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Jonathan Forward (1680–1760) was a London merchant primarily responsible for convict transportation to the American colonies from 1718 to 1739. Forward contracted to transport felons from Newgate Prison and from numerous home counties.

Marriage
Forward married Susannah Waple before 1720. Elizabeth was born in 1724 and died in 1789. On 19 December 1734, Elizabeth married Robert Byng.

Career
Jonathan Forward officially became a convict transport merchant in 1718. "The proposal of Jonathan Forward, merchant, for transporting felons [is read]. The proposer may take them gratis and transport them for his own advant[age]."

Forward contracted the services of numerous ships, captains, and crews to facilitate convict transportation. Among his most reliable captains was Darby Lux I commanded several ships from Anne Arundel County to Great Britain carrying tobacco on consignment to Forward. Lux's ships included: Gilbert, 1720-1722; Jonathan, 1723-1724; Patapsco Merchant, 1732; and Genoa Galley, 1738. Forward enlisted Capt. Lux as an attorney to represent his interests in Maryland.

Forward continued as sole convict transportation contractor until 1739, when he likely chose to retire after more than twenty years. "Andrew Reid, of London, merchant, is to be the transporter of felons loco Jonathan Forward, and the contract to be made with him for that purpose is to be for 3 years certain."

Death
Forward died in 1760 and was buried in London.

Children
Forward had two daughers.

Ancestry
Forward's family origins are uncertain.