ABBOTT FAMILY PAPERS

David Abbott donated his family papers in 1985. The collection spans from 1870 to 1975, tracing the family history from Jacob Jackson Abbott Sr., (David's great grandfather), to David Abbott.

Jacob Jackson Abbott Sr. graduated from Dartmouth in 1839 and the Union Theological Seminary, New York, in 1845. He served in the ministry of the Congregational Church holding pastorates in Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont. Jacob Jackson Abbott Sr. was conferred the honorary degree of DD from Bowdoin College in 1874. He married Margaret Whitin and they had four sons and one daughter: James Whitin (1846), Jacob Jackson Jr. (1850), William Whittlesey, Paul Whitin, and Helen. Jacob Jackson Abbott, Sr., served as a trustee at Dartmouth and Bowdoin Colleges. During the war he worked with the Christian Commission in Washington DC. He was active in educational and civic concerns throughout his life and died at home in New Haven in 1878.

All four of his sons graduated from Yale College. James Abbott graduated from Sheffield Scientific School at Yale and continued on, to earn a degree in civil engineering in 1871. Jackson (Jacob Jackson, Jr.) graduated from the Sheffield Scientific Department at Yale in 1872 and continued on to receive a second degree of civil engineer in 1874. James and Jackson moved to Colorado in 1875. They settled in Lake City and opened their firm, Abbott Bros. Their firm joined with Frank Garbutt and Richard Woodward under the name of Garbutt, Abbott Bros. and Woodward. Together they owned and operated the Lake City Uncompahgre Toll Road Company. The 35-mile toll road ran from Lake City, up Hensen Creek, through Capitol City and over Eagle Pass before dropping to Ouray. They received the charter to build the road in 1875 and started construction in 1876. In 1884 Hinsdale County took over the operation and formally purchased the road in 1886.

Another venture the four men worked together on was the Lake City Mining and Smelting Company. The firm was incorporated in 1876. James served as vice-president and Jackson was secretary of the board of trustees. Richard Woodward resigned from the company in 1876 and the firm name changed to Abbott Bros. and Garbutt. They continued to work for the following year with Frank Garbutt who retired from the firm in 1877. Under the firm of Abbott Bros., James and Jackson surveyed and patented most of the mining claims in Hinsdale County. To supplement their income during the off-season months, when they were unable to survey due to the weather, they opened an upscale grocery market featuring fancy groceries.

In 1883 James relocated to Chicago for work but remained in partnership with Jackson in their firm. Jackson continued working in Lake City on various projects including the construction of the reservoir at Lake San Christobal. Nearly all of the roads in Hinsdale County were built under his supervision. He was involved with the successful campaign to have a Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Building in Lake City. He was appointed postmaster of San Juan in 1883. Jackson Abbott served as mayor of Lake City from 1885-1886, superintendent of schools from 1887-1888, and was elected Hinsdale County Surveyor in 1890 and Deputy Mineral Surveyor for Colorado in 1895.

Jackson Abbott married Jenny Farrington, who was an accomplished musician. They had seven children, Margaret Farrington, James Dudley, Edward Farrington, Jacob Jackson, Catherine Whitin, Charles Cushman, and Dorothy, who died at two years.

After Dorothy's death in 1897, Jackson Abbott and his family moved to Denver. Although he resided in Denver, Jackson remained active in Hinsdale County as the Commissioner and continued to work as an engineer surveying mines and property. Jackson went to San Francisco for the Panama-Pacific Exposition and caught Bright's disease. He became quite ill and eventually returned back east to Auburn, Maine to visit with his children. He died there in 1916.

After graduating from Yale James Abbott worked as an assistant engineer on the Kings County Town Survey in Brooklyn, New York. Then he took a job as engineer for the estate of William Walter Phelps in Hackensack and Bergen Counties. In 1875, he moved to Lake City to work with his brother, Jackson. In 1883, he went east to work in Kansas City. James returned to Colorado in 1885 to work with his brother-in-law, David Wood. He took charge of a large transportation business in Ouray. Two years later, James gave up the job when he was appointed Clerk of the District Court in Ouray.

From 1900 to 1905, James Abbott was employed as a special agent for the US Department of Agriculture - Highway Division. He was in charge of the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast branch. Following this job, James relocated to Pioche, Nevada. In 1912, he moved to Los Angeles.

James Abbott was a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and published articles.

James Abbott married Florence Wood in 1877. They had two children, Charles Whitin, and Ruth Beatrice. In 1917 he became severely ill and was brought to Buffalo, NY. He died in a sanitarium at Clifton Springs, NY the same year.

Jackson and Jenny Abbott's son, James Dudley married Mary McLain. They were parents to three children Elizabeth, David, and James Dudley Jr. James Abbott followed in his father's footsteps earning a degree in engineering. He engineered bridges. His son, David, enlisted in the Arctic Survival Training Camp during WW II and later worked for the Denver Parks.