John Joseph Abercrombie (abt. 1745 - aft. 1818)

Born about 1745 in Scotland

Husband of Sarah HInckley — married 4 Jan 1777 in St. Philip's Parish, Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Husband of Sarah (DeNormandie) Abercrombie — married 7 Jan 1791 in Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died after 10 Feb 1818 after about age 73 in Tennessee, United States [uncertain]

Biography

Date and Place of Birth

He was probably born about 1745 or 1746. He was born in Scotland. His daughter Ernestine in a letter to her brother John Joseph in 1874, states that "Our grandmother...Madame De Herent, she fled from Scotland with my Father,then six months old, on account of her religion (Catholic) taking the part of King James." ^[1] [1] Abercromby's mother probably fled with him during or not long after the Jacobite rising in Scotland (19 August 1745 - 20 April 1746). The letters make no mention of Abercromby's father and what became of him, but he may have supported the unsuccessful rising and perhaps died during it. Catholic support for the Jacobite cause likely made Scotland a less welcoming place for Catholics.

Ancestors of John Joseph Abercrombie

On a visit to Edinburgh in August 1778, Abercrombie got the Lyon King of Arms to certify that the "ensigns armorial pertaining and belonging to John Joseph Abercrombie Esquire, Planter in the Province of South Carolina...are matriculated father was Alexander Abercrombie in the publick Registers of the Lyon Office...." The document he received, with the coat of arms in the margin, lists several generations of his ancestors. He names Alexander Abercrombie as his father, and identifies him as "son of James Abercrombie Esquire, an Officer in the Service of the State of Holland and Katherine daughter of John Thomson Esquire of Kent in England which James was son of John Abercrombie of Skeith Esquire and Mary, daughter of Henry Grant of Auchernack Esquire, which John was a younger son of the family of Birkenbog Chief of that antient surname." His mother Ernestine is "daughter of James D'Herent of the Province of Arras in Flanders." ^[2] [2] See attached photo of this document, passed down by descendants. Unfortunately, no dates of birth, death or marriage are provided and no sources found to offer additional verification.

Childhood

Abercrombie's mother Ernestine D'Herent, was the daughter of James D'Herent who was from Arras in Northern France. When she fled from Scotland, she went to Northern France.The only clue we have about her specific location is from the letter from Abercrombie's daughter Ernestine. Ernestine wrote: "She educated my Father in the Jesuite College at Douay, French Flanders. My father told me he had some property there by his Mother." ^[3] [3] So perhaps they lived in Douai, which is about 16 miles east and a little north of Arras.

Emigration to America

He arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, probably in early 1773. Josiah Quincy recorded on March 3, 1773, in his Journal of a trip to the South that "Abbercrombie, a Frenchman just arrived played a first fiddle and solo.... Abercrombie can't speak a word of English and has a salary of 500 Guineas a year from the St. Cecilia Society." ^[4] [4]

First Marriage

On January 4, 1777, John Abercrombie married Sarah Mitchell, the widow of Moses Mitchell in Charleston, with their marriage recorded in the Register of St. Philips Parish, Charleston. ^[5] [5] Sarah Mitchell's maiden name was Hinckley, and she became the second wife of Moses Mitchell, when they married November 25, 1760. ^[6] [6] Sarah Abercrombie died January 7, 1787 in Charelston. ^[7]

Second Marriage

John Joseph Abercrombie was married to Sarah DeNormandie on 7 January 1791at a plantation called Smith Hall in Pon Pon Parish by John Paul Coste, minister of the French Huguenot Church in Charleston. She was then Sarah Peter, widow of Christopher Peter. Sarah DeNormandie was the daughter of Anthony DeNormandie and Mary (Hall) DeNormandie of Philadelphia and Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. ^[8] They had six children: Alexander, Harriet, Ernestine, John Joseph, James and Catherine.

Death

The last record for a living John Joseph Abercrombie and his wife is an ad in the February 10, 1818 edition of a Nashville newspaper. In the ad, Abercrombie offers his services as a teacher of music and singing, while Mrs. Abercrombie "would be glad to accommodate a few gentlemen boarders. Those interested should "apply at the brick house belonging to Mr. Topp, just below the new Presbyterian meeting house on the street leading to the Tan Yard." ^[9] On Oct. 1 1822, there was a notice in a Nashville paper about "Letters Remaining in the Post Office at Nashville", one or more of which were addressed to J J Abercrombie. ^[10]. He and his wife may have died by then, or perhaps they moved again. No newspaper death notice has been found and there is no Abercrombie will in Davidson County probate records.

Sources

1. ↑ Jacqueline Russell, Letters of Ernestine Abercrombie Field, Sister of Gen. J.J. Abercrombie, Jr., posted April 23, 2009 on geneology.com.
2. ↑ Brenda Abercrombie Ledet, Transcript of John Joseph Abercrombie Armorial Document, on rootsweb, posted 1/10/2007
3. ↑ Jacqueline Russell, Letters of Ernestine Abercrombie Field, Sister of Gen. J.J. Abercrombie, Jr., posted April 23, 2009 on geneology.com.
4. ↑ Portrait of a Patriot: the Major Political and Legal Papers of Josiah Quincy Junior, Volume Three, The Southern Journal (1773), Volume Editor Daniel R. Coquilette: Boston, 2006, Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
5. ↑ D.E. Huger Smith and A.S. Salley,Jr., editors, Register of St. Philip's Parish, Charles Town or Charleston, S.C. 1754-1810, Charleston, 1927, p. 223
6. ↑ Clarence Blair Mitchell, Mitchell Record, privately printed, Princeton, N.J., 1926, pp. 13,16
7. ↑ Charleston Morning Post, Jan. 10, 1787, p. 2.
8. ↑ Lewis D. Cook, "DeNormandie Family of Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania", National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 65, No. 4, December 1977, pp. 248, 252.
9. ↑ The Clarion and Tennessee State Gazette, Nashville Feb. 10, 1818.
10. ↑ Nashville Whig, October 23, 1822

• "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HYL4-NNT2 : 12 February 2020), John Josh. Abercrombie in entry for Ernestine Abercrombie, 1797.
• "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HYLF-1J3Z : 12 February 2020), John Joseph Abercrombie in entry for John Joseph Abercrombie, 1798.
• "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HYP3-3VMM : 12 February 2020), John Joseph Abercrombie in entry for James Abercrombie, 1799.