Josiah Gardner Abbott (November 1, 1814 – June 2, 1891) was an American politician who served in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

and as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Early life

Abbott was born in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populou ...

on 1 November 1814. He was the son of Caleb Abbott (1779–1846) and Mercy Abbott (1782–1834). His first American ancestors, George Abbott and William Fletcher, were English Puritans, who settled in Massachusetts in 1640 and 1653, respectively. He attended the Chelmsford Academy in Concord and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1832 with high honors, the youngest of his class, and then attended

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in Williamstown. In 1862, Williams conferred on him the degree of

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

Career

Following his schooling, Abbott worked as a teacher and a lawyer, then became a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

in 1836. In 1837, he was admitted to the bar and began practice in Lowell, the same year, he was elected to the house of representatives of his state, the youngest member of that body. He became a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1841 to 1842. He was an aide to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Marcus Morton in 1843. From 1850 to 1855 he was a master in

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

. He also served as a member of the Massachusetts state constitutional convention, justice of the superior court for Suffolk County, an overseer of Harvard University, and several times was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

. In 1860, Abbott declined an appointment to the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously fu ...

, and in 1861 declined the Democratic nomination for state

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. He finally was victorious as a Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives, and served from July 28, 1876 to March 3, 1877. He was a member of the Electoral Commission created by the act of Congress approved January 29, 1877, to decide the presidential election of 1876. Upon leaving the Congress, he returned to the practice of law. His fifty years of active practice as a lawyer connected his name with some of the most celebrated litigations of his time.

Personal life

Abbott was married to Caroline Livermore (1814–1887), the daughter of U.S. Congressman Edward St. Loe Livermore.Scott, ed., 1991. p. 1 Both Josiah and Caroline were descended from officers who served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

.Scott, ed., 1991. p. 2 Together, they were the parents of: * Edward Gardner Abbott (1840–1862), who died during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. *

Henry Livermore Abbott Henry Livermore Abbott (January 21, 1842 – May 6, 1864) was a Major (United States), Major in the Union Army during the American Civil War (Civil War).Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', p. 97. Stanford University ...

(1842–1864), a

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the Union Army during the Civil War who was posthumously awarded the grade of brevet brigadier general.Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', p. 97. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2001. Scott, Robert Garth, ed., Abbott, Henry Livermore, ''Fallen Leaves: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott,'' ed. by Robert Garth Scott. Kent Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1991. ; introduction by Robert Garth Scott, p. 1 * Fletcher Morton Abbott (1843–1925) * William Stackpole Abbott (1844–1846), who died young. * Samuel Appleton Brown Abbott (1846–1931) * Sarah Abbott (1850–1933), who married William Pickman Fay. * Franklin Pierce Abbott (1852–1923) * Arthur St. Loe Abbott (1853–1863) * Grafton St. Loe Abbott (1856–1915), who married Mary Ogden Adams, a daughter of Charles Francis Adams Jr. and a descendant of Presidents

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

and

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

. * Holker Welch Abbott (1858–1930) He died at his home in Wellesley Hills on 2 June 1891, and was interred in St. Mary's Church Cemetery, in nearby

Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts Newton Lower Falls is one of the thirteen List of villages in Newton, Massachusetts, villages within the city of Newton, Massachusetts, Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The commercial area ...

References

External links

*''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989: Bicentennial Edition.'' United States: Government Printing Office, 1989. *
Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889

Guide to Abbott family Civil War letters
a
Houghton Library
Harvard University {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Josiah Gardner 1814 births 1891 deaths People from Chelmsford, Massachusetts Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts Superior Court justices Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Williams College alumni 1876 United States presidential election Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century Massachusetts state court judges 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives