Long Ago & Far Away

The following was found among family papers. It was typewritten and has been transcribed as it appears. The original document was most likely handwritten. Edward Fredrick Abbott was the second oldest brother (by 21 years) of A. G. Abbott.

HISTORY OF THE ABBOTTS

Tulsa, Okla.
November 12, 1919

With the assistance of my Father¹, Isaac W. Abbott, of New Market, Iowa, and his only living cousin, Sarah Jane Abbott, of Sterling, Mass., I will as best I can write a history of the Abbott's.

Beginning with my Great Grandfather¹, Josiah Abbott of Mass. who was as near as I can tell, born about 1770 just a few years before George Washington, our first President, took the presidential chair. He died in 1826. There were 10 children in his family but I am unable to secure the names of only 6 of them. Warren, Isaac C., Joseph, Eunice, Olive, and Fredrick A. Abbott. The oldest, I am unable to locate any of his decendents. Isaac C. and Joseph were twin brothers. Isaac C. being my Grandfather¹. I will give his history later. There were 3 children in Joseph Abbott's family. Warren, of Boston Mass., Waldo L. of Lynn, Mass., and Josephine of Lynn Mass. The above are the last address I am able to secure.

Eunice married a man by the name of Bell, and Olive married a man by the name of Davis.

Now I will take up Fredrick Augustus Abbott. He was the youngest son of Josiah Abbott and was born in 1816, died at Sterling Mass. in 1896. In his family there were 4 children. Charles F. the oldest, was born in 1843, Henry A., 1845, Sarah J. 1847, James Warren, 1848.

Until I wrote to Sterling Mass. in search of some of the Abbott's, Sarah Jane thought she had no living relatives. She had lost all trace of her Uncle Isaac C. Abbott, who was my Grandfather and of whom I will now give a brief sketch of his early life.

He was born in Andover, Mass. 1810 and died at New Market, Iowa, in 1876. Grandfather was a carpenter by trade. When quite young he married a Miss Jane Epps, and a dear woman she was. To this union there were born 5 children. The oldest, George A. was born at Boston, Mass. in 1836. A few years later Grandfather moved west to Cincinnati, Ohio, he being the only Abbott I have any record of ever leaving Mass. At Cincinnati in 1842 the second son Isaac W. was born, then Luretta Abbott Williamson, Joseph R. and William H. After living at Cincinnati a few years he moved to Indiana, then to New York City, thence to Eastern Iowa at a little village called New London, living there a few years, then to Taylor County, Iowa where he died.

There were 5 children in the family of George A. Abbott. Ida, Eva, Monnie, Arthur and Fred, all living somewhere in Iowa.

Luretta, the only daughter of Isaac C. married a man by the name of John Williamson of Hillsboro, Iowa, and to this union there were born 8 children. Laura Kelly of Davenport, Iowa, Sam—dead, John—dead, Belle Benn of Hillsboro, Anna, Mayme, Fred, and Bennie all of Hillsboro, Iowa.

Joseph R. Abbott was married to a Miss Thompson, and to this union there were 3 children. Bertha, Ethel, Joseph, Jr., who now live at Malvern, Iowa.

William H. married a lady by the name of Baker. There were 5 children to his family. Elmer, now of Salem, Oregan, Jessie, Grace, Willie, and Ethel. William H. now lives at Seattle, Washington. He and my Father are the only two members of Isaac C. 's family left.

Now that the younger generation may know something of my Father's early life, as stated, he was born in 1842, and while yet in his teens his parents moved to Iowa. When a young man, only 21, he joined the Union Army and fought under the Stars and Stripes, the flag that has never known defeat. While there were many Union men cap captured during this bloody conflict, Father escaped capture, but shortly before joining the army he was captured by a Miss Elizabeth Hayes, the dearest woman in all the world, and she has held him captive ever since. To this union there were born 14 children, whose names, year of birth, and present residing place I will now give.

Frank Warren, 1864, Coal Creek, Colo; Edward Fredrick, 1866, Tulsa, Okla.; Mary P. Gardner, 1868, New Market, Iowa; John Isaac, 1870, Baxter Springs, Kansas; Charles Eagan, 1871, Kansas City, Mo.; Daisy Bell Pinkerton, 1874, Shambaugh, Iowa; Waldo Lovejoy, 1875, Loveland, Colo.; Clarice Lola, 1877, Loveland, Colo; Lillian May, 1879, died 1880; Luretta Josephine, 1881, died 1883; Rosa Bird, 1883, died 1909; George Aubry, 1885, Santa Barbara, Cal.; Arthur Guy, 1887, Fort Worth, Texas; Vesta Winnifred, 1892, died 1893.

Back now to the close of the war. Soon after returning, Father entered the mercantile business by opening up a little cross road store in Lee County, Iowa at a place called Clavs (Clays ?) Grove, on what was the old plank road between Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk. It was there I was born. When I was 2½ years old, Father sold out and took what was called the Prairie Scooner route for South West Iowa. For fear the younger generation does not fully understand what the Prairie Scooner Route is, I will state, it where they hitched either Oxen or Horse to a covered wagon and made their way West to grow up with the Country. Some wagons had this motto printed on the side — that is, the ones that tried it farther west than Father would attempt to go — it read like this: KANSAS or BUST. A year or two later some of them were seen wending their way back East with the following motto, BUSTED by GOD. One wagon read like this: In God we Trusted; In Kansas we Busted, now we are going East to see our Mother-in-Law. But Father stuck it out. He settled on an 80 acre ranch in the western part of Taylor County, Iowa, in a log house 16 by 18 feet. This log house had waht was called a Clabbord roof for shingles, and they did not fit together like the nice sawed shingles of today. Many a morning I woke up and found the snow drifted clear across the bed. You, of the younger generation would think it impossible to try and live like we did then, but those were happy days. In the evening time, how I would love to hear my dear Mother¹ sing such songs as only a Mother can sing.

When Father settled there, the losest Railroad was 90 miles away.

Our principal rations were corn bread and sorghum molasses. Very seldom did we ever have wheat flour, but when we did Mother would always make us some biscuits and doughnuts. Gee! How fond I was of those doughnuts.

We often used sorghum molasses to sweeten our RYE coffee, as that was the principal drink of those days. When Father would go to the mill, he would jump astride one of the horses, put a sack of corn on in front of him, and off to the mill that stood by the dam site he would go, and wait his turn for the grinding of the corn. Many a time he would not return until way in the night, but Mother always kept the light burning, and by the way, it was not an electric or gas light as most of us use today. It was a twisted string in a saucer of tallow set up on a tin can in the center of the table. That was the first light we had. A little later we got some candle molds and made our own candles. Then later we got a glass lamp — a small one — with a handle on the side.

Our meat was principally wild game, such as Prairie Duck, Quail, Rabbits, and occasionally a Deer if Father did not get the buck argue when he sighted the deer. But we got through all right and are today stout and hearty.

As to our clothing, I never had a store suit until I was 15 years old. We wore in those days, Jeans pants and hickory shirts both made by Mother or Grandmother. Our summer hats were braided out of wheat or rye straw, and winter caps and mittens were made out of Jeans.

Father had a trade that he worked at about six weeks each fall. That was making sorghum molasses. He had two apprentices, brother Frank and me. Our part in the work was feeding the cane mill while Father boiled the juice. When winter came, we would take molasses and trade them for groceries, clothing, and foot wear.

Well do I remember my first pair of boots. They had red tops with a picture of a silver horse on them, and brass caps on the toes. Gee! but I did step high.

Each year Father took us to the Circus. In those days, the circus did not travel by train but by wagon route from one county seat to another. Usually about one dozen wagons, and if they got stuck in the mud, old Jumbo the elephant, had the pleasure of having a chain attached to her hind legs. Then soon the wagon was on solid ground.

In my early school days we used a chart on the wall, and the seats were only a board about a foot wide with four legs. No desk to put our books in, and also, there were no backs to them. Gee! but we would get tired. I did not get much of an education as you can tell by the way I have written this history. When I was 17 years old, Father moved to New Market, Iowa, and soon after moving there he entered the Merchantile business, and under his supervision we all got a business education. He kept all the children with him until 1899 when he sold out, and as you will note by this little history, they are pretty well scattered out.

The younger generation of our immediate families are as follows: Cordia Lucile, daughter of Edward Frederick² Abbott, Tulsa, Okla.; Lura and Ruth, daughters of Mary P. Garner, New Market, Iowa; Kenneth and Dorothy, son and daughter of John I. Abbott, Baxter Springs, Kan.; Waldo G., son of George A. Abbott, Santa Barbara, Cal.

I trust the younger generation will preserve this history. I remain,

Your truly,
Edward Fredrick Abbott
Tulsa, Okla.

¹All references to father, great grandfather, grandfather and mother apply to A. G. Abbott as well.

²Transcribed as written. Correct spelling is Fredrick.