Alexander George Arbuthnot. A trader from Montrose born 1748. Emigrated to Florida 1803 to trade with the Seminole Indians and represent their cause to the English. He had a store near St Augustine on the Spanish/Florida border.
On 26 April 1818, Arbuthnot and Robert C Ambrister were illegally tried in their absence for aiding hostile Indians by an army court which failed to reach a conclusion. Andrew Jackson determined that they were guilty and they were sentenced to death. Shortly afterwards they were captured, Ambrister was shot by firing squad and Arbuthnot was hanged from the masthead of his schooner 29 April 1818. Jackson was much criticised for the execution on Spanish land which caused consternation in Washington and uproar in London. Congressmen did not probe too deeply into the causes of the Seminole war, but under international pressure they did pass a resolution condemning the executions. The incident caused trouble for Jackson throughout his life. Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), first governor of Florida (1821), general of the Battle of New Orleans (1815), a founder of the Democratic Party, and the eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. ...
The exact location of Arbuthnot's store is unknown and the area has been greatly developed.
Alexander is thought to have been son of Dr Thomas Arbuthnot of Balglassie and of Arbuthnottshaugh. Alexander married Mary Ann (maiden name unknown) and had sons John James Arbuthnot and R Arbuthnot.
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