Alexander Gurdon Abell, often mistakenly misspelled Gordon, (June 29, 1818 – December 28, 1890) was an American diplomat, writer, and

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Biography

Abell was born on June 29, 1818, to Gurdon and Anna Abell in New York City. Despite being born elsewhere, his parents would raise him in their town of residence,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, Connecticut. In 1820 the family would move to Augusta, Georgia where his father would become a cotton dealer and

slaveholder The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she in ...

; following the move Abell would find himself in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

in 1826 when he was sent there for schooling. In 1843 Abell, then working as a journalist, had a biography of U.S. President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

, titled ''Life of John Tyler'', published by

Harper and Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

. He had written it at the behest of the president, who commissioned it to increase his chances at reelection. Once published Tyler had appointed his son to conduct a campaign of coercing

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

s into purchasing and distributing the biography on the President's behalf. Abell would be rewarded by the president with a political appointment for his work on the biography and delivering dispatches to

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

in the early 1840s. Originally he was nominated to serve as

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

s, but the Senate rejected him; despite draw backs President Tyler made sure to reward Abell. Instead of going to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, he was appointed as the United States Consul to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

on January 16, 1845. He would serve for less than ten months, leaving in 1846. During this period he would act as editor of the Sandwich Island News. Abell moved to California in November 1847, while there he would become a prominent citizen of the state. With the help of Charles H. Cragin, the two would establish the Sacramento Hospital in

Sutter's Fort Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''Alta California'' province.National Park Service"California National Historic Trail."/ref> The site of the fort was established in 1839 and originally called New Helve ...

in 1849; this would be the first hospital in what would become

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. Later on, from 1857 to 1860 he served as president of the

Society of California Pioneers The Society of California Pioneers, established in 1850, is dedicated to the study and enjoyment of California art, history, and culture. Founded by individuals arriving in California before 1850 and thriving under the leadership of several gener ...

. He also served as

Grand Secretary The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the off ...

of the

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

Free and Accepted Masons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

of California from 1855 to 1890, and was also a grand commander of the California Knights Templar for eight years. He would also serve as a

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

. He died in San Francisco, California at his residence, on December 28, 1890. He was buried in

Colma, California Colma (Ohlone for "Springs") is a small incorporated List of municipalities in California, town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town w ...

References

1818 births 1890 deaths Journalists from New York City Politicians from New York City Ambassadors of the United States to Hawaii History of San Francisco American Freemasons Death in San Francisco 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American journalists People from Franklin, Connecticut {{California-CASenate-stub