Oliver Abbott (abt. 1851)

Ancestors

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Biography

Local Family Historian - Mildred Ward (b. 1922), 147 Ward Lane, Walhalla, SC 29691, 864-638-3369. John Abbott was her 3rd Great Grandfather.

ABBOTT FAMILY:

Source: Keowee Courier 1950 Centennial Edition

Young John Abbott enlisted in the American forces during the Revolution and served under Lt. Col. Francis Marion (later to become a famed general known as the "Swamp Fox." He was only 14 years of age at the time he joined the 2nd S.C. Regiment Continental Line on 11-Nov-1776.

At the close of the Revolution, Abbott came to Oconee county - or what was then known as Pendleton District. He located in the Bear Swamp area and brought his mother and several brothers and sisters with him. Later he married Miss Mary Smith.

When his 1st fife died, John later was married to Miss Sarah Doyle.

Source: The Tugaloo Tribune (Westminster, SC), issue of Thursday, September 21, 1939, p. 2, col. 4

O.M. ABBOTT, SON OF REV. WAR SOLDIER, LIVES IN OCONEE COUNTY (1939):

Contributed by Dr. James L. Reid, 730 Walnut Hill Road, Campobello, SC 29322.

Believed to be the last surviving son of a revolutionary soldier, O.M. Abbott, 83, of the Oak Grove section of Oconee County has been a lifelong resident of Oconee and has served his county well as an educator, having helped to establish Long Creek academy. His father, the late John Rowland Abbott, fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain, at Cowpens and other historic battles of the Revolutionary war.

Below he is shown beside the monument which has been given to him by the D.A.R. chapter to be erected at his father's grave in Bear Swamp cemetery. Photo by Youngblood and picture through courtesy [of the] Anderson Independent.

(Photograph not available)

Five Years Old When His Father Died-Played Big Part in Founding Long Creek Academy

Walhalla - Believed to be the last surviving son of a Revolutionary soldier, O.M. Abbott of the Oak Grove community of Oconee county also has the distinction of being one of Oconee's pioneer educators.

Born in 1856, he has been a lifelong citizen of the County. [Contributor's Note: The 1860 census of Pickens County, Western Division, household 1122, shows Sarah Abbott, 53, Wilburn Abbott, 12, and Oliver Abbott, 9. The latter is Oliver Miller Abbott, the subject of this sketch, who was born in 1851.]

His father, the late John Rowland Abbott, joined General Jerry Cole's cavalry and was stationed at Cowpens during the Revolutionary war. He fought in the victorious battle at Kings Mountain under General Andrew Pickens.

Mr. Abbott said he could not recall his father very well as he was only five years old at the time of his father's death, but among his memories are the times his father took him horseback riding.

For a number of years, he had a number of cherished possessions of his father but they were lost in a fire which destroyed his home years ago.

The veteran Oconee citizen takes pride, however, in a monument which was recently presented him to be erected at his father's grave in Bear Swamp cemetery. The monument at the present is still crated and lies in front of Abbott's home.

After finishing early school, Mr. Abbott said he attended Adger college at Walhalla and at the age of 15 was given a second grade license to teach. His first school was located near the present site of Long Creek academy.

In order to complete his education, Abbott would attend college a year, and then teach a year, and back to college. He graduated from Davis College, Shelby, N. C. In his years of teaching he taught some of Oconee's best known business men, and he recalls that in the years of those early days of teaching he was paid five cents per day.

Once he was a candidate for the superintendent of education, losing to his opponent by a margin of three votes.

He was a member of the Baptist convention which met at Tugaloo to discuss the building of a Baptist school and he was named to a committee to purchase the site and plan for construction of the school and election of a faculty. Thus Long Creek academy was built and today is serving a useful purpose in the Baptist denomination.

Friends assert that Abbott was a leader in founding the school, canvassing the county for contributions and himself donating generously to the fund.

In the last few years he has made over 500 lectures, speaking on education and church activities.

OLIVER M. ABBOTT, SON OF REV. WAR SOLDIER, SEEKS PENSION IN 1943:

Contributed by Dr. James L. Reid, 730 Walnut Hill Road, Campobello, SC 29322.

Source: The Keowee Courier, issue of Thursday, November 11, 1943, p. 1 col. 3.

Oconee Man is Believed Only Living Son of Continental Vet. A 92 year old Oconee man, who claims he is a the son of a veteran of the American Revolutionary war, is seeking a $ 100 a month pension from the government.

Oliver M. Abbott, of Westminster, the claimant, says he was born when his father, John Abbott, was 88 years old. It is believed that Mr. Abbott is the only living person who is the son of a Revolutionary soldier.

The House of Representatives invalid pensions committee has referred the claim to the veterans administration for a special investigation of all available records.

Congressman Butler B. Hare, author of the bill (HR 2452), said he believed the claim was authentic, stating that the only discrepancies in historical records from the war department and the census bureau, were whether John Abbott, the soldier, was eight or 14 years old when he enlisted in the Army.

John Abbott was a member of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army, serving under Lieut. Col. Francis Marion. The War department has officially recognized the father's war record and in 1939 sent Oliver M. Abbott a monument for his father's grave.

Congressman Hare's effort is believed to be an unprecedented pension application presented to congress.

[Contributor's Note: A shorter, less detailed account of the application appeared in the Spartanburg Herald, issue of Wednesday, November 3, 1943. The 1850 census of Pickens District, household 882, shows John Abbott, 82, Sarah Abbott, 41, Doctor W., 4. The latter is Wilburn Abbott in the 1860 census of Pickens District.]

Sources

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Chris Beason for starting this profile.

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