James Abercromby (1708-1775) was baptized on 24 August 1708 at Alloa Parish, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, the third son of Alexander Abercromby (1675-1753) of Tullibody and Mary Duff (1680-1743). He was educated at Westminster in London, Leiden University in the Netherlands and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in London before traveling to South Carolina as a young man of twenty-one years of age.

James Abercromby (1708-1775) was the second Abercromby in colonial South Carolina and the one for whom the most records survive. The first record of him at Charleston, South Carolina is dated 12 July 1730 when he was justice of the peace in two deeds. This was soon after the Crown began administering the colony following repurchase from the Lords Proprietors, and at that time South Carolina was on the southern frontier of British America. James was appointed attorney general of the colony a few months later, on 30 November 1730, and served in that capacity, excepting a few trips home to Britain, until he left South Carolina for the last time in June 1744 for London on the ship George, Captain William Campbell, master.

During his fourteen years residence in South Carolina he was involved in the social, religious and political activities of the young colony. He was an early member of the St. Andrew's Society of Charleston, having signed its original rules in 1730, and was its president from 1740 until his departure. In 1739 his horse "Cherokee" was advertised in the South Carolina [SC] Gazette to race at Mrs. Sureau's. He was a trustee of the Presbyterian Meeting House in Charleston in 1733 when he and six other trustees purchased a lot in Charleston for building a Presbyterian church and burial ground in trust for the Rev. Mr. Hugh Stewart. He served on a commission to draw a boundary between North and South Carolina in 1735, was counsel for the trustees of Georgia in 1735, and an elected member of the South Carolina Assembly from 1739 to 1745, representing Prince Frederick Winyah Parish and Prince George Winyah Parish where he owned land. In 1741 he served on a committee in Charleston to distribute 20,000 pounds provided by Parliament to Charleston residents who had suffered damages in a fire the previous year.

Between 1732 and 1739 he had surveyed and was granted 6,980 acres of land in South Carolina on the Big Peedee and Waccamaw Rivers, and by 1737 he acquired lot 206 on Church Street in Georgetown. In 1740 he sold 5,000 acres of this land to Hugh Swinton, brother of William Swinton, the surveyor who laid out Georgetown.

In 1746, after returning to Britain, James Abercromby (1708-1775) served as judge advocate on a military expedition under General James St. Clair that was originally planned to be deployed against the French in Canada, but instead attacked the coast of Brittany at Port L’Orient. His distant cousin, Colonel James Abercromby (1706-1781) of Glassaugh, who was later commanding general in North America during the French and Indian War, was also on the expedition, as was the philosopher David Hume. A decade later, during the French and Indian War, James Abercromby (1708-1775) served as agent and attorney for his cousin, General James Abercromby (1706-1781) of Glassaugh, and his Royal American Regiment.

In 1747, back in London, James Abercromby (1708-1775) appointed attorneys in South Carolina to dispose of his property there, and in 1750 these attorneys sold 800 acres in two tracts on both sides of the Peedee River, formerly the property of Hugh Swinton, but confirmed by Swinton to Abercromby in 1746 after Swinton failed to pay bonds owed to Abercromby.

Though absent from the colony after 1744, James Abercromby continued to own land in South Carolina for many years, which he tried to sell from time to time. In 1754 Daniel Blake (1731-1780), who had traveled in England with fellow South Carolinians Peter Manigault (1731-1773) and William Drayton (1732-1790) in the early 1750s, advertised in the SC Gazette to sell land on Ashley River opposite Dorchester Bay belonging to "James Abercrombie, Esq." Peter Manigault had written home to his father, Gabriel Manigault (1704-1781), in Charleston that James Abercromby entertained and advised him while he was in England for his education, writing from London on 12 March 1750, "I am particularly obliged to Mr. Abercromby, both for his good Advice, and good Company, which he has often honoured me with." In 1741 James Abercromby had served along with Daniel Blake's father, Joseph Blake (1700-1751), on a committee to distribute funds provided by Parliament to residents of Charleston who had suffered damages in a fire. So, perhaps James Abercromby asked Daniel Blake to sell his land when he returned to South Carolina.

In 1762 Charles Woodmason, an Anglican minister and tax collector for Prince Frederick Parish, South Carolina, advertised in the SC Gazette that taxes had not been paid on 3,000 acres on the Peedee River "said to belong to James Abercrombie, Esq. of London, a non-resident." This land was part of the 5,000 acres that James Abercromby sold to Hugh Swinton in 1740, but was known as the "Abercrombies Tract" in a South Carolina deed dated 1777 when Thomas Lynch (1749-1779), who signed the Declaration of Independence, sold it to James McDonald.

A letter James Abercromby (1708-1775) wrote on 29 November 1766 shows that he was still trying to sell property in South Carolina then. This was just five months before James, John and Isaac Abercrombie began acquiring land in the area of South Carolina that is now Laurens County. "James Abercrombe" first petitioned the South Carolina Council on 5 May 1767 for 100 acres on "waters of Santee," land that later, in 1785, became Laurens County. The Laurens County land granted to James Abercrombie in 1767 and to John Abercrombie in 1769 was not granted "on the bounty," a provision for foreign immigrants, as the land granted to John Copland in 1768 had been, which land Isaac Abercrombie purchased from Copland in 1769. So, the Laurens County Abercrombies of the 1760s were not likely foreign immigrants.

After returning to London following his military service, James Abercromby (1708-1775) worked for the southern American colonies. From 1748 to 1761 he served as London agent for North Carolina, representing primarily the lower house of Assembly. From 1751 to 1773 he served as London agent for Virginia, first for the colony as a whole and later for the governor and Council only. In 1991 the Virginia State Library and Archives published his letters as The Letter Book of James Abercromby, Colonial Agent, 1751-1773. The North Carolina Archives plans to publish his letters also.

As agent James Abercromby (1708-1775) was known for his dedicated service to the colonies. Even when North Carolina delayed notifying him of dismissal or reappointment he continued to pursue the best interest of the colony, writing to Governor Dobbs on 13 March 1758, "I must hereupon repeat to you, that I think myself in Duty bound to attend to your Provincial affairs notwithstanding the expiration of the Law, til such time as I am inform[ed] discharged from this Trust, and let me assure you, that Duty to the Province more than any other motive, leads me to interest myself that their Interest may not suffer so far as I can prevent."

He was unofficial agent for the Bahamas in 1757 and for a time was private agent for South Carolina’s governor, James Glen.

From 1757 to 1765 James Abercromby (1708-1775) was deputy auditor general of plantations [colonies] in London, where he was an advocate of vigorous resistance to French encroachments in North America and the West Indies and pointed out ways to strengthen the defenses of the southern colonies and to gain the friendship of their neighboring Indian nations.

During his long career James Abercromby (1708-1775) wrote two treatises concerning the colonies: An Examination of the Acts of Parliament Relative to the Trade and the Government of our American Colonies in 1752 and De Jure et Gubernatione Coloniarum, or An Inquiry into the Nature, and the Rights of Colonies, Ancient, and Modern in 1774. These were published by the American Philosophical Society in 1986 as Magna Charta for America.

From 1761 to 1768 he served in Parliament representing his home district of Clackmannanshire, Scotland, where he had purchased two properties, Bandeath in 1753 and Brucefield in 1758. In 1766 he voted against repeal of the Stamp Act so hated by the American colonists.

James Abercromby (1708-1775) came from a large family in Scotland, but there is no evidence that he ever married. At least three, and probably four, of his five brothers died abroad.

In 1741, his younger brother, William Abercromby (1723-1741), who had gone to South Carolina with him, became ill and died at Georgetown, South Carolina where William had settled in the overseer's house at a new plantation nearby.

James Abercromby's (1708-1775) youngest brother, Robert Abercromby (1724-1748), a seaman, died at Bombay, India on 30 June 1748 after an illness.

His younger brother, Captain John Abercromby (1722-1758) of the 1st Royal Regiment of Foot, was killed at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada in July 1758 when British General Jeffrey Amherst (1717-1797) successfully besieged and captured that place. This was during the same month and year that his distant cousin, General James Abercromby (1706-1781) of Glassaugh, was defeated by the French at Ticonderoga.

James' older brother, Alexander Abercromby (1707-?), a merchant, was returned to Charleston, South Carolina along with the sea captain James Abercrombie (1717-1760) after an exchange of prisoners with the Spanish at Havana, Cuba in October 1744, a few months after the attorney general had left the colony for the last time. In December 1744 Alexander took a small cargo of rice and oranges from Charleston to Virginia for Robert Pringle (1702-1776), a Scot who had settled in Charleston and who described Alexander Abercromby as "a very worthy, agreeable gentleman." Pringle did not have as high an opinion of James Abercromby (1708-1775), however. By 1770, however, Alexander (1707-?) was a merchant in Norway, and he probably died abroad as well.

Only James' (1708-1775) oldest brother, George Abercromby (1705-1800) of Tullibody, lived and died in Scotland.

James (1708-1775) himself, after returning from South Carolina in 1744, lived mostly at London, but died in Scotland.

In 1739 his sister, Helen Abercromby (1713-1791), married their first cousin, Sir Robert Abercromby (1705-1787), 3rd baronet of Birkenbog, and they lived in Scotland. Robert had been in India before his father, Sir James Abercromby (1668-1734), 2nd baronet of Birkenbog, fell ill in 1732 causing Robert to return to Scotland to manage his father's disordered financial affairs.

Many of James' (1708-1775) first cousins, sons of Sir James, also died abroad. These first cousins were younger brothers of his sister Helen's husband, Sir Robert (1705-1787). Among these, George Abercromby (1706-1776) died in Mexico where he had settled by 1746 after being in Jamaica, Holland and Spain.

Arthur Abercromby (1707-1761), son of Sir James, was in trade and died in service of the Dutch East India Company with which he sailed to China beginning in 1758 when he was living at London. Arthur had begun his career in trade in Rotterdam and Amsterdam by the early 1730s.

Sir James' three youngest sons, William (1710-?), John (1711-?) and James (1713-?), are said to have emigrated to South Carolina in the mid-1700s with William and John arriving first and settling near Charleston and James arriving later. But the family tradition is that some of the early Abercrombies in South Carolina, remaining loyal to Britain, returned there at the outbreak of the War of Independence.

The four oldest sons of Sir James Abercromby (1668-1734), 2nd baronet of Birkenbog, and Mary Gordon died before Sir James. They were: Alexander (1692-c.1716), James (1693- before 1713), Robert (1695-before 1705) and Lewis [Ludovic] (1697-c.1716).

In 1767 James Abercromby's (1708-1775) niece, Mary Abercromby, daughter of his sister Helen (1713-1791) and his first cousin, Sir Robert Abercromby (1705-1787), 3rd baronet of Birkenbog, married her distant cousin, William Abercromby (1739-?), eldest surviving son of General James Abercromby (1706-1781) of Glassaugh, at Fordyce Parish, Banffshire, Scotland. This marriage joined the Abercrombies of Birkenbog, Tullibody and Glassaugh, but was childless.

James Abercromby (1708-1775) made his will at Brucefield in Scotland on 8 September 1775 -- probably soon after learning of the battle of Bunker Hill and death of Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie of the 22nd Regiment at Boston in June of that year. The rebellion of the colonies for which he had worked his entire professional life must have been a severe disappointment, and he did not long survive it.

His will was proved on 20 December 1775 at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, London, where all wills concerning "foreign parts" had to be proved, but his will mentioned no property in South Carolina nor any other foreign parts. Administration of his will was granted to his nephew, Colonel Ralph Abercromby (1734-1801), later General Sir Ralph Abercromby, whose sympathy with the American colonies during the War of Independence hindered his professional advancement for a time though he died a hero in battle in Egypt overthrowing the French Army there, and his widow was made a baroness.

James' (1708-1775) will stated that he made "no alteration in the destination of my estates of Bandeath and Brucefield as now settled." He had settled these properties in Scotland on his older brother, George Abercromby (1705-1800) of Tullibody. Among other bequests, he left 3,000 pounds sterling to "Lady Abercromby," his sister Helen. The residue of his money after paying legacies was to be used "for the discharge of family debts."

Alan L. Karras in his book, Sojourners in the Sun: Scottish Migrants in Jamaica and the Chesapeake, 1740-1800 [Cornell University Press, 1992], describes well educated Scots who left for Jamaica, Maryland and Virginia hoping to earn enough in the colonies to return home and purchase land in Scotland. Most did not succeed. Those who did found work in the colonies for their less successful relatives as overseers and estate managers.

This was likely the pattern for James Abercromby (1708-1775), who was a successful sojourner in South Carolina, and his relatives who were not. It was probably James' influence that brought his first cousins, William Abercromby (1710-?), John Abercromby (1711-?) and James Abercromby (1713-?), the three youngest sons of Sir James Abercromby (1668-1734), 2nd baronet of Birkenbog, and Mary Gordon, to South Carolina in the mid-1700s according to family tradition.

There is some evidence to support this tradition.

John [Aber] Cromby who married Mary Tompkins at Prince Frederick Parish, South Carolina in 1744 may have been the attorney general's first cousin, John Abercromby (1711-?) of the tradition.

It is possible that the attorney general's cousins lived on his lot in Georgetown or on the 980 acres now in Marlboro County, South Carolina granted to James Abercromby (1708-1775) in 1737 when it was part of Prince Frederick Parish. No conveyance of the tract of 980 acres from James Abercromby has been found; nor has any conveyance of Georgetown lot 206 from James Abercromby been found. At least part of the Marlboro County property belonged to "James Abercrombie" as late as 1777 according to South Carolina deeds.

Although records for only one of the seven tracts totaling 6,980 acres granted to James Abercromby in the 1730s identified him as the attorney general -- the 980 acres now in Marlboro County -- it is generally assumed that they all belonged to him. Two other tracts totaling 3,000 acres were surveyed for "James Abercrombie, Esq." in South Carolina in 1732 and 1734, but never granted. The survey plat for one of these -- for 2,000 acres on the Waccamaw River surveyed in 1734 -- identified him as the attorney general.

The 1,000 acres tract on the Waccamaw River [now in Horry County, South Carolina] granted to James Abercromby in 1735 was sold to Archibald Taylor, a Georgetown merchant, in 1804 by John J. [Joseph] Abercromby, a "Frenchman" who first appeared in Charleston, South Carolina in 1773, but this deed does not record how or when John Joseph Abercromby acquired the property. John Joseph Abercromby's paternal grandfather was James Abercromby, "an officer in service of the states of Holland" who married "Katherine, daughter of John Thomson, Esquire of Kent, England." There were at least two men named John Thomson/Tompson living in Prince George Winyah and Prince Frederick parishes in the 1730s. But nevertheless the 1,000 acres granted in 1735 is assumed to have been granted to the attorney general.

William Hinckley (?-1780), who owned a lot in Georgetown, South Carolina two blocks from James Abercromby, but who died at Charleston, mentioned his sister, Ann Abercromby, in his will, made 25 May 1780, just two weeks after Charleston fell to the British. Another of William Hinckley's sisters, Sarah Hinckley (?-1787), widow of Moses Mitchell (?-1775), married John Joseph Abercromby in 1777 at Charleston.

In 1798 Ann Abercrombie, wife of James Abercrombie, renounced her dower for the 100 acres in Laurens County, South Carolina that her husband had purchased in 1795 from Isaac Abercrombie (?-1825) of Anson County, North Carolina. She may have been William Hinckley's (?-1780) sister. Isaac Abercrombie (?-1825), who had purchased this Laurens County land in 1769, lived most of his adult life in Anson County, North Carolina, which is near Marlboro County, South Carolina.

Also, there are records of Thomas Dial, Jr. living in Prince Frederick Parish, South Carolina in the mid-1700s. He is said by his descendants to have been a grandson of Isaac Malcolm Dial and Harriet Blackwell, traditional grandparents of Hastings Dial (1732-1809) and Martin Dial (1744-1843), brothers who married sisters, Rebecca Abercrombie (1739-1825) and Chrystie Abercrombie (1746-1804), and lived in Laurens County, South Carolina.

There were two men named James Abercrombie with large households in Laurens County, South Carolina in the first federal census of 1790. Their relationship to each other is unknown, but they are not thought to have been father and son. It was customary in eighteenth century Scotland and the Abercromby family to name the first born son for the paternal grandfather. If following this custom, the first sons of the traditional immigrant brothers, William (1710-?), John (1711-?) and James (1713-?), would have been named James for Sir James. So, the two men named James in the 1790 census for Laurens County may have been grandsons of Sir James Abercromby (1668-1734), 2nd baronet of Birkenbog, and first cousins to each other.

The Abercrombies who first appear in 1767-1769 in the area of South Carolina that is now Laurens County, but then was the frontier, may have been the second generation in South Carolina since young men are more likely to move to the frontier.

Although these few records support the family tradition, there remains some mystery concerning the progenitors of the early Laurens County, South Carolina Abercrombies. The scarcity of records on the South Carolina colonial frontier, the destruction of early records of the Georgetown District of South Carolina, and the confusion concerning so many men named James Abercrombie/Abercromby have made a firm conclusion elusive.

Copyright 2003 by Brenda Abercrombie Ledet.