Published: 20 Jan 2015
Updated: 21 Mar 2019
Page contributors: Kerry Brandoff, Otis Fuller, Teresa Rust
The name of Robert Abernethy is not on the two lists on this site. That does not mean that he was not a SPOW from either battles. In Early Colonial Virginia (see below) it claims that Robert arrived in Virginia in 1652 after the Battle of Dunbar.
Name Variations:
Abernethy, Abernathy
ScottishPOW yDNA Project:
Kit #370072
First Generation in the New World
1.ROBERT ABERNETHY, was born, presumably in Scotland in 1635 and died in Prince George County in 1685. He married, first, at Bristol Parish, Prince George, Virginia, (presumably) before 1660, SARAH CABIGGO/CUBISHA. Sarah died about 1685. He married, second, in 1685, CHRISTINE TILGHMAN.
Children of Robert and Sarah (Cabiggo/Cubisha) Abernethy:
2. i. ROBERT ABERNETHY, born in Prince George in 1660.
2. ii. ANN ABERNETHY,
2. iii. MARY ABERNETHY,
2. iv. JOHN ABERNETHY,
2. v. DAVID ABERNETHY,
2. vi. ELISABETH ABERNETHY,
2. vii. WILLIAM ABERNETHY,
2. viii. MILES ABERNETHY,
Second Generation
2. i. ROBERT ABERNETHY, born in Prince George in 1660.
2. ii. ANN ABERNETHY,
2. iii. MARY ABERNETHY,
2. iv. JOHN ABERNETHY,
2. v. DAVID ABERNETHY,
2. vi. ELISABETH ABERNETHY,
2. vii. WILLIAM ABERNETHY,
2. viii. MILES ABERNETHY,
SOURCES AND NOTES:
~From Public Records Office- Chancery Lane- From List of Scots Taken Prisoner: “At the Battle of Worcestor (Eng) Sept. 15, 1651 Robert Abernethy, age 19- (Born 1632) son of George Abernethy de Barrie.He held the rank of Captain and served under General Leslie from Banff, one of his kinsmen.Given a choice of the Tower of London, or as an agricultural servant to the colonies in America, he chose to go as a prisoner of war and was deported October 1651 to Virginia.” (copied by Frances Jones Kimayer from above records in London, October 1975)
~Robert Abernethy ca 1624 Scotland d. Jan 1685 VA.Sara Cabiggo(Cubishe).Robert was captured by British 1651 Battle of Worcester.Sold, Bristol Parish, VA Apr 3, 1652 as indentured servant.
Source:The Robert Abernethy Family by Arvord M. Abernethy of Hamilton, TX. Pg. 57
~Submitted by Otis Fuller:
“I am a direct descendant of Robert Abernathy, Scotland to VA, in 1652, as my
Abernathy cousins are a perfect YDNA match. There is a William Abernathy, Scotland
to Wallingford Ct., in 1652. His DNA matches my Robert’s.” ~ Otis
A man named Robert West was issued a headright grant for paying Abernethy’s passage to the colony along with some others. Robert married Sarah Cubishe/Cabbigo on or about April 3, 1657 in Virginia.
In the introduction David Dobson writes: “Time and place were used to particular advantage when tracking down some of the Scottish prisoners-of-war transported on the orders of Oliver Cromwell to Virginia around 1650. About 1,000 Scots were landed there although no documents listing names seem to exist. George C. Greer, in his “Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666”, mentions several immigrants bearing Scots names who were first mentioned in Virginia documents around the time that the Scots transportees were landed. This method of identification, however, significantly understates the level of Scottish immigration because many of the prisoners-or-war would have had surnames common to all parts of the British Isles and thus were not selected for inclusion in his work. Those listed, believed on the basis of circumstantial evidence to be Scots, are marked with an asterisk. It is obvious that some of the surnames, especially those of Gaelic origin, have been incorrectly written down. This is particularly true in the case of Highlanders, captured after the battles of the English Civil War and later transported in chains to America, whose names were written down phonetically by English or colonial clerks. In order to rectify this, I have attempted to provide what I believe to have been the original names or a least a modern Anglicised version of them, and in such cases the documentary versions appear in parenthesis. In this regard I have referred to the standard authority on Scots surnames in their various forms, namely George Black’s “Surnames of Scotland”.”
Arrived in Charles City County, VA as an indentured servant from Scotland in 1652. The reference listed is: EVI [Directory in front of book says this is publication is Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666 (G.C.Greer, Baltimore, 1978)] Also, do you see that asterisk * after the first name Robert? I don’t know what that means and I can’t find any explanation of it in this supplement.” – look up by Jackie. – from The Original Scots Colonists of Early America – Supplement 1607 – 1707 by David Dobson “We think he may have been a Scottish POW from either Dunbar or Worcester. He died in Dinwiddie County, VA @ 1685.”
– Kerry Brandoff
From: Early Colonial Virginia
“Robert A. Abernathy was born in 1635 in Scotland.Robert arrived in VA in 1652 after the Battle of Dunbar. He was indentured to Roger Tilghman. He married in Bristol Parish, Prince George, VA to Sarah Cabiggo or Cubisha, daughterof John Cubisha and Jane Bell. Robert died in 1685 in Prince George, VA. Robert and Sarah had a son, Robert who was born in 1660 in Prince George, VA. He married about 1685 to Christine Tilghman. It is possible that Robert A. Abernathy came to America as an indenture to Christine’s father, Roger Tilghman/Tilman. Robert and Sarah had the following children: Robert, Ann, Mary, John, David, Elizabeth, William and Miles. Robert died in 1685 in Prince George, VA.
Miles Abernathy, son of Robert Abernathy b. 1695 in Charles City County, and Mary Howell or Harwell, was born in 1750 in Prince George, VA. He married about 1775 in NC to Sarah Ann Jones, daughter of Richard Jones and Elizabeth Batte. Sarah was born in Amelin, VA.Miles and Sarah had the following children: “Big” John D., Battee, Jones, Elizabeth, Carlene, Robert and Miles. Miles died in Tryon, NC in 1789.”