Thomas Perkins Abernethy (August 25, 1890 – November 12, 1975) was an American historian and academic. He served as a professor of early American history at a number of universities throughout the South and Southwest United States. He mainly taught early American colonial history that concentrated on southern states, their notable figures, frontier life, the move westward, and how it impacted the social, economic and political fabric of colonial America and its transition into an independent nation.

Early life and education

Thomas Perkins Abernethy was born on August 25, 1890, in

Collirene, Alabama Collirene (also Sand Hill, Hays Hill, Hayes Hill) is an unincorporated community in Lowndes County, Alabama, United States. Thomas Perkins Abernethy Thomas Perkins Abernethy (August 25, 1890 – November 12, 1975) was an American his ...

. His parents were Thomas Hines Abernethy and Anne (Rast) Abernethy. He married Ida Erckman Robertson of Birmingham on December 6, 1917. Abernethy's father was a Confederate soldier. His great-grandfather, Thomas Smith Abernethy, was a pioneer Methodist minister and one of the founders of the Alabama conference. Abernethy Biography, University of Alabama Alabama Pioneers, Historical Association: Abernethy biography Abernethy attended various public schools in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, and graduated high school in 1905. He attended the agricultural school Sylacauga, then attended one year at

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mil ...

, and became a cadet sergeant; he also played on the institution's football team. Abernethy earned his associate degree at the College of Charleston in 1912. He then attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and earned his master's degree in 1915 and his Ph.D. in 1922. Abernethy, 1961, author profile on book cover, Louisiana State University Press Abernethy's work, ''The Formative period in Alabama, 1815-1828'', published in 1922, was submitted as a doctoral dissertation to the faculty of Harvard University and was prepared under the direction of Professor

Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his frontier thes ...

; the archives and manuscripts collected were made available by

Thomas M. Owen Thomas McAdory Owen (November 19, 1866 – March 25, 1920) was an American lawyer, archivist, historian, and founder of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, serving as its first director. Owen was the author of a large and noted ...

, founder of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, which made the depth of Abernethy's research possible.

Career

Upon completion of his graduate studies at Harvard, Abernethy began his career as a professor and historian of the southern colonies and states. He returned to the

and taught there from 1912 to 1914. When World War I broke out, he set aside his teaching career and joined the U.S. Army. After the war he again returned to Marion Institute and taught there for another year in 1919. Abernethy continued his teaching career and taught at the Women's College of Alabama, from 1916 to 1917, at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1921, at the

University of Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

from 1922 to 1928, at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

from 1928 to 1930, at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

as Richmond Alumni Professor of History from 1930 to 1961, at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

from 1961 to 1962, and at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

from 1963 to 1964. Abernethy also contributed to numerous professional journals and

anthologies In book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...

. He was a member of the

American Historical Society The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

and Virginia Historical Society and founder and president of the

Southern Historical Society The Southern Historical Society was an American organization founded to preserve archival materials related to the government of the Confederate States of America and to document the history of the Civil War.Litt. D. from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

and the Phi Beta Kappa Award for best historical work in 1961. He was also honored by a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

titled ''The Old Dominion; Essays for Thomas Perkins Abernethy'', edited by Darrett B. Rutman. Virginia History Series: Thomas Perkins Abernethy Abernethy co-founded the Southern Historical Association and served as its third president. He also served on the executive board of the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond for more than twenty-five years. About 1970 Abernethy donated his private library, a collection of about 950 books, to the

. His library included rare and first editions works, the oldest of which was printed in 1779, along with seven works written by Abernethy himself. Abernethy died in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, on November 12, 1975. He is buried in University of Virginia Cemetery and Columbarium in Charlottesville.

Works

Abernethy's works include: Biography, University of Alabama * ''The South in the New Nation, 1789-1819'' (1961) * ''Western Lands and the American Revolution'' (1959) * ''The Burr Conspiracy'' (1954) * ''Three Virginia Frontiers'' (1940) * ''Historical Sketches of the University of Virginia'' (1937, Appleton Century) * ''From Frontier To Plantation In Tennessee, A Study in Frontier Democracy'' (1932) * ''The Formative Period in Alabama, 1815–1828'' (1922)

Notes

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