Abiel Abbot (August 17, 1770 – June 7, 1828) was a prominent clergyman. He was born to John and Abigail Abbot in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

. In 1788 he went on to study at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 1792 he received the Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. He was an assistant teacher at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, until August 1793. He started working as a preacher in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

, in 1794 and remained there through 1803, having been selected as pastor in 1795. He married Eunice Wales in 1796. He moved to

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...

, in 1803, and became a pastor there of the First Church. He remained in that position through the end of his life. In 1821, he received the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from Harvard University. To recover his health he passed the winter of 1827–1828 in and near

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, and embarked for Cuba in the spring of 1828. In Cuba he visited the cities, villages and plantations at

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. He died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

on his way back from Charleston to New York. His remains were deposited in the cemetery on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, and the funeral service was performed by the Rev. Mr Miller. He had one book published posthumously, ''Letters Written in the Interior of Cuba'', in 1829.

References

*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, Incorporated. *

External links

Abiel Abbot ''Letters Written in the Interior of Cuba, Between the Mountains of Arcana, to the East, and of Cusco, to the West, in the Months of February, March, April, and May, 1828.'' Boston: Bowles and Dearborn, 1829. Abiel Abbot, ''Sermons by the Late Rev. Abiel Abbot, D.D. of Beverly, Mass.'' Boston: Wait, Greene & Co., 1831. Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbot, Abiel 1770 births 1828 deaths 19th-century American clergy 18th-century American clergy American Christian clergy American memoirists Harvard Divinity School alumni Deaths from yellow fever People from Andover, Massachusetts 18th-century Christian clergy 19th-century Christian clergy People of colonial Massachusetts Burials in New York (state) People who died at sea American expatriates in Cuba People from Beverly, Massachusetts