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.

Roberts had two sons, both who 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 city family that contributed greatly to the city. 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. He fought in the First Afghan War.

He 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 2nd wife, who outlived him. He also had a house in Bristol, which is now open to the public, 23 Royal York Crescent, Bristol, Somerset BS8 - England.

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

 * Harriet Mercer Roberts
 * Field Marshal Sir Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts VC