Abner Prutt was one of seven children of Arthur and Joan Prutt, who were enslaved by Isaac Chauncey (1670-1745) of Hadley, Massachusetts. Abner was born in August of 1729. (Town records, 1659-1719, Hadley, Massachusetts. See also James Avery Smith, History of the Black Population of Amherst, Massachusetts (Boston, MA: New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 1999), pp. 110-111.)
Entries for Abner appear in the account book of Hadley resident Samuel Gaylord. Between 1787 and 1789, Abner purchased shoes and foodstuffs such as pork, bread, butter, peas, and fish. He also boarded at Gaylord's house for two weeks. (Acount book of Samuel Gaylord, Historic Deerfield Library, Deerfield, Massachusetts.)