USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. I > Part 99
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Chandler, of Concord. June 24. 1885, and died March 6, 1886. Reuben K. Abbott died at the old homestead, December 15, 1889, aged seventy-four years. His wife, who like himself, was a member of the West Concord church, died November 5, 1896, aged seventy-nine years.
(VIII) Mary Kilburn, eldest of the four daugh- ters of Reuben K. and Mary M. (Emerson) Ab- bott, was born at the old homestead, West Concord, New Hampshire, January 16, 1850. Ella Maria, her younger sister and third daughter of the house in order of birth, was born at the same place, No- vember 10, 1854. These ladies were educated at the town schools, and have always lived on the an- cestral farm, which, with the aid of efficient help, they keep in a high state of cultivation. The dig- nified, old-fashioned home, one of the largest and most substantial in West Concord, is maintained in fine repair, and is filled with interesting relics of the past. They have quaint old clocks and chairs which their ancestors used, many pieces of ancient china. and an enormous pewter platter over two hundred years old, and some hand-woven linen which came from their grandmother, Mercy Kil- burn, of Rowley, Massachusetts, also linen and china from the Abbott and Emerson families. Both Miss Mary and Miss Ella Abbott are members of the West Concord Congregational Church, and of the New Hampshire Female Cent Union, founded by Mrs. Elizabeth McFarland in 1804. The sisters are well versed in local history, and have a good collection of books on the subject, and they are greatly interested in birds and flowers. The loca- tion of their home on a fine elevation overlooking Long Pond, and the situation of their land, which embraces hillside, meadow and woodland, give them a fine opportunity to pursue nature study. They always feed the birds in winter, and they have attracted many rare varieties, like the Lap- land longspur, to their doors. They are worthy custodians of one of the best old-time homesteads in the suburbs of Concord.
(IV) Amos, sixth son and ninth child of James (1) and Abigail (Farnum) Abbott, was born Feb- ruary 22, 1726, at Andover. Massachusetts. When a young boy he came with his people to Concord. New Hampshire, and spent all his life on the pa- ternal homestead. The house, now occupied by his great-grandson. Andrew J., was built about 1760. and though much enlarged by subsequent genera- tions, still shows evidence of its ancient construc- tion. The walls and foundation remain the same ; hand-wrought iron nails can still be seen ; and the places of the windows in the front rooms have never been changed. In those days iron was scarce and difficult to obtain, and people in the re- mote interior used wooden spoons and plates, wooden pegs instead of nails, wooden latches and even wooden combs for the hair. Amos Abbott was skilled in the use of carpenters' tools and in whit- tling and he could make anything from a wooden spoon to an ox-sled. lle always kept many of the old-fashioned traditions of Andover, Massachusetts, where he was born. One of these was the planting of corn the first day of May, no matter what the state of the weather. Corn on that farm has often been planted by men wearing mittens. When the change of time came, by which eleven years were dropped out of the calendar, it was a source of sore vexation to Mr. Abbott. It upset his planting day, and, what was worse, his birthday, making the latter come on the twenty-ninth of February, which is next to having no birthday at all. To the end of his life he did not cease to mourn over the
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change from the Old to the New Style. Amos Ab- bott was a member of the Old North Church, and was selectman of the town in 1767, 1773, 1776 and 1777. In 1753 Amos Abbott married Mrs. Rebecca (Abbot) Chandler, widow of Abiel Chandler. (See Chandler, V). They had three children: Amos (2), whose sketch follows. John, born June 23, 1756, and Rebecca, born December 26, 1760. John Abbott, with his brother Amos, enlisted in the be- ginning of the Revolution. He served under Stark, both at Bunker Hill and at Bennington, and during the latter battle was struck by a bullet on his breast bone. His death occurred from fever, August 31, 1779, at the age of twenty-three years. Two of his powder-horus, which he carved himself, are pre- served in the family and at the New Hampshire Historical Society. He was six feet seven inches high, weighed two hundred and thirty pounds, and was said to be the largest young man ever raised in Concord. A simple slate stone in the Old North cemetery marks his resting place. Rebecca Abbott was married, October 9, 1781, to Moses Chamber- lain, of Pembroke, New Hampshire, and she died December 24, 1846, at the age of eighty-six. Amos Abbott lived to the great age of ninety-six, dying December 3, 1821, while his wife died February 13, 1803, at the age of eighty-six.
(V) Lieutenant Amos (2), eldest child of Amos (1) and Rebecca (Abbot) (Chandler) Abbott, was born at the old homestead, West Concord, New Hampshire, July 15, 1754. He lived in the house which his father built and where his grandfather spent his last days, and was a successful farmer, distinguished for his skill in managing bees. He served several campaigns in the Revolution, enlist- ing first as a Minute Man, April 24, 1775, in Cap- tain Joshua Abbott's company, Colonel John Stark's regiment. which performed such valiant service at Bunker Hill. Amos (2) Abbott's brother John and his cousin Reuben were also members of this com- pany, which served three months and a half. Amos (2) Abbott's second period of enlistment was from December 5, 1776, to March 15, 1777, in Captain Benjamin Sias's company, Colonel David Gilman's regiment. He was again in Captain Joshua Ab- _ott's company, Lieutenant-Colonel Garrish's regi- ment, which joined the Northern Continental army at Saratoga. This service extended from Septem- ber 28, 1777, to October 26, 1777. Mr. Abbott never lost liis skill as a marksman, and in later years was fond of hunting and trapping, and as familiar with the woods as an Indian. In the fall and winter after the farin work was done, he would camp out for weeks in the White Mountains, or the Maine woods, returning home on snow-shoes with the skins of the otter, beaver, sable and other fur-bear- ing animals. Lieutenant Amos (2) Abbott, like his father and grandfather, was a member of the Old North Church, and a useful and respected citi- zen. He served as selectman of the town in 1787, 1804, 1805, 1800, 1812 and 1813. On December 9, 1804, Amos (2) Abbott married Judith Morse, youngest child of Moses Morse and his second wife, Mrs Sarah ( Hale) Brickett, who was born at New- buryport, Massachusetts, March 1, 1766. (Sce
Morse). They had three children: John, whose sketcli follows; Simeon, whose sketch follows, and Sarah Hale, born June 27, 1809. Sarah Hale Ab- bott, a woman of saintly life and character, was married, December 18, 1838, to David Abbott, son of Nathan and Rhoda ( Brickett) Abbott, and lived in West Concord and Penacook, New Hampshire. They had ten children and she died September 8, 1884. Lieutenant Amos (2) Abbott died October
II. 1834, at the age of eighty, and Mrs. Judith (Morse) Abbott lived till July 12, 1843, dying at the age of seventy-sevenl.
(VI) John Abbott, eldest child of Amos (2) and Judith (Morse) Abbott, was born November 15, 1805, at the old homestead in West Concord, New Hampshire, on the farm which has been owned by the family since the founding of the town. He was educated in the local public schools, and early in life, engaged in the lumber business. From 1835 to 1849 he was in partnership with Captain Abel Baker, father of Governor Nathaniel Baker. To- gether they bought and cut off tracts of timber, and rafted their product down the Merrimack to Lowell and Boston. Mr. Abbott was an expert in woodcraft and was often called upon as referee in placing valuation upon standing timber. sometimes going as far as the Adirondacks in this capacity. Mr. Abbott lived on the ancestral homestead until after his marriage, when he bought the house in Concord, 236 North Main street, which was the family home till 1905. This house, previous to the Abbott occupancy of half a century, was successively owned by Dr. Peter Renton and Dr. William Pres- cott, physicians of note in their day.
Mr. Abbott was a man of great kindliness of nature and of unswerving integrity. Of a sweet and serene disposition and absolute uprightness in every relation of life, public and private, he held the respect and confidence of the community to a degree possessed hy few. "Honest" John Abbott, as he was familiarly known, was frequently called upon to serve the public. and he filled nearly every official station in town. He was selectman in 1849 and 1851, and alderman in 1854. The city government was founded in 1853. and during the next twenty years he served twelve terms as assessor. This office scemed to devolve upon him by natural right because the public had such faith in his honesty and judgment. In January, 1856, he was elected mayor by the city government to fill the unexpired term of Mayor Clement, who had died on the thir- teenth of that month, and he was five times sub- sequently elected to fill the office at the March meetings in 1856-7-8 and in 1866-7. No man has ever received the office so many times by popular vote, and no man has discharged its duties, includ- ing at that time the supervision of highways and the care of the poor, in a more honorable manner. Mr. Abbott was a trustee of the New Hampshire Savings Bank, a director of the Page Belting Com- pany and a member of the City Water Board. In politics he was a Whig and among the founders of the Republican party. He was a regular attendant of the North Congregational Church, belonged in early life to the Odd Fellows, and at the time of his death was a member of Blazing Star Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Abbott's tall and commanding form, six feet, four inches in height, made him a marked figure in any public gathering.
On November 12, 1856, John Abbott married Hannah Matilda Brooks at the home of her parents in Warner, New Hampshire. She was born March 14. 1828, at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and was the only daughter and sole surviving child of Sam- nel and Hannah (Cogswell) Brooks, both members of old Bay State families. In 1835, with her parents and younger brother. Thomas Emerson, who died October 18, 1838, she removed to Warner. There, in a delightful old house, which was the scene of constant hospitality, her happy youth was spent. Many of the winters were passed near Boston, either visiting or attending school. From her
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father Matilda Brooks inherited marked intellec- tual ability, and she received unusual educational advantages, culminating in 1846-7 in a year at the private school connected with the famous Brook Farm Community, at West Roxbury, Massachus- etts. Here she met all the distinguished people of the day, and lived in a most stimulating in- tellectual atmosphere. She was a favorite pui- pil of George Ripley, the head of the school and one of the foremost American men of letters. Charles A. Dana, afterwards editor of the New York Sun, and Horace Greeley were members of the Community at that time. Some of the pupils were from Cuba and the Philippine Islands, regions far remote in those days. Mrs. Abbott was prob- ably the only resident of New Hampshire ever con- nected with Brook Farm, and she regarded her year there as one of the great and special privileges of her life.
At intervals, from the age of fifteen to twenty- eight years, Mrs. Abbott taught several terms of school in various places near her home. Her energy of character, magnetic personality and active mind made this occupation a delight, and she always spoke with the greatest pride and pleasure of her school-teaching days. Her interest in education never flagged, and in later years, when her children were pupils, she was as regular in her visits to the schools as any of the committee. Mrs. Abbott pos- sessed a remarkable personality. She had great so- cial charm, logical and brilliant mental powers and the most unswerving spiritual ideals. She was es- pecially fond of young people, and her fluent talk and ready wit made her always an entertaining companion. Few persons were better informed on local history. Her mind was a storehouse of dates and genealogies, and her memory was infallible. Her standards in life and literature were of the highest her judgment of character was instantane- ous and unerring: her love of truth and justice a passion. Courage, fidelity, affection and extreme conscientiousness were her marked characteristics.
John Abbott died instantly of heart disease at the home in Concord on the evening of March 18, 1886, at the age of eighty years and three months. His father died in the same way at the same age. Mrs. Abbott, who had long been a sufferer from nervous exhaustion, died at the home on the morn- ing of April 22, 1898, aged seventy years and one month. Their three children, all born at the home in Concord, were: Frances Matilda, born August 18. 1857; John Boylston, born April 5, 1860, whose sketch follows, and Walter Brooks, born December 9, 1862.
Frances M. Abbott was graduated from the Con- cord High School in 1875. She then took fresh- man work with Moses Woolson, a noted educator at that time living in Concord. Two years later, in 1878, she entered Vassar College from which she was graduated in 18SI. She was the first young woman born in Concord to receive the degree of A. B. Miss Abbott's tastes have always been lit- erary. She has been a constant contributor to the press, and many of her articles have appeared in standard periodicals, notably The Forum, and The North American Review. When the new History of Concord was projected, the work was assigned to ten writers; all of them men but Miss Abbott. Her section was entitled "Domestic Customs and Social Life." The volumes were published in 1903. In 1906 Miss Abbott issued a hook of one hundred and sixty-four pages, entitled "Birds and Flow- ers About Concord, New Hampshire," which has attracted favorable attention in leading Boston and
New York periodicals. Love of literature and of nature and an interest in local history are three of Miss Abbott's strongest tastes. She is a life men- ber of the Appalachian Mountain Club of Boston, a member of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae and of the Boston Branch of the Associate Vassar Alumnae. She is a life member of various Con- cord philanthropies like the Woman's Hospital Aid Association, the Concord Female Charitable Society, founded in 1812, and the Woman's Auxiliary to the Young Men's Christian Association. She was one of the original members of the Stratford (Shakespeare) Club, founded in 1883, and helped to found the Wild Flower Club in 1896. Her whole life has been spent in Concord, of which city she is a most loyal daughter.
Walter Brooks Abbott was a member of the class of 1880 in the Concord High School. He left dur- ing his senior year to engage in school-teaching, a vocation for which he showed a marked aptitude. He was principal of the West Concord Grammar School from 1882 to 1887. In January, 1887, he was invited to take charge of the Young Men's Christian Association at Concord, and he has con- tinued in Association work ever since with eminent success. Mr. Abbott's life has been devoted to young men, and his influence has been deep and permanent. Inheriting the strong mental and moral traits of both parents, and possessed of a command- ing presence and genial personality, with shining ideals and deep-seated moral courage, Mr. Abbott is a man to whom all naturally look up. He was general secretary of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation at Concord, New Hampshire, 1887-1890; at Salem, Massachusetts, 1890-1895, at Worcester, Massachusetts, 1895-1898; at Nashville, Tennessee. 1900-1903; at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1903 to the present time (1907). From 1898 to 1900 Mr. Ab- bott was temporarily incapacitated by over work, and spent the time in traveling and in brief ser- vice at Galveston, Texas, and Springfield, Massa- chusetts. Mr. Abbott is a natural orator, and is greatly in demand as a public speaker, both in the pulpit and on the platform. He has been an ex- tensive traveler, having visited all parts of the United States and made several ocean voyages. He is a life member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and while in the North was very active in the work. He has climbed many of the White Mountain sum- mits on snow-shoes and is an enthusiastic camper out. He is interested in all forms of practical Christianity, and everything that pertains to the public welfare. Ile is an ardent worker in the cause of temperance, and has always voted the Pro- hibition ticket. He joined the North Congrega- tional Church in Concord at the age of eighteen.
On June 22, 1907, at the Coliseum Place Baptist church in New Orleans, Walter Brooks Abbott mar- ried Clara Lucas, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Barnes) Lucas. She was born at Accrington, Lancashire, England, November 9, 1875, and came to this country with her parents at the age of four. For several years previous to her marriage Mrs. Abbott was a resident of New Orleans, where she is an active member of the Baptist Church. a Sun- day school teacher and a singer in the choir. Mr. and Mrs. Abbott spent their honeymoon in England.
(VII) John Boylston, elder son and second child of John and Hannah Matilda (Brooks) Abbott, born in ,Concord, April 3, 1860, was educated in the public schools of Concord, graduating from the High School in 1877, and then received an appoint- ment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he spent two years. . \t the
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close of that period he went to Poughkeepsie, New York, where he received a thorough business educa- tion in Eastman's National Business College in the year following. In 1880 he went into the employ of E. M. Slayton, wholesale produce and provision dealer, Manchester, New Hampshire, where for nine years he was cashier and accountant. In 1889 he entered the Navy Pay Office in Washington, Dis- trict of Columbia, remaining five years. He then took a course in law in the Columbia Law School from which he graduated in 1893, and was at once admitted to practice in the courts of the District of Columbia. The following year he accepted an offer to go to London, England, as confidential clerk of the Boston Rubber Shoe Company. After re- maining in England two and one-half years he re- turned to Concord, and the same year (1897) he was appointed to a place in the pay department of the United States steamship "Texas," Captain Wise, from which he was promoted to chief clerk in charge of the pay department of the Naval Station at Port Royal, South Carolina. In 1898 he was city auditor of Concord, and the following year he spent in New York city in the office of a prominent firm of bankers and brokers. In November, 1900, he entered the employ of the William B. Durgin Com- pany. manufacturers of silverware, Concord, as bookkeeper. The next year he was appointed as- sistant treasurer, and in 1904 was made treasurer, which position he still holds. Upon the change in ownership after the death of Mr. Durgin, he became a director. Mr. Abbott has much of the enterprise and sauvity that has often been a characteristic of the family, and is a good business man and a pleas- ant companion. In politics he is a Republican, and for several years was moderator of Ward Four, Concord. He attends the North Congregational Church, and is a member of the New Hampshire Club in Boston. During his stay in Manchester he was adjutant of the Amoskeag Veterans, and had much to do with directing the military and social affairs of that organization. John B. Abbott married at Baltimore, Maryland, April 5, 1905. Mrs. Olivia Blount Sanders, whose ancestry is given below. Olivia Blount was first married at Raleigh, North Carolina, October 8. 1873, to Archibald Claudius Sanders, by whom she had four children: Olivia (Mrs. Long) ; Lucien. now living at Washington, District of Columbia : William Augustus, at Nor- folk, Virginia: and Mary Washington (Mrs. Mac- Kellar ). Archibald C. Sanders died January 2, 1887, in North Carolina.
Mrs. Olivia Blount Abbott is a daughter of Ma- jor William Augustus Blount, a gallant officer in the Confederate States army. She comes of dis- tinguished ancestry, being a direct descendant of Captain James Blount, an officer in the Life Guards of Charles II. He settled in Virginia in 1655. In 1663 he went to North Carolina, where he owned an estate called "Mulberry Hill," near the present town of Edenton. He was a member of the earliest court, and a member of the Governor's council. Upon his tomb at Mulberry Hill was placed the copper plate of his armorial bearings, which he had brought with him from England. He was a son of James Blount, who married a daughter of
Clare: he was killed at the battle of Worcester. This James Blount was a direct descendant of Sir Robert LeBlount and Sir William LeBlount, sons of Rudolph. Count of Guines ( France) and Roset- ta, daughter of Count St. Pol. In 1066 they ac- companied William the Conqueror in his expedition against England, contributed largely to the triumph of that monarch, and shared amply in the spoils of
conqest. Sir William LeBlount was given by that monarch the title of "Dux navium militarium." He was a general of foot at Hastings, and had grants of seven lordships in Lincolnshire. His descendant, Maria Le Blount, becoming the sole heiress in her line, married Sir Stephen Le Blount, thus uniting the families of the two brothers. His ancestor, Sir Robert LeBlount aforementioned, had been created by William the Conqueror, the first Baron of Ix- worth. The Baroncy of Blount is one of the oldest in England.
The descendants of Captain James Blount in North Carolina have occupied positions of trust and honor, all through the history of the state. Ja- cob Blount. with two of his sons, participated in the battle of Alamance. One of his sons, Major Read- ing Blount, an officer of the Revolution, served with special distinction at the battle of Guilford Court House. He was also an original member of the Society of Cincinnati. His elder brother, William Blount, was a member of Congress and signer of the Constitution of the United States from North Carolina, and was afterwards appointed by Presi- dent Washington governor of all the territory south of the Ohio river. His younger brother, Willie Blount, bcame governor of Tennessee, which posi- tion, le occupied during the troublous times of 1812. Another brother, John Gray Blount, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Abbott. was a large mer- chant, ship owner, and the largest land owner in the state of North Carolina. He, in partnership with his brothers, owned land extending from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, a great deal of what is now the city of Asheville, and other lands in Western Carolina, which now form five counties having been parts of this magnificent property.
William Augustus Blount, second son of John Gray Blount, when a youth of seventeen, served in the defense of Fort Moultrie: he was afterwards an officer of the state militia, attaining the rank of general. He was a wealthy planter and slave hold- er, an influential citizen. distinguished for his finan- cial and political sagacity. He was grandfather of Mrs. Abbott.
Mrs. Abbott also traces her descent from Thom- as Harvey. deputy governor of North Carolina, 1695-9. He came from Snitherfield Parish, War- wickshire. England, and was a son of a noble En- glish family, said to be descended from the D'Herve's of France. On the maternal side she is descended through her mother. Mary Washington Blount, daughter of Colonel John Washington, from the same ancestry as George Washington- a branch of that family having settled in North Car- olina prior to the Revolution.
(VI) Simeon. second son and child of Amos (2) and Judith (Morse) Abbott, sixth in descent from George Abbott, the settler, was born on the homestead in West Concord, August 3, 1807, and died there February 22, 1895. He was educated in the Concord schools and in the school of Dudley Leavitt, the almanac maker, at Meredith, New Hampshire, which he attended when about twenty years of age. He lived his whole life on the farm which had been in possession of his family since the white men acquired titles in Concord. While a young man he was for some years a successful teacher in the neighborhood of his home, and his services were sought for difficult districts. He al- ways retained an interest in educational matters. and for many years was a member of the school board in West Concord. Mr. Abbott was one of the most intelligent farmers of his day, and his land was always kept in a high state of cultivation.
Simeon Abbott.
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