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Clan Abernethy (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Abernethy

Gaelic Name: Obar Neithich

Clan Crest: A raven Sable, beaked and membered, Gules

Clan Motto: Salus Per Christum (Salvation through Christ)

Origin of Tartan: Because there is no Abernethy Tartan, they wear Leslie.

Origin of Name: From a town in Strathern, Scotland, on the river Tay; derived from Aber, marshy ground, and nethy, in the Gaelic, dangerous. Nith or Nithy, is also the name of a river in the south of Scotland, and the name may have been taken from a town at or near its mouth - Abernithy.

Clan Badge: A raven Sable, beaked and membered, Gules

Lands: Abernethy, Perth and Kinross

Historic Seat: Saltoun lands - The family owned these lands from the early 1300s until they were sold in 1643. In 1445, the Abernethys were made Lords Saltoun, but the title passed to the Frasers.

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Clan Abernethy History

In the 12th century, an abbot of the Strathearn Monastery of Abernethy in Perthshire was given this name. Orm de Abernethy, his son, was also an abbot who witnessed a Charter of William the Lion. Or he may have named the lands of Ormison in East Lothian after himself. Lawrence was the name of Orm's son. Lawrence founded the Baronial House of Abernethy, which lasted more than a century. Colonel Charles Leslie, K.H., 26th Baron of Balquhain, Edinburgh, 1869, wrote an account of this Historical Records of Leslie.

"The great lordship of Abernethy, which included the barony of Ballinbreich, was held by Orm, the son of Hugh, in the reign of Malcolm IV, around 1160, and also by grants from William the Lion, around 1190." Lawrence, Orm's son, took the name Abernethy from his father's lands. Around 1230, he gave ten shillings a year to the Canons of the Priory of St. Andrews, payable out of Ballinbreich, with the consent of Sir Patrick Abernethy, his son and heir. Hugh de Abernethy, Sir Patrick's son, wielded considerable power prior to and during the reign of Allexander III, which began around 1360.

Sir Hugh de Abernethy died before September 3rd, 1296, as King Edward I of England ordered the sheriff of Forfar to repone Maria, quae fuit uxor Hugonis de Abernethy, in her lands on that date. Sir Alexander de Abernethy took over after his father. Hugh is Sir Hugh. He swore fealty to Edward 1 on July 10, 1292, and again on June 25, 1296, and supported English interests. In 1310, Edward II appointed him warden of the country between the Forth and the mountains. In 1312, he was one of the English plenipotentiaries sent to negotiate with King Robert Bruce. On May 3, 1313, he received a grant of the manor of Wyleighten from Edward II. The lordship of Abernethy was divided between Sir Alexander de Abernethy's daughters and co-heiresses, Margaret, married to John Stuart, Earl of Angus, and Mary, married to Sir Andrew de Leslie, VI Dominus Ejusdem, after his death."

Abernethy families lived in Upper Lauderdale in the 13th century. In 1399, John of Abrenethy, a Scottish knight, was granted safe passage in England, as was George Abrnnete in 1465.

Lord Abernethy was one of three people who sought refuge at the church of Lesmahagow in Lanarkshire, where they were granted church protection and 'the Kings Peace,' granted by David.

Sir Andrew was the last of the Lordship of Abernethy to be proven so far. Clan Leslie's first sept was Abernethy.

Mary Abernethy, wife of Andrew, Sixth Lord Leslie. In 1316, the couple married. Sir Andrew received the barony of Ballinbreich (the Clan Leslie battle cry) in Fifeshire, as well as the barony of Cairney (presumably now Cairny — Carney became a Leslie Sept) in Forfar. King Robert I the Bruce granted the charters.

Sir Andrew quartered the Abernethy Arms with his own shield, which was later carried by the Earls of Rothes. The remaining Lords Leslie, the Earls of Rothes and Ross, and the first Baron of Balquhain descended from this union. Aside from the Rothes, all branches of the Leslies in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Russia, France, and so on are descended from the last-mentioned. This means that any Leslie descended directly from one of those branches has at least one atom of Abernethy blood, making Mary an ancestor to a large number of Leslies.

The Abernethy family persisted and is now one of the oldest Scottish families, dating back to the 13th century. They were dispersed all over the world. Interestingly, while many Scots established themselves on the Continent in the 17th century, Aberneys appeared in Prussia as "Abernetti" and in Sweden as "Ebbernet."

The first member of the family to be reported to have arrived in America was William Abernathy, who is said to have arrived in Connecticut in the first half of the 17th century. Abernathys also made their home in Ireland. One of them, John (1680-1740), rose to prominence as a celebrated and divisive clergyman. After attending the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, John was appointed as a divine in Antrim, Ireland, where he remained for the next fourteen years. He was then embroiled in dissension within the Irish Presbyterian Church, contributing to a century-long schism within it. John was regarded as a nuisance. According to an English historian, his name should be "honored by all who love freedom of conscience and opinion."

Another John, born in London in 1764, was a well-known surgeon and medical professor. His lectures became so popular that the hospital where he was attached had to construct an auditorium to accommodate all of his students.

Abernethy, Abrenethy, Abrnnete, Haberinthan, Abirnythy, Albirnyth, Abernethi, Abernetti, Ebbernet, and Habernethi are all variations of the name.

Clan Abernethy Places & People

Castle Hawthornden

The Abernethy family were the original inhabitants of the Hawthornden area. It is about a mile from Roslin on the north bank of the River North Esk (Midlothian).

Abernethy

Abernethy (Scottish Gaelic: Obar Neithich) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, located approximately 8 miles from Perth.

The name is of Pictish origin and means "mouth of the river Nethy."
The village was once the "capital" (or, at the very least, a major religious and political center) of the Pictish kingdom.

Abernethy Individuals

Alexander de Abernethy (circa 1271 – 1315) was a Scottish baron descended from Abernethy's lay abbots.

In 1291, Alexander swore allegiance to Edward I. Between 1301 and 1303, he was appointed as a warden of Scotland. Abernethy was removed from office by King Edward's ordinances in 1305, but he backed Balliol over Robert the Bruce. He defended Galloway alongside John of Brittany against Robert Bruce.

He held several other warden of Scotland positions between the Forth and Orkney, as well as between the Forth and the mountains, beginning in 1308. He was also assigned to Sir John de Segrave's command in Berwick and Perthshire.

He was the keeper of Dundee around 1311 and led the town's unsuccessful defense against Edward Bruce in 1312. When Abernethy was forfeited and attached to the earldom of Angus in 1314, Alexander fled to England, where he died by the end of 1315.

John Abernethy was an English surgeon who lived from 3 April 1764 to 20 April 1831. He is best known for giving his name to the Abernethy biscuit, a coarse-meal baked good intended to aid digestion.

Clan Abernethy Tartans

Abernethy is a sept of both Clan Fraser and Clan Leslie, and thus can wear either tartan.

Clan Fraser Tartans

Fraser Modern

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Fraser Weathered

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Fraser Hunting

Clan Leslie Tartans

Leslie Modern

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Leslie Huntung

Clan Abernethy Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Abernethy Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Gules, a raven beaked and membered Sable

Coats of Arms of Clan Abernethy

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). There are no such things as "family coats of arms." Personal weapons are depicted below (with the above exceptions). Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.