Edward Abbott (July 15, 1841 – April 5, 1908) was an American minister (later

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

), journalist, and author.

Early life

On July 15, 1841, Abbott was born in

Farmington, Maine Farmington is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,592. Farmington is home to the University of Maine at Farmington, Nordica Memorial Auditorium, the Nordica Homeste ...

, fourth son of

Jacob Abbott Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 – October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. Early life On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. ...

(1803-1879) and Harriet (Vaughan) Abbott.

Education

Abbott graduated in 1860 at the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, being class poet, prophet, marshal, and editor of the Eucleian, also studied theology from 1861 to 1862 at the

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

, and in 1863 served in the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private Aid agency, relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the Ameri ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

. His degrees were conferred by the University of the City of New York, A.B., 1860, and D.D. in 1890.

Career

Abbott was ordained in 1863 to the

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

ministry, and was the first

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Pilgrim Congregational Church (then Stearns chapel) at

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, serving from 1865 to 1869. From 1869 to 1878 he was associate editor of '' The Congregationalist'', and from 1878 to 1888 editor of the '' Literary World'', whose direction he again assumed in 1895, continuing with that periodical until 1903. In 1879 he was ordained a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church, he was advanced to the priesthood in 1880 and became rector of St. James's parish, Cambridge. In 1889 was elected by the general convention as bishop to Japan, but declined to serve. He was a member of the Cambridge school committee, chaplain of the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

from 1872 to 1873, member of the board of visitors of

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

1884, vice-dean of the eastern convocation of Massachusetts, 1889, member of the missionary council of the P. E. church after 1886, and clerical deputy from Massachusetts to the general convention in 1892.

Works

Besides contributions to American periodicals, his publications include: * ''The Baby's Things'', a story in verse (1871) * ''Pilgrim Lesson Papers'' (1873-1874) * ''The Conversations of Genius'' (1875) * ''A Paragraph History of the United States'' (1875) * ''A Paragraph History of the American Revolution'' (1876) * ''Revolutionary Times'' (1876) * ''Long-Look Books'', 3 volumes (1877-1880) * ''Memoir of Jacob Abbott'' in "Memorial Edition of Young Christian" (1882) * ''

Phillips Brooks Phillips Brooks (December 13, 1835January 23, 1893) was an American Episcopal clergyman and author, long the Rector of Boston's Trinity Church and briefly Bishop of Massachusetts. He wrote the lyrics of the Christmas hymn, " O Little Town o ...

'' (1900)

Family

He was married, February 16, 1865, to Clara E. Davis, and August 21, 1883, to Katharine, daughter of Alfred Kelly. He died at the Homeopathic Hospital in Boston on April 5, 1908.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Edward 1841 births 1908 deaths 19th-century American Congregationalist ministers 19th-century American journalists Abbott family 19th-century American Episcopal priests American religious writers Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts People from Farmington, Maine People of Maine in the American Civil War United States Sanitary Commission people New York University alumni Andover Theological Seminary alumni 19th-century American male writers