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.
The son of James Arbuthnot, Senior of West Rora in Aberdeenshire and Margaret Gordon, he was christened in Longside on . Raised in the Roman Catholic faith, he was then sent to Germany at the age of 11 for education.