Jacob Abbott

Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 – October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books.[1]

Jacob Abbott
Born(1803-11-14)November 14, 1803
Hallowell, Maine, United States
DiedOctober 31, 1879(1879-10-31) (aged 75)
Farmington, Maine, United States
Alma materBowdoin College
OccupationChildren's author

Early life

On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine. He attended the Hallowell Academy. [2]

Education

Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).[3]

Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year.[4]

Career

From 1825 to 1829 was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College;[2] was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829–1833;[2] was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834–1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843–1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845–1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.[5]

He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more.[2] He died in Farmington, Maine,[4] where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.

His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories.[2]

Fewacres in 1906, Abbott's residence at Farmington, Maine

His brothers, John Stevens Cabot Abbott and Gorham Dummer Abbott, were also authors. His sons, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Austin Abbott, both eminent lawyers, Lyman Abbott, and Edward Abbott, a clergyman, were also well-known authors.

See his Young Christian, Memorial Edition, with a Sketch of the Author by Edward Abbott with a bibliography of his works.

Other works of note: Lucy Books, Jonas Books, Harper's Story Books, Marco Paul, Gay Family, and Juno Books.

Personal life

On May 18, 1829, Abbott married Harriet Vaughan.[4] He had four sons and they are Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Edward Abbott, Austin Abbott and Lyman Abbott.

Select Bibliography

Biographies
  • Alexander the Great
  • Alfred the Great
  • King Charles I
  • King Charles II
  • Cleopatra
  • Cyrus the Great
  • Darius
  • Hannibal
  • Queen Elizabeth
  • Genghis Khan
  • Julius Caesar
  • Margaret of Anjou
  • Mary, Queen of Scots
  • Nero
  • Peter the Great
  • Pyrrhus
  • Richard I
  • Richard II
  • Richard III
  • Romulus
  • William the Conqueror
  • Xerxes
  • Josephine

American History Series
  • Aboriginal America (1860)
  • Discovery Of America (1860)
  • Southern Colonies (1860)
  • Northern Colonies (1862)
  • Wars Of The Colonies (1863)
  • Revolt Of The Colonies (1864)
  • War Of The Revolution (1864)
  • Washington (1865)

References
  1. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, ISBN 0-550-18022-2, page 2
  2. "Abbott, Jacob". Encyclopædia Britannica. I: A-Ak – Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2010. pp. 13. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
  3. "Jacob Abbott". readseries.com. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  4. Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Abbott, Jacob". The Biographical Dictionary of America. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 27. Retrieved October 16, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. Chisholm 1911.

Additional sources
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