J.W. BOOTT
THE BAY STATE MONTHLY.
A Massachusetts Magazine.
VOL. I. MARCH, 1884. No. III.
Contents
Hon. JOSIAH GARDNER ABBOTT, LL.D.
THE DEFENCE OF NEW YORK, 1776.
Hon. JOSIAH GARDNER ABBOTT, LL.D.
By Colonel John Hatch George.
The Honorable Josiah Gardner Abbott, the subject of thisbiographic sketch, traces his lineage back to the first settlers of thisCommonwealth. The Puritan George Abbott, who came from Yorkshire,England, in 1630, and settled in Andover, was his ancestor on hisfather's side; while on his mother's side his English ancestor wasWilliam Fletcher, who came from Devonshire in 1640, and settled, first,in Concord, and, finally, in 1651, in Chelmsford. It may be noted inpassing that Devonshire, particularly in the first part of theseventeenth century, was not an obscure part of England to hail from,for it was the native shire of England's first great naval heroes andcircumnavigators of the globe, such as Drake and Cavendish.
George Abbott married Hannah, the daughter of William and AnnisChandler, whose descendants have been both numerous and influential. Theyoung couple settled in Andover. As has been said, ten years after theadvent on these shores of George Abbott came William Fletcher, who,after living for a short time in Concord, settled finally in Chelmsford.In direct descent from these two original settlers of New England wereCaleb Abbott and Mercy Fletcher, the parents of the subject of thissketch. Judge Abbott is, therefore, of good yeomanly pedigree. Hisancestors have always lived in Massachusetts since the settlement of thecountry, and have always been patriotic citizens, prompt to respond toevery call of duty in the emergencies of their country, whether in peaceor war. Both his grandfathers served honorably in the war of theRevolution, as their fathers and grandfathers before them served in theFrench and Indian wars of the colonial period of our history. In hisgenealogy there is no trace of Norman blood or high rank: but
"The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that."
In this country, while it is not necessary to success to be able to layclaim to an aristocratic descent, it is certainly a satisfaction,however democratic the community may be, for any person to know that hisgrandfather was an honest man and a public-spirited citizen.
Judge Abbott was born in Chelmsford on the first of November, 1814. Hewas fitted for college under the instruction of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Heentered Harvard College at the early age of