Doctor Roswell C Abernethy b. 07 Jun 1774 Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut d. 24 Sep 1851 Litchfield County, Connecticut

1774 - 1851 (77 years)

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Name	Doctor Roswell C Abernethy
Title	Doctor
Born	07 Jun 1774	Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut
Gender	Male
Baptism	20 Jun 1774	Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut
Died	24 Sep 1851	Litchfield County, Connecticut
Buried	Old North Cemetery Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut
Person ID	I1808647938	Abernethy, William and Sarah Doolittle (Tims Direct Line)
Last Modified	3 Apr 2010

Father	William Gaylord Abernethy, b. 1 Jul 1734, Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut , d. 26 Nov 1802, Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut (Age 68 years)
Mother	Honor Catlin, b. 22 Apr 1745, Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut , d. 14 Sep 1811, Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut (Age 66 years)
Married	20 Jun 1762	Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut
Notes	Married: Connecticut Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) about William Abernethy Name: William Abernethy [William Aberneth] Residence Location: Harwinton Marriage Date: 20 Jun 1762 Marriage Location: Harwinton Spouse: Honnora Catling Spouse Residence Location: Harwinton Connecticut Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) about Dr. William Abernethy Name: Dr. William Abernethy [Dr. William Aberneth] Marriage Date: 20 Jun 1762 Marriage Location: Harwinton Spouse: Honnour Catlin
Family ID	F1079372623	Group Sheet

Family Anna Catlin, b. 09 Dec 1776, New York , d. 05 Mar 1861, Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut (Age 84 years)

Married 25 Jan 1797 Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut

Notes

Married:

Connecticut Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
about Roswell Abernethy
Name: Roswell Abernethy
[Roswell Aberneth]
Marriage Date: 25 Jan 1797
Marriage Location: Harwinton
Spouse: Anna Catlin

Children

+	1. Abijah Catlin Abernethy, b. 31 Dec 1797, Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut , d. 6 Oct 1842, Litchfield County, Connecticut (Age 44 years)
+	2. Anna Abernethy, b. 11 Jan 1801, Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut , d. Bef 1860 (Age 58 years)
	3. John Jay Abernethy, b. 25 Dec 1804, Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut , d. 28 Oct 1879, New York City, New York (Age 74 years)
+	4. Charles Abernethy, b. 03 May 1807, Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut , d. 1878, New York City, New York (Age 70 years)

Last Modified 1 Apr 2010

Family ID F1079372648 Group Sheet

Event Map

	Born - 07 Jun 1774 - Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut
	Baptism - 20 Jun 1774 - Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut
	Married - 25 Jan 1797 - Harwinton, Litchfield County, Connecticut
	Died - 24 Sep 1851 - Litchfield County, Connecticut
	Buried - - Old North Cemetery Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut

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Pin Legend : Address : Location : City/Town : County/Shire : State/Province : Country : Not Set

Notes

1800 Census Litchfield County, Connecticut
1810 Census Litchfield County, Connecticut
1820 Census Litchfield County, Connecticut
1830 Census Litchfield County, Connecticut
1840 Census Litchfield County, Connecticut
1850 Census Litchfield County, Connecticut
Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
about Roswell Abernethy
Name: Roswell Abernethy
[Roswell Aberneth]
Birth Date: 21 Jun 1774
Birth Location: Harwinton

Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
about Rosel Abernethy
Name: Rosel Abernethy
[Rosel Aberneth]
Birth Date: 20 Jun 1774
Birth Location: Harwinton
Parent Name: William
Parent Name: Honour
From Google Books:

Proceedings of the Connecticut Medical Society By Connecticut Medical Society.

Fifty Eigth Annual Convention of the Connecticut Medical Society. May, 1850; together with the names of the Officers of the Connecticut Medical Society from its Organization to the Present.

1822:
Samuel Rockwell, William Buel, Warren R Fowler, ROSWELL ABERNETHY, Conant Catlin.
1823:
William Buel, Warren R Fowler, ROSWELL ABERNETHY, COnant Catlin, Horatio Gridley.
1825:
Warren R Fowler, William Buel, ROSWELL ABERNETHY, Conant Catlin, Luther Ticknor.
1829:
R.C. ABERNETHY, Samuel W Gold, Luther Ticknor, Jarius Case, R.M. Fowler
History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut: from the ..., Volume 2, Part 1
From Ancestry Google Book

ROSWELL ABERNETHY, M. D.
Most of the readers of this volume will recollect the aged, yet noble form?so lately in our midst?of the subject of this sketchFor more than twenty-five years, he " went out and in" among us, approving himself in all the relations of life. To see him about among the people, dispensing the charities of his humane and useful profession, had become a sort of " second nature"?a thing of course. Unusually attentive to the calls of the arduous profession of which he was so conspicuous an ornament, he was ever found at the post of duty, " in the forefront of the battle," in the conflict with dire disease. The high moral and religious traits of his character were "known and read of all men"?of which we all are witnesses. His gentlemanly and friendly deportment toward all whom he was called to meet, in the various relations and duties of life are known to the entire circle of his acquaintance. To the author he particularly endeared himself by his wise counsels in the various emergencies of the early days in his professional labors, and by his unwavering friendship, when the "love of many had waxed cold" and that of most was lukewarm. He was a fjiend in need. Many were the happy hours spent with him in interesting and useful conversation on all the various topics of human thought. He can almost imagine at times of a pleasant afternoon, he sees that aged and revered form coming toward his office, and can almost hear those manly, kindly tones in which he was wont to hold intercourse with intimate friends. Anon the illusion vanishes, and he finds himself alone, with a sense of having experienced some great loss. To know the full worth of such a man- as Dr. Abernethy, one must know him intimately?must hold communion with his very soul. We see few such men in our world. His death has created a void that will not soon again be filled. He will live, while life remains, in the affectionate remembrances of his numerous acquaintances and friends.
For much of what follows, we are indebted to the sermon preached at his funeral by Rev. Lucius Curtis, pastor of the church at which Dr. Abernethy attended. His character was, on that occasion, so well drawn, that it seemed to the writer like a waste of time to go over the ground again.
Dr. Roswell Abernethy was born in Harwinton, Conn., in the year 1774. He applied himself very early in life to the study of medicine, under the instruction of his father, Dr. William Abernethy, who was at that time the principal physician in his native town. In 1795, while in his twenty-first year, he commenced the practice of his profession in New Hartford, an adjoining town, where he remained six years. During this period, he formed the acquaintance of Dr. Griffin, the celebrated pulpit orator and divine, who had then just commenced his ministerial labors in that town. This acquaintance soon ripened into a friendship, which continued long after they were separated by removal. They were fitted by the character of their minds to sympathize, not only as friends, but as thinkers on important subjects. From New Hartford he removed to his native town, and continued the practice of his profession there till 1825. The reputation he had acquired as a physician and as a man, made him known abroad; and a vacancy having occurred in this town, many desired to secure his settlement here. Accordingly the citizens of Woodbury, without distinction of party or sect, extended to him a formal ?call," or invitation1 to settle, which he accepted. He came here not only by this general invitation, but with the warmest testimonials of confidence and regard from the citizens of his native town; and for twenty-five years he continued here, enjoying the confidence and esteem of the community. The extent of his practice was such as to gain for him a generous competence, and during the last few years of his life, he often expressed a desire to retire from the active duties of his profession, which he followed without intermission for fifty-six years. It is remarkable, that just before his last sickness, and while in the midst of his professional labors, as soon as he had come, voluntarily, to the firm conclusion to retire from them, a higher summons came, calling him to close, at once, his professional labors and his life. As if by some presentiment anticipating the time of his departure, he had "set his house in order;" and none who knew him can doubt that in all respects he was ready for the final summons. After a sickness of little more than two weeks, during which he had but little acute suffering, he went at the age of seventy-seven, quietly and sweetly to his rest.
With a mind completely balanced and harmonized, shaped in its very structure to the finest proportions, he had an uncommonly marked and strong character. With none of those eccentricities which give brilliancy and notoriety by their extravagance, there was a depth, and tone, and fullness, pervading the whole man, giving strength without contrast, and proportion without weakness ; consti
1 This invitation was signed by some twenty-five or thirty of the principal inhabitants of the town.
tnting, in a word, one of the noblest characters, and one which is fitted to strengthen our conviction, that man was formed in the image of his Maker. A stranger would at once mark him in the crowd ; not merely from the upright position, the manly proportions, and the polite, dignified bearing of his form, but from the intellectual cast, and the earnest, benignant aspect of his countenance, and the elevated and commanding appearance of his whole person. It would be difficult to tell which trait in him was most prominent; and it would be quite as difficult to tell in which he was defective, according to human standard. The essential qualities which belong to native strength of mind, and true nobility of character, were found in him.
His intellect fitted him especially for reasoning and reflection, though he was not wanting in the power of observation. By the ' natural gifts of his mind, together with his habits of assiduous application, he placed himself, without the advantages of a collegiate education, or even of a professional school, in a position far above that of multitudes who have enjoyed both. He loved and faithfully studied his profession. Well read in its theory, keeping up with the discoveries and improvements of progressive science, he was also skillful and patient in the details of practice. A characteristic prudence and caution ever kept him from trifling with the life of a patient by rash experiment; and a sense of responsibility, and the general seriousness of his character, prompted a faithfulness and a patient self-denial in the examination and treatment of his cases, which a mere love of professional reputation would have failed to secure. With great delicacy and refinement of feeling, and habitual conscientiousness, he studied both the health and the feelings of his patient. His dignified, gentle and courteous bearing, was a part of the man. It was never put on for an object or an occasi ; and it was never put off. None, who intrusted him with a secret, as a physician or as a man, ever had occasion to regret a confidence misplaced.
But while he was faithful and laborious in his profession, his thoughts took a wider range. By his habit of general and well selected reading, he took an intelligent survey of the topics discussed by the press, and of the general movements in society. Subjects especially of permanent interest to the citizen, to the philanthropist, to the Christian, he investigated with rare thoroughness and ability.* Questions of a theological and biblical nature, which are fundamental, engaged his most earnest attention; and the results of his inquiries upon these subjects he often committed to paper. Though he did not hold a ready or a prolific pen, his literary productions, not withstanding his want of early discipline, exhibit a command of the best language, the power of full and accurate expression, method, elegance, precision, perspicuity, and force. The qualities of his mind were impressed upon his style, as well as upon his general demeanor and action.
His judgment was sound and discriminating. He investigated with candor, and when he arrived at a satisfactory conclusion, he was neither fickle in abandoning it, nor obstinate in retaining it. But his mind was settled. He was clear and firm in his convictions. They took a strong hold upon his nature. He was decided. Once planted, you always knew where to find him ; because you knew that his opinions were above the reach of caprice, or favor, or interest. And yet, with all his firmness and decision, he was open to truth, liberal-minded, generous and kind, as an opponent. He accorded to others what he claimed for himself, an independent judgment. He ?loved agreement, but he loved truth more. He loved peace; but he held fast to right and justice. Hence with all his gentleness, his amiable and courteous bearing, he was stable, conservative, inflexible.
The delicacy of his feelings, and his wise sense of propriety, would have made him sensitive to ridicule, had not those qualities been joined to a kindness of feeling, and a noble bearing, which never exposed him to its power. It is difficult to attack, with any weapons whatever, an unobtrusive modesty, or a manly dignity which commands respect. He possessed both; and was thus doubly guarded, by both his inoffensiveness and his strength, against many social evils to which most men are exposed.
Hence, in social life, he was fitted for enjoyment and usefulness. His habits of study and reflection did not disqualify him from mingling with lively and cheerful pleasure in the intercourse of social life. He loved the circle of friends; and with all his dignity, every one felt at home in his presence. Neyer distant, nor overbearing; easy of access, familiar; interesting himself in the welfare of others, careful of their feelings, attentive to their wants, he was everywhere welcome. Uniting definite and varied information with good conversational powers; and a peculiar blandness and urbanity of manner with genuine refinement and a high-toned moral sentiment, his society was always instructive, pleasing and elevating. In his attachments there were strength and constancy, and into all pure, social enjoyments he entered with a warm zest. Though not incapable of discerning the faults of others, he did not seem to think of them. At least, he was unsuspicious?he never delighted to search them out?and if they came in his way, he had no tongue to speak of them, and no heart to remember them. No malicious or unguarded ?word from him ever tarnished a good name, or wounded the peace of a family. Though frank and judicious in giving counsel where it was asked, he never intruded. Unambitious of notoriety, or of preferment, he seemed only to covet esteem and usefulness; and there was such evident sincerity and truthfulness in his bearing, he was so conscientious, open and manly in all his conduct, so far above every species of artifice and management, that you knew him by intuition to be as incapable of a mean action, as he was of injustice and fraud. To the poor he was kind and generous. In his professional practice he often gave them, not only an unrewarded service as physician, but friendly assistance as a neighbor and a man. Many a poor family, as well as the various objects of Christian benevolence at home and abroad, could bear testimony to the substantial tokens of his sympathy, and of his unostentatious, but liberal charity. In the family circle, as husband and father, with the tenderness of an affectionate nature, the gentleness of a kind spirit, and the unclouded light of a cheerful disposition, reflected from his noble countenance in a smile so beaming and benignant, he threw a pleasant sunshine around his home, and made it ever attractive and genial. In his general intercourse with men, he was the Christian gentleman, uniting the high bearing and humble spirit of the 6chool of Washington and the school of Christ.
But his religions character was as strongly marked as his intellectual and social. He made a profession of his faith in 1805, at the age of thirty-one, by uniting with the Congregational church in his native town ; and when he removed to "Woodbury, he transferred his relations to this church. Here for a quarter of a century, the consistency of his daily walk and the growing elevation of his Christian character were witnessed by all. The duties of an arduous profession seldom furnished him an excuse for absence from the public worship of the Sabbath, or from the weekly meeting for prayer and conference. "He loved the house of God, and the place where His honor dwelleth." Devout and reverential in his piety, he loved all those doctrines, which exalt God as a righteous sovereign "upon the throne of his holiness." He had an enlarged and consistent view of the divine attributes, and he loved to contemplate the divine perfections in their purity and majesty. Religious truth opened to him a field in which his mind and heart loved to range. His text-book was his Bible. Next to this, he loved those books, which unfolded its meaning with clearness, and enforced its truth with an evangelical and devout spirit. The pleasure which he found in Bible truth was superior to every other. Very few, who are not themselves religious teachers, become so thoroughly indoctrinated into the truths of the Scriptures as a system, or so deeply imbued with their spirit. He rested in them with unshaken convictions, with perfect satisfaction, and with that conscious security which reposes in immutable truth.

Dr. Abernethy died September 24th, 1851, aged seventy-seven years. He left a widow and three children. John J., a surgeon in the U. S. Navy, Charles, a merchant in New York, and Anna, wife of Alvin Bradley, Esq., of Whitestown, N. Y. In 1825, the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred on him by the corporation of Yale College.