John Abbot (1648 - 1721)

Born 2 Mar 1648 in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Barker) Abbot — married 17 Nov 1673 in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 19 Mar 1721 at age 73 in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Fred Remus [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Abbott Name Study.

Spelling of Surname

The spellings of names (and even of common words) were still highly variable in the 18th century, and perhaps even more so in earlier centuries. The Andover vital records books cited here give verbatim transcriptions of original records and include at least seven spellings of the surname (Abbet, Abbett, Abbot, Abbott, Abbut, Abbutt, Abett). Abbot and Abbott are the most common, with Abbot being the most frequent (1600s-1849). The births of John's children, however, are all listed under the Abbott spelling (v. 1, pp. 27-33), while the births of some of his siblings are given under Abbet, and Abbett (v. 1, p. 11).

Two other sources cited here (Essex Antiquarian, 1897, and Abbot & Abbot, 1847) use the Abbot spelling most frequently, or exclusively. There is another family genealogy book (Lemuel Abbott, 1906) which primarily uses the Abbott spelling.

One contributor stated that John signed his name Abbott on his will. This may well be true, but I have only seen a typed transcription of the will from a 1952 manuscript. The transcription does spell the name Abbott.

Nineteenth century memorial stones, erected at the South Church where he is presumably buried, along with other family members, also give the name as Abbot, both on the stones (John, son John, and grandson John, his father, George), and in references to the family on the church's website. The Abbott spelling appears on stones beginning about the 19th century, but the Abbot spelling persists alongside of Abbott (see cemetery search results for John Abbot, for example).

There are contemporary descendants of this family currently using both of the most common spellings (I am unsure if any of the other variants is still in use by descendants).

For the above reasons, both the most common spellings are given on this profile.

Notes

From Abbot & Abbot, p. 5:

The children of George and Hannah A. were, John, b. 2 March, 1648; d. 19 March, 1721...

John A[bbot]., lived with his father in the garrison house; m. 1673, Sarah Barker, da. of Richard B., one of the first settlers of Andover. She d. 10 Feb. 1729, a. 82. He was employed in town business, often a selectman. Upon organizing a church in the south parish, in 1711, he was chosen a Deacon, and Mr. Phillips states, that " be used the office well." They were respected for their uprightness and piety. Their children, by their instructions and example, were religiously trained, and respected ;

John , b. 2 Nov. 1674; d. 1 Jan. 1754 ;

Joseph, b 20 Dec. 1676; d. 9 Jan. 1757;

Stephen, b. 16 March, 1678; d. 27 May, 1760;

Sarah, b. 7 Dec. I680; d. 6 March, 1754; m. 1707, Zebadiah Chandler;

Ephraim, b 15 Aug. 1632; d. 8 June, 174[illegible] ;

Joshua, b. 16 June, 1685 ; d. 11 Feb. 1769 ;

Mary, b. 2 Jan. I687; d. 22 Dec. 1688;

Ebenezer, b. 27 Sep. 1689; d. 14 Jan. 1761;

Priscilla, b. 7 July, 1691 ; d. 24 May, 1791 ; n. m. She was mild and meek, kind and cheerful ; often employed as nurse of the sick, and of women in their confinement ; was industrious, pious, and contented, and retained her faculties till the close of life. Her nephew, Barachius, a truly pious man, in his old age, sent a message to her by his son: "Tell my aged aunt Priscilla, that I am likely to shoot the gulf before her." Her answer was : "Ah, I wish I was as fit to shoot the gulf as I think he is."

From Andover Marriages, under Barker, p. 44:

Sara, and John Abbett, Nov. 17, 1673.

From The Essex Antiquarian, pp. 35-6:

Dea. John Abbot born in Andover March 2, 1648. Was a farmer and lived with his father in the garrison house. He was a deacon of the South church, and selectman of the town. He married Sarah Barker of Andover Nov. 17, 1673. He died March 19, 1720-1. His wife died Feb. 10, 1728-9, aged eighty-two.

Children, born in Andover :—

I. John, b. Nov. 2, 1674.

II. Joseph, b. Dec. 19, 1676.

III. Stephen, b. Jan. 14, 1678-9.

IV. Sarah, b. Nov. 26, 1680; m. Zebadiah Chandler Jan. 9, 1706-7; and d. March 6, 1754.

V. Ephraim, b. Aug. 6, 1682.

VI. Joshua, b. June 6, 1685; lived in Billerica; was deacon, and town clerk thirty-one years. He m., first, Rebecca Shed June 10, 1710. She d. April 7, 1720; and he m., second, Dorcas Whiting. She d. Dec. 23, 1765. Deacon Abbot d. Feb. 11, 1769. He had eleven children.

VII. Mary, b. Jan. 9, 1687; d. Dec. 11, 1688. (b. 1688, see Andover births, below)

VIII. Ebenezer, b. Sept. 27, 1689.

IX. Priscilla, b. July 7, 1691; lived in Andover, and was often employed as a nurse, being an industrious Christian woman. She d., unmarried, May 24, 1791, at the age of ninety-nine.

From Andover Births:

John, s. John and Sarah, Nov. 2, 1674. (p. 30, under Abbott)

Joseph, s. John and Sarah, Dec. 19, 1676. (p. 30, under Abbott)

Stephen, s. John and Sarah, Feb. 14, 1678. (p. 33, under Abbott)

Sarah, d. John and Sarah, Nov. 26, 1680. (p. 32, under Abbott)

Ephraim, s. Jo[h]n and Sarah, Aug. 6, 1682. (p. 28, under Abbott)

Joshuah, s. John and Sarah, June 6, 1685. (p. 30, under Abbott)

Mary, d. John and Sarah, Jan. 9, 1687-8. (p. 31, under Abbott)

Ebenezer, s. John and Sarah, Sept. 27, 1689. (p. 27, under Abbott)

Priscilla, d. John and Sarah, July 7, 1691. (p. 32, under Abbott)

Note: Book is alphabetical by name. I have rearranged them into birth order.

From Andover Deaths, under Abbott, p. 372:

John, Dea., Mar. 19, 1720-21.

John ABBOTT "Andover HR 1700; deacon 1711-21; M Sarah Barker (c1647-1729) in 1673, 9 ch; farmer of good wealth. Early settler of town. 1648 Andover, Essex, Massachusetts, United States^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Legislators of Massachusetts General Court, 1691-1780" (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002), (Orig. Pub. by Northeastern University Press , Boston, MA. John A. Schutz, Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court 1691–1780 A Biographical Dictionary, 1997.)

• Source S177 "Abbot Genealogy." Essex Antiquarian, a Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Biography, Genealogy, History and Antiquities of Essex County, Massachusetts, Vol 1, No 3. Salem, Massachusetts : The Essex Antiquarian, 1897 (Reprint: Higginson Book Company). Note: This publication is out of copyright and can also be downloaded in PDF and other formats at Archive.org.

• Source S12 Vital Records of Andover, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849, 2 vols. (v. 1, Births, v. 2, Marriages & Deaths). Topsfield, Massachusetts : Topsfield Historical Society, 1912. Cites various church and town records, giving them verbatim as originally written, including many variant spellings (can be found on Google Books and Archive.org).

• Source: S9 Abbot, Abiel and Abbot, Ephraim, comps. A genealogical register of the descendants of George Abbot of Andover: George Abbot of Rowley, Thomas Abbot of Andover, Arthur Abbot of Ipswich, Robert Abbot of Branford, CT and George Abbot of Norwalk, Ct. Boston, Massachusetts : James Munroe, 1847. Note: This publication is out of copyright and can also be downloaded in PDF and other formats at Archive.org.

• Source: S7 FindAGrave.com. Source for cemetery. Further confirmation for exact dates of birth and death.

• American Marriages Before 1699 citation provides evidence for Name, Marriage

• Early Vital Records of Essex Co., MA. to 1850 citation provides evidence for Death

• Genealogical Dictionary of New England citation provides evidence for Marriage

• Genealogical History of the Clark and Worth Families citation provides evidence for Birth

• U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 citations provide evidence for Name, Birth, Death

• Dow, Joseph. History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire (Salem, MA, 1893) Vol. 2, Page 583

• Secomb, Daniel. History of the Town of Amherst, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire (Evans, Sleeper & Woodbury, Concord, NH, 1883) Page 477

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Abbot-174 created through the import of fitzmaster032511.ged on 27 March 2011 by Sue Fitzpatrick. See the Changes page for details of edits by Sue and others.

• WikiTree profile Abbott-546 created through the import of Towne-Weeden.ged on May 29, 2011 by J X. See the Changes page for details of edits by J and others.

• WikiTree profile Abbott-638 created through the import of Barker.ged on Jul 2, 2011 by Bill West. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Bill and others.

• WikiTree profile Abbott-2169 created through the import of Oct 14 2012.ged on Nov 10, 2012 by Pam Carter. See the Changes page for details of edits by Pam and others.