I experienced was in regard to the collection of material for the "Jamaica Period," as the periodicals of the Scottish Missionary Society were scarce. So far as I am aware, this is the first time that the life of a missionary to Jamaica, who began as catechist and teacher, pursued his theological studies there, was licensed and ordained as pastor of a congregation which he was instrumental in forming, has been written.
The autobiographical reminiscences of his early days are not a mere reprint of the papers that appeared in the United Presbyterian Magazine during 1890, but are taken from Mr. Anderson's MS. Autobiography and MS. Journal; and these and the letters and journals from Jamaica show him in unconscious training for his great work in Old Calabar.
The "Calabar Period" contains, not only a record of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson's work, but also the annals of Duke Town. In these pages it will be possible to trace the social changes that have taken place during the last fifty years—the decline of the power of the "king" and the chiefs, and of the authority of the Egbo institution, on the one hand; and, on the other, the growth of Consular jurisdiction, culminating in the establishment of the British Protectorate, which has its headquarters at Duke Town. The relations of the missionary and the trading communities are touched on. The Consular staff is now another factor. It is desirable that the relations of these three chief European factors that make for the welfare or otherwise of Calabar should be friendly —that they should understand one another's aims, and should co-operate as far as possible for common ends, as was done at certain crises in Mr. Anderson's time. In spite of "the talk of the Coast," which is too often reproduced as reliable fact in books of travel, there is, I think, a growing understanding of one another among the various classes, when a missionary wins the respect of all as Mr. Beedie did, and criticism of one another is more discriminating and therefore useful.
The true story of Calabar, however, is not the record of European civilisation and of Christianity in a Presbyterian dress introduced among the people, but the emergence of the native tribes from the night of superstition and barbarism into a civilisation in which they shall remain Africans and not become pseudo-Europeans. There is undoubtedly a danger of trade and British protection fostering a pseudo civilisation. Despite what critics say, Christian missions do this only in a minor degree and indirectly, and the tendency of missionaries is rather to discourage than to encourage the aping of a foreign civilisation. The native tendency is to go from one extreme to another—from "fig-leaves" to "swallow-tails"! When the ancient system of domestic slavery of which some account is given) has merged into the free population of the future, a native Christian Commonwealth and Church will grow and flourish.
Mr. Anderson's distinctive work was done in the early days of the Mission. It was a work of liberation of body and mind. It is to be valued, not only for the sake of the number of scholars in the schools and of converts added to the Church, but also because of the dawning of better days for the whole population, in the decay of many evil customs, and in the creation of a public opinion and of a moral standard, which will make it less difficult for the generations to come to be men and Christians, than it was for their fathers and mothers whether free or slave.
I have not attempted either a character sketch of Mr. Anderson or an estimate of his work. "Deas Cromarty's" Miniature in the British Weekly of Nov. 5, 1891, and a sketch by me in the U. P. Magazine, March 1896, supply to a certain extent what is lacking here. My aim has been to let the man reveal himself, and his work speak for itself. My task has been simply to gather, arrange, and edit the materials of what is really an autobiographical record of William Anderson's career.
It is to be regretted that the material for an account of Mrs. Anderson's life and work is so scanty; nevertheless, her name deserves to be placed beside that of her husband in this Memoir.
Mr. Anderson requested me to prepare this Memoir, and supplied material. I have to thank the relatives and friends who have kindly allowed me the use of letters quoted in the following pages, and others whose contributions I have been unable to insert. I have to thank especially Mr. John Cochrane, College Buildings, for access to and use of literature.
My wife has copied most of the Calabar journals from the U. P. Missionary Record and many letters, has given much helpful assistance and advice, and has read the book both in MS. and in proof.
The late Rev. R. M. Beedie read the first 500 pages in proof and a chapter in MS., and to him I am indebted for various valuable corrections. The book was delayed in part to get the benefit of his revision, and the last few weeks of his life were spent in this work, which he did con anion. The later portion, which touches on his own association with Mr. Anderson at Duke Town, he did not see, and it has since been amplified. It is too soon to estimate the greatness of the loss which Old Calabar, and especially Duke Town, has suffered in the death of Mr. Beedie. It was a great sorrow to me that I was not permitted to return to Calabar along with Mr. Anderson in September 1895; it was still greater grief that I was not permitted to go in September 1896 to the relief of Mr. Beedie, whose colleague I was for a short time in 1892.
"To be baptized for the dead" has become a mode of appeal at the death of a missionary; to be baptized for the help of the few who remain in Calabar seemed to me then, and seems to me still, a more necessary form of appeal; although it is to be hoped that in the following pages the careers of those both men and women— who being dead yet speak, will inspire self-consecration to Mission work in Old Calabar.
His Final Earthly Hours
"He took ill on Saturday morning the 21st. We all thought he was dying—breathless and restless and pained. He thought himself dying. However, he was up early on Sabbath morning and out at church at all the three services. Of course he should not have been out, but he told me of some man who said that he would go to the house of God as long as he could walk, and when not able to walk he would crawl. On Sabbath night the illness returned, and at 2 A.M. I tried his temperature and found it at 102°4'. I wakened Dr. Porter, and we got him soothed, and he fell asleep.
Mr. Beedie said nothing of his own and Mrs. Beedie's devoted attendance on Mr. Anderson; but Miss Slessor, who was at Duke Town at the time recruiting after severe fever, wrote a touching account of the last days:—
`I do not feel as if I could convey any idea of the experience of that week of suffering and helplessness, fenced round by devotion and prayer and service touching to see. Mr. and Mrs. Beedie have tended him as if he had indeed been their very own father. Mrs. Beedie sang to him, and comforted him with thoughts and words of Jesus, and day and night ministered to him with all the gentle persistence which characterises her. He repeatedly called for the "Bishop"—his name for Mr. Beedie; and he never called but the response was ready. It was only when there was no more hope of recovery that Mr. Beedie permitted the service to be shared by those of his native children who were capable, and who hungered for the permission to help. It mattered not that Mr. Anderson was unconscious of all their efforts, sometimes of their very presence; that only seemed to double their anxiety to nurse and comfort and help him, and every sentence which fell from his lips was watched for and treasured and passed round to the waiting groups outside with affectionate eagerness. 1 le wished to be spared till the Jubilee, but said, "Only if it be His will." He was tried sadly by doubts for a few days. Satan seemed to bring all his sins to his remembrance, and tried to take away his assurance of hope ; but 1 think that during the last two days that frame of mind had passed away, and he repeatedly said when asked how he felt, "Fine and comfortable," or "quiet," or "resting." He was able to speak but little for three days, and when asked if he had anything to say, he replied always "No!" Once he began, "There is a fountain filled with blood." I was close by his back, and picked it up, repeating line after line and verse after verse slowly; and on being asked again and again whether that were it, he answered, "Ay! ay! that's it." His breathing was so laboured that I always lay down and spoke over his shoulder, and one day I called "Daddy, daddy, O!" as we speak here. He answered, "Ay! the poor old man is here." I said, "The poor old man? Why, all things are yours: for ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." "Ay," he replied, "that's your charitable opinion." When Miss Slessor remonstrated with him for mistrusting his Saviour's grace, and reminded him that he must take his place as Christ's own in spite of all that Satan might insinuate, he replied, "Ay, there's at least the fact even for me, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world, and, Come unto Me all ye that labour," etc. But, as I have said, he began to be very quiet and to lose consciousness at times. On Friday night, after a restless day, the Government doctor came over, and Messrs. Barclay and Simmers stayed all night. About half-past seven in the morning he passed quietly away, after exactly one week's illness.
Mr. Anderson died on Saturday, Dec. 28, and was buried the same afternoon. Mr. Beedie wrote:—
We have all a feeling of satisfaction that he has got his desire—-to be laid beside his wife and where he spent the best of his days.
Miss Slessor described the funeral:—
We laid him beside his wife, amid the tears and sobs of a crowd of his children and children's children; but after we had reached the house we heard strains of thanksgiving too, from the spot where they laid him, and "The home over there" and the "Sweet by and by" alternated with the songs of Zion in the language of the country. Many thanksgivings and many prayers were offered yesterday, beside the bed on which his body lay, by a group of loving and mourning women, and fresh consecrations were made there to Him who had lent so long to us such fathers and mothers as the Waddells, the Goldies, and the Andersons.
The Government staff paid their tribute of affectionate respect by attending the funeral, notwithstanding it was a day advertised as a public holiday, at which they should have presided publicly.
The record of Mr. Anderson's life and work may be completed by the mention of two facts which came out after his death. "Seldom did any Mission Board receive a letter like that which came from William Anderson, complaining that his retiring allowance of £120 was much too large, and asking that half of it might be divided between the Aged Ministers' Fund and Foreign Missions. Of course the Board declined to withdraw from himself the means and the pleasure of exercising what liberality he thought fit." The Record for March 1893 contained the following paragraph: — "'A Friend' has made a generous offer of £600 to form the nucleus of a Capital Fund for providing annuities to Zenana missionaries who may become incapacitated by old age or sickness. The offer has been gratefully accepted by the Board." The "Friend" was none other than the old missionary. "That fund, which other donations have now raised to about £1200, will remain as a beneficent monument of the rare offering which originated it."l
In his letter to Dr. Robson of Nov. 26, 1895, Mr. Anderson wrote:—
I have been quite delighted by the many marks of progress which I have witnessed in the work of the Mission. Crowded Sabbath congregations, a crowded Sabbath school well supplied with teachers, well attended prayer meetings and classes for instruction, numerous admissions to Church fellowship, numerous applications for admission, and increased liberality in contributions for sacred purposes, are substantial indications that our worthy brother Beedie and his excellent helpmeet have not been labouring in vain during these by-past years. There is one thing in particular which forces itself on the attention of every kindly spectator, viz. the desirableness, indeed the necessity, for a new and larger place of assembly. Sabbath after Sabbath large crowds surround the church, being unable to obtain admission. Within, every inch is occupied,—seats, passages, and pulpit steps all crowded. . . . The present sanctuary has served its purpose well. I should well like to see another monument of progress at Duke Town—a capacious temple consecrated to the service of the One True God.
The new church [At my request, Mr. Beedie furnished me with the following statistic) which show how the congregation had recovered from the split in 1882, and had entered on an era of prosperity:—" When Mr. Anderson left in April 1889, there were 86 on the roll. There are now on the revised roll for 1897, 290 native names. There are 20 European names on the roll, making in all 310. Mr. Anderson's name was still on the roll at the end of 1895, but is now removed."] to be built at Duke Town is to be called the Anderson Memorial Church. But Mr. Beedie, whose ministry has done so much under God to create the need for the new church, and who to the last was engaged in raising funds for it, has not been spared to see it erected to the memory of one to whom he proved himself a devoted colleague and a worthy successor. It would only be fitting to associate Mr. Beedie's name with that of Mr. Anderson in the new church, for the names of Anderson and Beedie will be linked together for many days to come in the memories of European and native in Old Calabar and in the minds of not a few at home.
REV. WILLIAM MARWICK.
10 W. Mayfield, Edinburgh,
February 27, 1897.
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BERTIE CHARLES FORBES
(Founder of Forbes Magazine)
Forbes Headquarters, 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York
Bertie Charles Forbes (May 14, 1880 – May 6, 1954) a Scottish financial journalist and author who founded Forbes Magazine
was also born in the little village of New Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland on May 14, 1880 to Robert and Agnes (Moir) Forbes. At the age of thirteen he taught himself shorthand and at fourteen began work as a printer's devil. In 1897 he began his journalistic career as a reporter for the Dundee Courier and during the next two years he progressed to sub-editor and editorial writer. At the same time he attended night school at University College in Dundee.
In 1901, Bertie C Forbes moved from Scotland to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he worked there as a reporter for various newspapers and where he also founded the Rand Daily Mail. He emigrated to New York City in the United States in 1904 where he was employed as a writer and financial editor at the Journal of Commerce before joining the Hearst chain of newspapers as a syndicated columnist in 1911. He left Hearst after two years to become the business and financial editor at the New York American where he remained until 1916, though he continued to write a syndicated column for the Hearst papers until 1942. The magazine was a success, reaching a circulation of 100,000 in the 1940s. It contained analyses of business trends and the economic situation of the country, as well as Forbes' personal style of business journalism. He pioneered the writing of personal profiles of business leaders and it was this for which he was most well-known.
He founded Forbes magazine in 1917 and remained Editor-in-Chief until his death in New York City in 1954, though assisted in his later years by Bruce Charles Forbes (1916-1964) and Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1919-1990), his two eldest sons.
In 1940-1941 Forbes served on the school board of Englewood, New Jersey, where he lived, creating controversy with charges that the social science textbooks used in the schools and one of the teachers were subversive. Beginning in 1942, he devoted his time to organizing Investor's League Inc., which protected and promoted the interests of stockholders and insurance policy-holders. He served as president of the group until 1949 and held the chairmanship of the board from 1949 until 1950, at which time he retired, after having attempted to resolve certain internal problems that had developed. During this period he began to withdraw from an active role in the publication of his magazine, turning over responsibility instead to his sons, Malcolm and Bruce.
He was the founder of the Investors League in 1942.
Forbes married Adelaide Stevenson on April 20, 1915 and they had five sons: Bruce C., Malcolm S., Gordon B., Wallace F., and Duncan, who, as a young man, was killed in an automobile accident.
Bertie Charles Forbes died in New York City on May 6, 1954.
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