Nehemiah Abbott (March 29, 1804 – July 26, 1877) was an American attorney and politician from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Originally active in politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he became a Republican when the party was founded in the mid 1850s. Among the offices in which he served were member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

(1842–1844, 1845–1846), 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 ...

(1857–1859), and mayor of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

(1865–1866).

Biography

Abbott was born in

Sidney, Maine Sidney is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,645 at the 2020 census. Sidney was incorporated as a town on January 30, 1792. The town was named for Sir Philip Sidney, an English author. Sidney is included in t ...

on March 29, 1804, a son of Asa Abbott and Hepzibah (Brooks) Abbott. He attended

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...

, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1836 and began to practice in

Calais, Maine Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 3,079, making Calais the largest municipality by population in Washington County, but the third least-populous city in Maine (after Ha ...

. In 1839, he moved to

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Mississippi, Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the ...

, where he continued the practice of law. In 1840, he returned to Maine and settled in

. Originally a

, in 1842, 1843, and 1845 he was elected to the

. Abbott became a Republican when the party was founded in the mid-1850s. In 1856, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He served one term, March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859. During his U.S. House service, Abbott was a member of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. He did not run for reelection in 1858, and resumed the practice of law. 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 ...

, Abbott supported the Union. In 1864, he was appointed temporary chairman of the National Union Party nominating convention for

Maine's 5th congressional district Maine's 5th congressional district was a congressional district in Maine. It was created in 1821 after Maine achieved statehood in 1820. It was eliminated in 1883. Its last congressman was Thompson Henry Murch. List of members representing th ...

. He served as mayor of Belfast from 1865 to 1866. Abbott died in Belfast on July 26, 1877. He was buried at Grove Cemetery in Belfast.

Family

In 1836, Abbott married Caroline Williams Belcher. They were the parents of six children— Caroline Belcher, Howard, Emma Fuller, Clifford Belcher, Annie Gill, and Henry Fuller.

References

External links

1804 births 1877 deaths Litchfield Law School alumni Members of the Maine House of Representatives Politicians from Belfast, Maine Politicians from Calais, Maine Mayors of places in Maine Maine Democrats Maine lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Maine-mayor-stub