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Jo Abbott

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph Abbott
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1897
Preceded byOlin Wellborn
Succeeded byRobert E. Burke
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 20th district
In office
February 9, 1870 – January 14, 1873
Preceded byWilliam E. Estes
Succeeded byLevi Gillette
Personal details
Born(1840-01-15)January 15, 1840
Morgan County, Alabama, U.S.
DiedFebruary 11, 1908(1908-02-11) (aged 68)
Hillsboro, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Rowena Sturgis
​
(m. 1868)​
Profession
  • Lawyer
  • judge
  • politician
Military service
AllegianceConfederacy
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank First lieutenant
UnitCompany B, 12th Texas Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars

Joseph B. "Jo" Abbott (January 15, 1840 – February 11, 1908) was a lawyer, judge, Confederate Army officer, member of the Texas House of Representatives and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas.

The city of Abbott, Texas, is named for him.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Joseph B. Abbott[2] was born January 15, 1840, to William and Mary (née McMillan) Abbott in Morgan County, Alabama, near Decatur, and attended the public schools. His parents were both born near Petersburg, Virginia. His father William had been a soldier in the War of 1812, and was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia.[3] Abbott moved with his parents to Freestone County, Texas, in 1853.[4] He was educated by the scholar Franklin Laughlin Yoakum, the president of Larissa College[5] and the father of Benjamin Franklin Yoakum,[6] and George F. Allison, who operated a classical school in Freestone County. He began to read law in 1859 and continued in this practice until the beginning of the American Civil War.[3]

Abbott entered into service of the Confederate Army in the Civil War as a junior second lieutenant, eventually becoming a first lieutenant in Company B of the Twelfth Texas Cavalry Regiment.[2][7] He fought in at least half a dozen battles[8] including the Battle of Cotton Plant, the Battle of Pleasant Hill, and the Battle of Yellow Bayou, in which he was wounded and disabled for many months. He later rejoined his command and remained with it until the end of the war.[3]

After the end of the war he resumed his studies of law and entered the office of Lochlin J. Farrar in Springfield, Limestone County, Texas,[8] and received instructions from D. W. Pendergast. Abbott was admitted to the bar by Robert S. Gould, who became a chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.[3] After he became licensed in October 1866, he began to practice law in Springfield[4] as a partner of Farrar.[8] He moved to Hill County in 1867, where he taught a school for five months. He returned to his legal profession after the county court system was organized in 1868.[3] On December 15, 1868, he married Rowena Sturgis of Hillsboro, daughter of James W. L. and Martha Sturgis.[3]

He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1870 to 1873[9] He was appointed a district judge in the Twenty-eighth judicial district by Governor Oran M. Roberts. In 1880, he was elected for a full four-year term for that position. In 1886, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives, and served in that capacity through the end of Fifty-Fourth Congress in 1897.[10] Upon leaving Congress, he resumed his legal career in Hillsboro, Texas, where he died on February 11, 1908.[7]

Electoral history

[edit]

1886 election

[edit]
Texas's 6th congressional district election, 1886     Source:[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jo Abbott 19,185 60
Independent J. C. Kirby 11,750 36.7
Republican A. B. Norton 1,069 3.3
Total votes 32,004 100

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sullins, Virginia. "Abbott". Texas Almanac.
  2. ^ a b "Abbott, J. B." Civil War Soldiers. National Park Service.
  3. ^ a b c d e f A Memorial and Biographical History of Johnson and Hill Counties, Texas, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company. 1892. pp. 225–227. Retrieved November 29, 2023. – via University of North Texas Libraries.
  4. ^ a b Wikisource This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Abbott, Jo". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. pp. 27–28.
  5. ^ Kemp, Louis Wiltz (February 1, 1996). "Yoakum, Franklin Laughlin (1819–1891)". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  6. ^ Orozco-Vallejo, Mary M. (February 1, 1996). "Yoakum, Benjamin Franklin (1859–1929)". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  7. ^ a b Who Was Who in American History – the Military. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1975. p. 1. ISBN 0837932017. LCCN 75029616. OCLC 2143230. OL 5204417M.
  8. ^ a b c Hooker, Anne W. (November 1994). "Abbott, Joseph (1840–1908)". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  9. ^ "Joseph "Jo" Abbott". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Legislative Reference Library of Texas.
  10. ^ Leonard, John William; Marquis, Albert Nelson, eds. (1908). Who's who in America. Vol. 5. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, Inc. p. 5.
  11. ^ Daniell, Lewis E. (1889) "Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans embracing the Executive Staff, Heads of the Departments, United States Senators and Representatives, Members of the Twenty-First Legislature", Austin: Smith, Hicks & Jones, State Printers. p. 137. Retrieved November 29, 2023. – via Legislative Reference Library of Texas
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 6th congressional district
1887–1897 		Succeeded by
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 20 (Hillsboro)
1870–1873 		Succeeded by
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