Nathaniel Abbott

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CAPTAIN NATHANIEL ABBOTT (1700–1770), son of Lieutenant Nathaniel Abbott and Dorcas Hibbert

PENELOPE BALLARD (b. c. 1705), daughter of Ensign Joseph Ballard and Elizabeth Phelps

Nathaniel, the son of Nathaniel and Dorcas Abbott, was born on 9 June 1700 in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts. [1] He died in 1770, age 74[!] in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. [2] He married first Penelope Ballard on 23 November 1726 in Andover. [3] He is said to have married second Mehitable Unknown. [3]

Penelope, the daughter of Joseph Ballard, was born in probably 1705—her birth record is torn—in Andover. [1]

Nathaniel was one of the petitioners to the Governor of Massachusetts for land for a settlement at "Pennycook"—later Rumford and now Concord, New Hampshire—on 31 May 1721. [4] On May 1727 he was granted four and a half acres in the Mill Brook Interval and all the swamp—about one a quarter acre—between his first division of interval and the Merrimack River. He was one of the first settlers. An October 1731 statement of the condition of the settlement says that he had a house built, and his family was there. [4]

Nathaniel, George and Edward Abbott [probably first cousins] and others petitioned for a warrant to call a town meeting on 14 September 1732. At that meeting, Mr. Nathaniel Abbott, Mr. Jeremiah Stickney, and Mr. John Chandler were chosen a committee to examine and adjust the proprietors' accounts. Nathaniel was the first constable and first collector in 1732/3. [4]

Bouton, in his history of Concord, describes Nathaniel as "an efficient, enterprising, useful citizen." [4, p. 132] He held many minor town offices such as hog reeve, pound keeper, surveyor of flax and hemp, surveyor of timber, plank and boards, sealer of weights and measures, and fence viewer. [4]

Nathaniel and Penelope (Ballard) Abbott were the 25th and 26th members, respectively, of the First Congregational Church in Concord, admitted in 1746. [5]

In 1746 Nathaniel and Nathaniel Jr. were in Lieutenant Jeremiah Stickney's garrison in Concord. Nathaniel was in command of a company to defend the town against the Indians. [4]

In 1755 Nathaniel was a lieutenant in Joseph Eastman's company in the Expedition against Crown Point. He was a lieutenant in Major Robert Rogers's company of Rangers at Fort William in 1757. [4] Boughton explicitly identifies the Nathaniel in these conflicts as the Nathaniel here. It is possible that a 57-year-old man could have been a colonial officer, but Nathaniel seems old to be one of Rogers's Rangers—Rogers himself was in his mid-twenties at Fort William. See Tim Abbott's 21 October 2007 blog, "Lt. Nathaniel Abbot(t) and Rogers' Rangers," for a more detailed description of Nathaniel's military career.

Nathaniel had a one-story house. His son Captain Joshua later lived in it. [4]

Children of Nathaniel Abbott and Penelope Ballard: Births recorded in Rumford as the children of Nathaniel and Penelope. [2]

i. Nathaniel Abbott was born on 10 March 1727 in Andover. [3] He died on 19 February 1800. [3] He married Miriam Chandler of Dunstable. [3] Miriam, the daughter of Nathaniel and Susanna (Rowell) Chandler, was born on 24 November 1728 in Amesbury. [6] Miriam, the wife of Nathaniel, Jr., died in January 1811, age 82, in Concord. [2]

Nathaniel was a farmer in Concord. [3]

Nathaniel, Jr. and Miriam (Chandler) Abbott were the 76th and 77th members, respectively, of the members, respectively, of the First Congregational Church in Concord. [5]

ii. Dorcas Abbott was born on 11 November 1728 in Andover. [3] She married Captain Moses Merrill of Concord. [3] Moses was the son of Deacon John and Lydia (Haynes) Merrill. [4] The Merrills were from Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. [4]

iii. Rebecca Abbott was born on 27 Mary 1731. She died in Thetford, Orange County, Vermont. [3] She married John Merrill. [3] John was the brother of Rebecca's brother-in-law Moses Merrill. [4]

iv. Elizabeth Abbott was born on 1 July 1733. She died on 25 January 1834, age 100. [3] She married Joseph Hazeltine of Concord. [3]

Mrs. Elizabeth Hazeltine, the daughter of Nathaniel Abbott and widow of Joseph Hazeltine, was "the eldest person ever deceased in Concord." She was "remarkable for her kindness of temper, suavity of manners, vivacity of spirit, energy, and for her tenacious memory."" [4, p. 418]

v. Mary Abbott was born on 7 March 1735. She died in March 1795. [3] She married Joseph Walker. [3]

Joseph and Mary settled in Fryburg, Oxford County, Maine. [3]

vi. Hannah Abbott was born on 7 March 1736. She married Ephraim Moar. [3]

vii. Ruth Abbott was born on 28 January 1738. She died on 27 February 1817. She married James Walker

viii. Captain Joshua Abbott was born on 24 February 1740. He died in March 1815, age 75, in Concord. [2] He married Elizabeth Chandler of Bradford, Essex County. [3] Elizabeth, the daughter of Josiah and Sarah Chandler, was born on 20 July 1739 in Bradford. [7] Elizabeth, the wife of Captain Joshua, died on 27 May 1812, age 73, in Concord. [2]

Joshua and Elizabeth are buried in the Old North Cemetery in Concord. The inscription on Joshua's gravestone says, "Erected to the memory of Capt. Joshua Abbot Who died March 12, 1815 AEt.73." [8]

Joshua was commissioned captain of the first company of militia in Concord on 21 February 1774. [4] Joshua was a captain at the Battle of Bunker Hill. [3]

Joshua and Elizabeth lived in Concord. [3] Capt. Joshua and Elizabeth (Chandler) Abbott were the 142nd and 131st members, respectively, of the First Congregational Church in Concord. [5]

ix. Rachel Abbott was born on 7 April 1743. She died on 13 June 1788 in Concord. [3][2] She married Daniel Abbott of Concord. [3] Daniel was her second cousin. He was the son of Deacon George Abbott, the grandson of Thomas Abbott and great-grandson of Rachel's great-grandfather George Abbott. [4]

Daniel became a soldier, was taken captive by the Indians, and later exchanged. [4]

x. Lieutenant Jeremiah Abbott was born on 17 March 1744. He died on 8 November 1823. [3] He married Elizabeth Stickney of Concord. [3] Elizabeth died on 10 September 1836, age 84. [3]

Jeremiah was a sergeant in the Battle of Bunker Hill. [3] He was a lieutenant at Ticonderoga. [3] He went on the Expedition Against Canada. [3]

Jeremiah and Elizabeth lived in Concord and Conway, New Hampshire. [3] Jeremiah kept an inn in Conway. [3]

"I Jeremiah Abbott ... resident of the town of Conway ... aged 73 years on oath declare that at the town of Cambridge ... in the month of April 1775 enlisted in the company commanded by Capt. Joshua Abbott in the New Hampshire line to serve in the same as a private ... for the term of eight months and that I served agreeable to my enlistment and that I enlisted again at Concord in the county of Rockingham ... in the company commanded by Capt. James Osgood of the regiment commanded by Col. Timothy Beedle in the New Hampshire line in the month of December 1775 for the term of one year ... I was honourably discharged ... in the month of December 1776 ... I was in the battle of Bunker Hill ... by reason of my reduced circumstances in life ... assistance of my country for support." [9]

xi. Dorothy Abbott was born on 21 December 1746. She died on 27 September 1776. [3] She married David George of Concord on 29 May 1766. [3]

xii. Sarah Abbott was born on 3 December 1748. She died in June 1842, age 93. [3] She married Samuel Farnum. [3] Samuel was the son of Zebediah Farnum and Mary Walker.

Samuel and Sarah moved to New York. [3]

Endnotes:

1. Vital Records of Andover, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, vol. 1, vol. 2 (Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1912). Abbott births (1: 11–34); Ballard births (1: 48–51); Abbott marriages (2: 11–24); Abbott deaths (2: 361–74).

2. "New Hampshire: Births, Deaths and Marriages, 1654–1969," database with images, AmericanAncestors (https://www.americanancestors.org) > Births A to 1901: Dorcas Abbott, p. 673, Dorothy Abbott, p. 677, Elizabeth Abbott, p. 693, Hannah Abbott, p. 819, Jeremiah Abbott, p. 888, Joshua Abbott, p. 932, Mary Abbott, p. 1006, Nathaniel Abbott, p. 1066, Rachel Abbott, p. 1097, Rebecca Abbott, p. 1104, Ruth Abbott, p. 1122, Sarah Abbott, p. 1145; Deaths A to 1901: Elizabeth Abbott, p. 324 Captain Joshua Abbott, p. 560 Miriam Abbott, p. 688, Nathaniel Abbott, p. 722, Rachel Abbott, p. 758.

3. "Abbot Genealogy," Essex Antiquarian 1 (1897): 35–41, 58–62.

4. Nathaniel Bouton, History of Concord (Concord, NH: Benning W. Sanborn, 1856).

5. George Harlow Reed and John Calvin Thorne, History and Manual of the First Congregational Church, Concord, New Hampshire, 1730 - 1907 (Concord: Ira C. Evans Co., 1907).

6. Vital Records of Amesbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1913): Chandler Births, 49–50; marriages, 304.

7. Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1907), 35.

8. Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 05 October 2023), memorial pages for Capt Joshua Abbot (24 Feb 1740–12 Mar 1815), Memorial ID 112049175 and Mrs Elizabeth Chandler Abbot (20 Jul 1739–27 May 1812), Memorial ID 112061444, citing Old North Cemetery, Concord, Merrimack County, NH; Maintained by KParn (contributor 47754621).

9. George W. Nesmith, "New Hampshire Men at Bunker Hill," Granite Monthly 2 (1879): 266-273.

05-Oct-2023 12:15 PM