User:SMcCandlish/Incubator/Clan Abercromby

Clan Abercromby is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief, it is considered an armigerous clan.

History
Abercromby owned the lands of the parish Abercrombie in Fife. The earliest mention of the clan in history dates back to 1296, when William de Abercrombie, along with other Scottish nobles, signed the Ragman Rolls, thus swearing fealty allegiance to the King of England Edward Longshanks.

His second son, under Robert the Bruce, received the lands of Pitmedden in Aberdeenshire. The family owned lands at Abercrombie and Balcormo in Fife, and in about 1443 acquired the Murtley estate in Perthshire. In about 1518 the Bolcormo estate passed to the Arnot through marriage, and Murtley in 1620 was sold to the Stuarts of Grandtulli.

For centuries, members of the clan took an active part in religious strife. This family was supporters of the Catholic Church: one of the Abercrombies was the abbot of Scone. In 1362, the Bishop of Aberdeen granted the lands of Banff to Alexander Abercrombie. Robert Abercromby (1534-1613) was a member of the Jesuit monastic order and actively opposed the transformation of the church during the Reformation. For example, he managed to persuade Queen Anne of Denmark, the wife of James VI, to convert to Catholicism (this happened shortly before her death). Thus announced by this Robert Abercromby was put on the wanted list and assigned a significant reward for the capture. This was only the beginning of the decline of the main Abercrombie family. The decline of the Abercrombie branch of Fife was accelerated after Thomas Abercrombie was convicted of murder in 1626, and while he was in exile in Ireland, his lands passed to the Gibbons, relatives of his wife. The senior line died out in the middle of the 17th century and the seniority in the family passed to the house of Abercromby of Birkenbog (Banffshire).

Other families of Abercrombie settled in Throsk (Stirlingshire) in 1456, in Gourdie (near Dundee) in 1558, and in West Lothian in 1604. But the most rebellious family settled in Pitelpie (Scone, Perthshire) and is often referred to in documents of the 16th century as "rebellious". Tradition links the curious practice of burial among Abercrombie of Abercrombie. After the death of the laird, the skull of his predecessor was removed from the grave and placed in a niche in the church, where by the 18th century, by the general opinion, there were already 19 skulls. Unlike their relatives, the holdings of the Pitmedden branch gradually increased, and in addition to new holdings in Fetterner, Glassog and elsewhere, Alexander Abercrombie, 12th laird of Pitmedden, served as Chief Falconer of Scotland under King James VI and Charles I. Alexander in 1636 1st Baronet Birkenbog (Baronetage of Nova Scotia), but became a devoted supporter of the Covenant movement that opposed King Charles I's policy towards the Presbyterian Church. After the Battle of Auldearn in 1645, the Marquess of Montrose, in order to punish Abercrombie, quartered some of his troops in Birkenbog.

Another Abercrombie, David, was, on the other hand, a Jesuit and, having returned from studying abroad to Scotland, intended to support the Reformation of the Protestant Church. However, it turned out like this. Patrick Abercrombie, who graduated from St Andrews University in 1685, was an eminent physician and personal physician to King James VII.

Several Abercrombies appear in a number of the Scottish Guards in France under the name "Abre Commier".