He began teaching school at the age of 18 and became the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Aloha, Michigan, two years later.
After graduating from the Ferris Institute, Forgrave moved east to attend the Boston University School of Theology.
After graduating from BU, Forgrave was ordained into the Methodist ministry and served pastorates in Raymond, New Hampshire (1914 to 1915) and Kittery, Maine (1915 to 1917).
[3] As district superintendent, Forgrave led drives on prohibition law violators in Springfield, Chicopee, North Adams, Greenfield, and Holyoke.
[1] In his first year as superintendent, Forgrave was tasked with leading the group's campaign for the referendum on the state's liquor enforcement code.
In 1924 his accusations that the office of U.S. Attorney Robert O. Harris was lax in enforcing prohibition laws were thrown out by a grand jury for being "vague, misleading and unproved".
[6] He was unable to produce any strong evidence that such a party occurred and a special investigative committee found his charges unsubstantiated.
Forgrave, however, refused to retract his allegations and on July 12, 1928, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted 97 to 93 to censure him and strip him of his right to act as a legislative agent.
Later the securities division of the Massachusetts Department of Utilities revoked its brokerage registration on the grounds that the business was running in a fraudulent manner.