David Forman (1745-1797)
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This white person has 3 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-02572
- Given Name
- David
- Family Name
- Forman
- Birth Date
- 1745
- Death Date
- 1797
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
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General David Forman (1745-1797) was a wealthy enslaver and Revolutionary War veteran from Monmouth County, New Jersey. He was the son of Joseph Forman and Elizabeth Lee. His father prospered as a merchant in New York City and then moved to an estate in Freehold Township, Monmouth County. Forman spent most of his life in Freehold and was a member of the Old Tennent Presbyterian Church. The area where he lived has since then become Manalapan. His 18th-century house was still standing within the Covered Bridge community in Manalapan until the early 21st century but was demolished around 2010.
In 1789, David Forman made arrangements to develop a tobacco plantation in the area of Natchez, Mississippi, with the help of his brother Ezekiel Forman. The territory was at that time under Spanish control, and David Forman negotiated with the Spanish government to receive land grants and permission to settle in Natchez, but he did not intend to live in Natchez himself. He made arrangements for his brother Ezekiel (and Ezekiel's whole family) to move from Philadelphia to Natchez so that Ezekiel would act as David's agent there.
David Forman then assembled a group of over 60 Black people in Monmouth County and sent them with a convoy to Mississippi. Some of these Black people were enslaved laborers who had been working on Forman's estate in Freehold for years, and others were newly purchased from other enslavers in the area. David Forman sent his overseer, Captain Benajah Osmun, with the convoy as well as several family members and associates. David Forman's young cousin Samuel S. Forman was part of this convoy, and he later wrote a memoir of the convoy's long journey from Monmouth County to Natchez, which was published in 1888 (years after the writer's death) under the title Narrative of a Journey down the Ohio and Mississippi in 1789-90.
In 1794, David Forman and his family left New Jersey and moved to Chestertown, Maryland. Forman's wife, Ann Marsh, was from Maryland and had family connections there. When his brother Ezekiel Forman died in Natchez in 1795, David Forman went from Maryland to Mississippi to handle the affairs on the plantation. David Forman died in 1797 while he was en route back to Maryland from Mississippi. - Keywords
- white person
- enslaver
- Enslaver of
- Philip
- Parent of
- Rivina Forman
- Sibling of
- Ezekiel Forman (1736-1795)
- References
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David Forman's Correspondence with George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Founders Online database. https://founders.archives.gov/search/Author%3A%22Forman%2C%20David%22.
This person is represented on the following page(s):
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Forman_(general)
WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Forman-1001
Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11764740 - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Sources
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Mentioned in:
- Narrative of a Journey down the Ohio and Mississippi in 1789-90 (Forman, Samuel S. Narrative of a Journey down the Ohio and Mississippi in 1789-90. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke and Co., 1888.)
- Linked Events
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Additional Participant in:
- 1789-11 Transportation: Forman's group of 60+ Black men, women, and children (Role: Enslaver)
- 1789-12 Rebellion or Plot: 2 Black men in Forman's group (Role: Enslaver)
- 1805-05-26 Freedom Seeking: Neptune (Role: Enslaver, Former Enslaver Mentioned)
- Resource class
- Agent