Wednesday Bit O' Genealogy

Give a hearty raise of the mug to: George Abernethy DeBarrie, born about 1580 in Barrie, Strath Isla, Baniff, Scotland. His father's name was Thomas.
George had at least 2 sons; Robert A. Abernethy and William Abernethy. Robert was my first relative on the Abernethy side to come to the U.S. (1652). (More on Robert another time.)The name Abernethy was anglo-sized to Abernathy after they came to the states.
The legendary beginning of the Abernathy or Abernethy name is from the 5th century AD in Scotland. The name is first mentioned, as a church, in the famous Pictish Chronicles, which lists the founder of the church at Abernethy as King Nectan (Nathan) about the year 470 AD. He may have been the Nectan who was converted to Christianity at Restinoth, the monastery in the parish of Forfar, by Boniface, an Israelite and a descendant of the Jonah, father of the apostles Peter and Andrew. According to the Chronicles, Nectan had been banished to Ireland by his brother, but St. Brigid of Ireland had prophesied that he would return to possess the kingdom in peace. When he did return as prophesied, he built the church at Abernethy to honor St. Brigid, who is said to have died there in 518 AD. Later, a second larger church was built there by King Gartnaith. In the 8th Century AD, the holy man, St. Donald lived with his nine virgin daughters at Ogilvy in Forfarshire. After he died, his daughters moved to Abernethy and established a monastery near Banff in Scotland, though legend says that they first lived in a hollowed out tree. The monastery at Abernethy, with its famous, still existing tower, built about 850 AD, is one of the three most famous towers in Britain. This tower was used as place of refuge by King Malcolm III and his family. The location of this church, near Perth, is at the confluence of the mouths of the Earn and Tay Rivers. The Nethy river flows into the Tay very close to Abernethy Church, which in Gaelic means- by the ford (Aber) of the River Nethy. Another possible meaning of the name is Ab Earn Ne Tay, meaning by the ford of the rivers Earn and Tay.
My Abernethy family is of the Clan Leslie.

Cheers George!