Abraham Roberts

General Sir Abraham Roberts GCB (11 April 1784 – 28 December 1873) was a British East India Company Army general who served nearly 50 years in India.

Sir Abraham Roberts
Sir Abraham Roberts
Born(1784-04-11)11 April 1784
Waterford, Ireland
Died28 December 1873(1873-12-28) (aged 89)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branchBritish East India Company
RankGeneral
Unit1st Bengal European Regiment
Commands held1st Bengal European Regiment
Lahore Division
Battles/warsFirst Afghan War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
RelationsFrederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts (son)
Frederick Roberts (grandson)

Roberts had two sons, who both obtained the highest ranks in the British Army. One son and a grandson would win the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for bravery in the face of the enemy in the British Army.

Early life

Abraham Roberts was a member of a famous Waterford family. He was the son of Anne (Sandys) and The Reverend John Roberts, a magistrate in County Waterford and a rector of Passage East.

Career

General Sir Abraham Roberts gained the rank of colonel in the service of the Honourable East India Company and was the commander of the 1st Bengal European Regiment and the Lahore Division.[1] He fought in the First Afghan War.

Roberts was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). He left India in 1853 to live in Ireland with his second wife, who outlived him. He also had a home in Bristol, 25 Royal York Crescent, Bristol, Somerset BS8 – England.[2]

From 1862 until his death, he was Colonel of the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers).[3]

Family

He married Frances Isabella Ricketts, daughter of George Poyntz Ricketts, on 20 July 1820. On the death of his first wife, he married Isabella Bunbury, daughter of Abraham Bunbury, on 2 August 1830.

Children with Frances Isabella Ricketts
  • Frances Eliza Roberts
  • Maria Isabella Roberts
  • Major General George Ricketts Roberts

Children with Isabella Bunbury

Arms
Coat of arms of Abraham Roberts
Notes
Confirmed by John Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, 27 June 1865.[4]
Crest
A lion rampant Or armed and langued Gules charged on the shoulder with an Eastern crown of the last and holding in the dexter paw a sword the blade wavy Argent hilt and pommel Gold.
Escutcheon
Azure three estoiles Or on a chief wavy of the second an Eastern crown Gules.
Motto
Virtute Et Valore

Footnotes
  1. "Lord Roberts - A Great Soldier's Story of his Own Career". The New York Times. 16 January 1897. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  2. "Will on Genealogy.com". Retrieved 8 January 2023. This is the last Will of me, General Sir Abraham Roberts KGB. of number 25 Royal York & Crescent Clifton Bristol. I bequeath unto and equally between my dearest Wife, Isabella Roberts and mu Daughter, Harriet Mercer Roberts […]
  3. "101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 30 March 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. "Grants and Confirmations of Arms Vol. G". National Library of Ireland. p. 111. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
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