John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (1821 - 1893)

Born 12 Mar 1821 in St. Andrews, Lower Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Martha (Bethune) Abbott — married 26 Jul 1849 in Montreal, Canada East

Descendants

Died 30 Oct 1893 at age 72 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Canada Project WikiTree [send private message] and Sunny Clark [send private message]

John Abbott is managed by the Canada Project. Join: Canada Project Discuss: canada

Preceded by
John A. Macdonald

4th Prime Minister of Canada
June 16, 1891 – November 24, 1892

Succeeded by
John Thompson

Biography

John Abbott is Notable.

John Abbott was a lawyer, businessman, educator, politician, and militia officer; born 12 March 1821 in St. Andrews (Saint-André-Est, Québec), eldest son of Reverend Joseph Abbott and Harriet A. Bradford; married 26 July 1849 Mary Martha Bethune, and they had four sons and four daughters; died 30 October 1893 in Montreal.

John Abbott était un avocat, homme d’affaires, professeur, administrateur scolaire, homme politique, et officier de milice; né le 12 mars 1821 à St Andrews (Saint-André-Est, Québec), fils aîné du révérend Joseph Abbott et Harriet A. Bradford; le 26 juillet 1849, il épousa Mary Martha Bethune, et ils eurent quatre fils et quatre filles; décédé le 30 octobre 1893 à Montréal.^[1]

John Abbott was the first Canadian-born prime minister. He was born in what is now Saint-André-d’Argenteuil, Québec, where his father was an Anglican missionary. In 1843 Joseph Abbott became bursar of Montreal’s McGill College (now University) and his son began taking law classes there and was admitted to the bar in 1847.

He married Mary Bethune in Montréal in the summer of 1849.^[2] They had eight children.

In addition to his law practice specializing in commercial law, Abbott became a lecturer at McGill in 1853 and held the position of dean of the faculty of law from 1855-1880.

His financial interests included shares and positions in banks and insurance companies, but like many prominent businessmen of the time, he invested heavily in railway companies, particularly the Canadian Pacific Railway. In Montreal, where the Abbotts made their home,^[3][4] he was a founder of the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Art Association of Montreal and the first president of the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Abbott’s political career began in 1860. Until 1887, aside from a few years when he lost his seat during the Pacific Scandal, he represented Argenteuil as a Member of Parliament. He became a Senator in 1887, serving as House Leader in the Senate as well as a member of Sir John A. Macdonald's cabinet. From 1887 to 1888, he also took on the mayor's job in Montreal. On Macdonald's death in 1891, he reluctantly agreed to become prime minister. Ill health forced him to resign in 1892, the same year he was named a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.^[5]

He died in 1893 and buried in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Carman Miller, “ABBOTT, Sir JOHN JOSEPH CALDWELL,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed February 13, 2019, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/abbott_john_joseph_caldwell_12E.html.
2. ↑ Drouin Collection, Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, Montréal, 1849 records, Folio 28
3. ↑ "Québec, recensement, 1861," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM78-VM1 : 9 March 2018), John Jl. Abbott, Montréal (Centre), Montréal, Quebec, Canada; citing line number 5, p. 64; Library and Archives Canada film number C-1232, Archives Publiques, Ottawa (Board of Registration and Statistics. Public Archives, Ottawa); FHL microfilm 517,314.
4. ↑ "Canada Census, 1891," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MW5S-MCC : 3 August 2016), John Abbott, St Antoine Ward, Montréal Centre, Quebec, Canada; Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario; Library and Archives Canada film number 30953_148209.
5. ↑ The Canadian Encyclopedia
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #2553

See also:

• Wikipedia: John Abbott
• Wikidata: Item Q128696

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Eugene Quigley for starting this profile. .