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Digital Collections

bMS 550

Abbot, Francis Ellingwood. Family Papers, 1815-1940.

Biographical Information:

Francis Ellingwood Abbot (1836-1903), son of Joseph Hale Abbot and Fanny Ellingwood Larcom, married Katharine F. Loring in 1859 and graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor of arts degree that same year. He attended Harvard Divinity School from 1859-1860, but did not graduate. He was awarded a degree in theology from Meadville Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1863, and was ordained a Unitarian minister in Dover, New Hampshire in 1864. At the Unitarian conference in Syracuse in 1866 Abbot led a minority group who challenged the wording of the Unitarian constitution and preamble, claiming that it needed to be more liberal. The outcome of this dispute was the founding of the Free Religious Association in 1867. The objectives of the Free Religious Association were to promote liberty of religious thought, increase humanitarian action and respect for reason, and to encourage a scientific study of theology. The organization attracted members from various Protestant denominations, especially from the Unitarians, as well as some non-Christian religions such as Judaism. Alongside Abbot, the original founders of this Association were William J. Potter, John Weiss, Dr. Cyrus A. Bartol, Edward C. Towne, and Octavius B. Frothingham. Abbot was editor of the Index, the publication of the Free Religious Association from 1870-1880. Abbot was also awarded a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1881.

Scope and Content:

While much of this collection is specifically associated with Francis Ellingwood Abbot, it is a multigenerational family archive, beginning with a journal Abbot's mother wrote in 1815 when she was eight years old, and ending with correspondence between E. Stanley Abbot (F. E. Abbot's son) and officials at Harvard University concerning the papers in this collection. In addition to family and personal correspondence, the collection includes journals, poetry, photographs, and memorabilia. Correspondence includes letters from Colonel T. W. Higginson, O. B. Frothingham, Henry James, Dorothy Dix, and Booker T. Washington. There are also printed materials with marginal annotations by F. E. Abbot. See related collection bMS 540.

Container List:

FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE

This section includes correspondence from the 1820s through 1925. Unless otherwise noted, the parenthetical notations of relationship indicate that person's relationship to F. E. Abbot.

bMS 550/1 (1) "Mother and Son", a book of copied letters between Francis E. Abbot and his mother, (1837-1866).
bMS 550/1 (2) F. E. Abbot to his brother Stanley, 1852-62.
bMS 550/1 (3) F. E. Abbot to his son Stanley, 1869-84.
bMS 550/1 (4) F. E. Abbot to his son Stanley, 1887-95.
bMS 550/1 (5) F. E. Abbot to his son Stanley, 1896-1903.
bMS 550/1 (6) F. E. Abbot, general, 1855-79.
bMS 550/2 (1) Katharine F. Abbot (wife) to her mother, 1872-75.
bMS 550/2 (2) Katharine Abbot to her mother, 1876-78.
bMS 550/2 (3) Katharine Abbot to her son Stanley, 1870-81.
bMS 550/2 (4) Katharine Abbot to her son Stanley, 1883-89.
bMS 550/2 (5) Katharine Abbot to her son Stanley, 1890-91.
bMS 550/2 (6) Katharine Abbot to her son Stanley, 1892-93.
bMS 550/2 (7A) Katharine Abbot, general, 1857-80.
bMS 550/2 (7B) Katharine Abbot, letters to her children, 1874-1893, transcribed by her husband Francis E. Abbot. (the microfilm for this journal is included in this box.)
bMS 550/2 (8) Henry L. Abbot (brother), 1850-1901. (includes related printed material)
bMS 550/2 (9) Edwin Abbot (brother), 1848-62. (see also Philip Stanley Abbot.)
bMS 550/2 (10) Stanley Abbot (brother), 1861-62.
bMS 550/2 (11) Stanley Abbot (son) to his mother, 1877-87.
bMS 550/2 (12) Stanley Abbot to his mother, 1889-90.
bMS 550/2 (13) Stanley Abbot to his mother, 1891.
bMS 550/2 (14) Stanley Abbot to his mother, 1892-93.
bMS 550/3 (1) Stanley Abbot to his brother Everett, 1922-25. (see related materials in Everett's files)
bMS 550/3 (2) Stanley Abbot, general, 1889-1940.
bMS 550/3 (3) Frances Lewis Smith Abbot (wife of Stanley), 1894-97. (includes other correspondence regarding Frances.)
bMS 550/3 (4) Fanny Abbot (daughter) to her mother, 1878-88.
bMS 550/3 (5) Fanny Abbot to her mother, 1889-93.
bMS 550/3 (6) Fanny Abbot to her brother Stanley, 1889-98.
bMS 550/3 (7) Fanny Abbot to her father, 1888-95.
bMS 550/3 (8) Fanny Abbot to her father, April-July, 1896.
bMS 550/3 (9) Fanny Abbot to her father, August-December, 1896.
bMS 550/3 (10) Fanny Abbot to her father, January-March, 1897.
bMS 550/4 (1) Fanny Abbot to her father, April-May, 1897.
bMS 550/4 (2) Fanny Abbot to her father, June-August, 1897.
bMS 550/4 (3) Fanny Abbot to her father, September-November, 1897.
bMS 550/4 (4) Fanny Abbot to her father, December, 1897-February, 1898.
bMS 550/4 (5) Fanny Abbot to her father, March-May, 1898.
bMS 550/4 (6) Fanny Abbot to her father, June-July, 1898.
bMS 550/4 (7) Fanny Abbot to her father, August-September, 1898.
bMS 550/4 (8) Fanny Abbot to her father, October, 1898-1903.
bMS 550/4 (9) Fanny Abbot, general, 1895-1903.
bMS 550/4 (10) Everett V. Abbot (son), 1873-1921.
bMS 550/4 (11) Everett V. Abbot to Stanley, 1922.
bMS 550/4 (12) Everett V. Abbot to Stanley, 1923.
bMS 550/4 (13) Everett V. Abbot to Stanley, 1924.
bMS 550/5 (1) Everett V. Abbot to Stanley, 1925.
bMS 550/5 (2) Everett V. Abbot, business correspondence and papers. (These files include materials E. Stanley Abbot removed from his brother Everett's law office upon his death in 1925. While most pertain to his legal practice and investments, some relate to his illness and death.) File 1.
bMS 550/5 (3) Everett V. Abbot, business correspondence and papers. File 2.
bMS 550/5 (4) Everett V. Abbot, business correspondence and papers. File 3.
bMS 550/5 (5) Everett V. Abbot, business correspondence and papers. File 4.
bMS 550/5 (6) Everett V. Abbot, business correspondence and papers. File 5.
bMS 550/5 (7) Everett V. Abbot, condolences upon his death, 1925.
bMS 550/5 (8) Everett V. Abbot, correspondence and materials relating to his estate.
bMS 550/5 (9) Everett V. Abbot, genealogical and biographical data.
bMS 550/5 (10) Philip Stanley Abbot (son of brother Edwin), correspondence and clippings relating to his death while mountain climbing in the Canadian Rockies, 1896.
bMS 550/5 (11) Miscellaneous family correspondence, 1836-1901. (This file contains seven letters.)

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE

With the exception of the Wendell Phillips file, all files in this section contain one letter from the correspondent.
bMS 550/6 (1) Emily Balch to Stanley, 1897.
bMS 550/6 (2) Mrs. L. L. Buss to Katharine Abbot, 1886.
bMS 550/6 (3) Dorothea Dix to F.E. Abbot's parents upon the birth of his sister Emily, 1839.
bMS 550/6 (4) B. O. Flower to F. E. Abbot, 1892.
O. B. Frothingham to F. E. Abbot. (See Free Religious Association, 1894 correspondence.)
Colonel T. W. Higginson to F. E. Abbot. (See Free Religious Association, 1894 correspondence.)
bMS 550/6 (5) Henry James to F. E. Abbot, undated.
bMS 550/6 (6) Charles L. Minot to F. E. Abbot, undated.
bMS 550/6 (7) Wendell Phillips from F. E. Abbot, 1869-70. (Includes related printed material.)
bMS 550/6 (8) John Witt Randall to F. E. Abbot, (portion of letter), 1862.
bMS 550/6 (9) William L. Sullivan to Mrs. Stanley Abbot, 1918.
bMS 550/6 (10) Booker T. Washington to Fanny Abbot, 1893.
bMS 550/6 (11) Unidentified correspondence.

WRITINGS AND BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL OF FRANCIS ELLINGWOOD ABBOT

bMS 550/6 (11a) Will of F. E. Abbot, 1899.
bMS 550/6 (12) Journals and writings of Fanny Ellingwood Abbot (his mother), 1815-1883. File 1.
bMS 550/6 (13) Journals and writings of Fany Ellingwood Abbot. File 2.
bMS 550/6 (14) Writings of Joseph Hale Abbot (his father).
bMS 550/6 (15) Devotionals of Joseph Hale Abbot.
bMS 550/6 (16) Susan Loring's Family Reminiscences, undated.
bMS 550/6 (17) The Latin School, 1853-54. (F.E. Abbot's report cards and a few school materials.)
bMS 550/7 (1) Childhood sketches.
bMS 550/7 (2) Poetry of F. E. Abbot. File 1.
bMS 550/7 (3) Poetry of F. E. Abbot. File 2.
bMS 550/7 (4) Poetry of F. E. Abbot. File 3.
bMS 550/7 (5) Poetry of F. E. Abbot. File 4.
bMS 550/7 (6) Poetry of F. E. Abbot. File 5.
bMS 550/7 (7A) Poetry of F. E. Abbot. File 6.
bMS 550/7 (7B) Manuscript book of poems by FEA, 'volume second,' 1851-1852.
bMS 550/7 (8) Correspondence and materials regarding the Military Draft, 1862-63.
bMS 550/7 (9) Writings and printed sermons of F. E. Abbot. File 1.
bMS 550/7 (10) Writings and printed sermons of F. E. Abbot. File 2.
bMS 550/7 (11) Writings and printed sermons of F. E. Abbot. File 3.
bMS 550/8 (1) F. E. Abbot's pastorate at Dover, N.H., the Supreme Court Decision removing him from the pulpit, and his farewell sermon, 1868. File 1.
bMS 550/8 (2) Same as above. File 2.

FREE RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION

bMS 550/8 (3) Free Religious Association (F.R.A.) - correspondence relating to its formation, 1866-67.
bMS 550/8 (4) F.R.A., miscellaneous materials and correspondence. File 1.
bMS 550/8 (5) F.R.A., miscellaneous materials and correspondence. File 2.
bMS 550/8 (6) Free Religious Association, correspondence, 1894. (Includes correspondence from Col. T. W. Higginson and O. B. Frothingham.)
bMS 550/8 (7) National Liberal League, 1876. (No correspondence.)
bMS 550/8 (8) The Index, 1869-1885. (Correspondence and related materials.)
bMS 550/8 (9) "Rev. Mr. Abbot's Position", an Examiner article, 1870.

OTHER MATERIALS

bMS 550/9 (1) Clippings regarding O.B. Frothingham, 1879-83.
bMS 550/9 (2) Clippings regarding Harvard Divinity School and E. C. Towne's Editoria, 1885.
bMS 550/9 (3) The Gosnold Monument, 1901-03.
bMS 550/9 (4) Miscellaneous notes and memorabilia. (These files include programs and clippings of events, poetry and writings by others, notations and materials relating to other family members, circulars and advertisements, and lists.) File 1.
bMS 550/9 (5) Miscellaneous notes and memorabilia. File 2.
bMS 550/9 (6) Miscellaneous notes and memorabilia. File 3.
bMS 550/9 (7) Miscellaneous notes and memorabilia. File 4.
bMS 550/9 (8) Miscellaneous notes and memorabilia. File 5.
bMS 550/10 (1) Miscellaneous notes and memorabilia. File 6.
bMS 550/10 (2) Miscellaneous clippings. File 1.
bMS 550/10 (3) Miscellaneous clippings. File 2.
bMS 550/16 Bible containing letters, annotations and items. Given to Francis Abbot by his mother. American Bible Society, New York, 1851.

GENEALOGY

This section includes correspondence, ancestral tablets, and other material gathered by F. E. Abbot during his later years. The material has been kept in the general order in which he organized his won files. Unless otherwise noted, each file contains miscellaneous material.

bMS 550/10 (4) File 1.
bMS 550/10 (5) File 2.
bMS 550/10 (6) File 3.
bMS 550/10 (7) File 4.
bMS 550/10 (8) File 5.
bMS 550/10 (9) File 6.
bMS 550/11 (1) File 7.
bMS 550/11 (2) File 8.
bMS 550/11 (3) File 9.
bMS 550/11 (4) File 10.
bMS 550/11 (5) File 11.
bMS 550/11 (6) File 23.
bMS 550/11 (7) Clippings.
bMS 550/12 (1) Notebook.
bMS 550/12 (2) Notebook of old documents of the Wilton branch of the family.
bMS 550/12 (3) Transcripts from the Massachusetts State Archives relating to Nathan Dane.
bMS 550/12 (4) Ancestral tablets.
bMS 550/12 (5) Ancestral tablets.
bMS 550/12 (6) Ancestral tablets.

PHOTOGRAPHS

This section includes several generations of family photographs and portraits, photographs of friends, the family summer home in Nonquitt, Massachusetts, and photographs of Harvard (1880s).

bMS 550/13 (1) File 1.
bMS 550/13 (2) File 2.
bMS 550/13 (3) File 3.
bMS 550/13 (4) File 4. ("Bits o' Nonquitt".)
bMS 550/14 (1) File 5. Large photograph album.
bMS 550/15 Three daguerrotype-like images: 1) Katharine Abbot, 2) John Witt Randall? Harvard, A.B. 1834 (friend of Francis E. Abbot), 3) Abbot's Aunt Sarah. Also includes a CD with TIFF files - an image of Katharine Abbot (there is also a print of this image); "her vacant chair", the "view of Pico" (volcano at Fayal, Azores), Francis Ellingwood Abbot with his sons, circa 1875; Fanny Abbot.
bMS 550/16 See note under "Other Materials."