The son of James Arbuthnot, Senior of West Rora in Aberdeenshire and Margaret Gordon, he was baptized in Longside on . He was brought up in the Roman Catholic faith and was sent to Germany aged 11 to be educated there.
James Arbuthnot's son, born to James Arbuthnot, Senior of West Rora in Aberdeenshire and Margaret Gordon, was baptized in Longside on . He was reared in the Roman Catholic faith and subsequently sent to Germany at the age of 11 for educational purposes.