Major General Stephen Abbot
Colonel Stephen Abbot 1749-1813
Stephen Abbot (1749-1813) and Sarah Crowell (1750-1805)
Generation Five Family 328
STEPHEN ABBOT (Stephen4, Stephen3, John2, George1), b. at Andover, 1 Aug 1749 son of Stephen and Mary (Abbott) Abbot; d. at Salem, 9 Aug 1813; m. 1st SARAH CROWELL, b. at Salem, Dec 1750 daughter of William and Sarah (Stone) Crowell; Sarah d. 14 Apr 1805. Stephen m. 2nd 5 Nov 1805, MARY BADGER of Dunstable, NH, b, about 1761 daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (White) Badger; (1) Mary was still living at the time of Stephen’s probate in 1813.
Stephen Abbot was a merchant in Salem, and apparently quite successful, as the value of his estate in 1813 was $25,184.67 the bulk of this in cash, bank notes, and investments.
Major General Stephen Abbot served as a Captain in the Revolutionary War. Following the war, he was Colonel of a Company of Cadets in Salem, a volunteer force. Later, he achieved the rank of Major General in 1797 leading the Second Division of Massachusetts Militia that included Essex County. (2)
Stephen Abbot was also a member of the Masons beginning in 1791 and served as treasurer of the Essex Lodge in 1802. (3)
Stephen Abbot did not leave a will and in the probate record there are three heirs signing agreeing to the administration fee of $50 for administrator Mary Abbot. The three signers as heirs are Abijah Chase, John Sneathin, and Henry Chase who are husbands of three of the daughters. There seem to be no other heirs. (4)
Daughter Mary Abbott Chase was raised in the Episcopal faith of her parents, but about age 20 joined Society of Friends. She periodically participation in ministry. She was an invalid for several years before her death. (5)
Stephen Abbot and Sarah Crowell had ten children born at Salem. Seven of their children died in childhood.
1. SARAH ABBOTT, b. Aug 1770; d. 24 Jan 1776.
2. MARY ABBOTT, b. 3 Jun 1772; d. at Salem, 26 Apr 1861; m. 10 Sep 1795, ABIJAH CHASE, b. at Salem, 22 Mar 1770 son of Abner and Rebecca (Newhall) Chase; Abijah d. at Salem, 7 Aug 1851.
3. BETSY ABBOTT, b. Jan 1774; d. 5 Aug 1778.
4. HANNAH ABBOTT, b. Apr 1775; d. 5 Sep 1775.
5. SARAH ABBOTT, b. Jun 1776; d. 18 Jun 1778.
6. ELIZABETH “BETSY” ABBOTT, b. 4 Nov 1778; d. at Salem, 17 Jan 1843; m. 15 Oct 1801, HENRY CHASE, b. at Salem, 8 Dec 1773 son of Abner and Rebecca (Newhall) Chase; Henry d. at Salem, 8 Jun 1846.
7. HANNAH ABBOTT, b. 8 Nov 1780; d. unknown; m. at Salem, 18 Dec 1798, JOHN SNETHEN (6), b. at New York about 1775; John d. at Salem, 18 Jan 1845. John Snethen was a mariner and little in terms of records have been so far located; there is evidence for eight children most of who seem to have died young. One daughter, Mary Abbott Snethen, legally changed her name to Mary Snethen Abbott in 1855.
8. STEPHEN ABBOTT, b. 22 Dec 1781; d. 17 Nov 1787.
9. PHEBE ABBOTT, b. Dec 1783; d. 25 Nov 1787.
10. JOSIAH FISK ABBOTT, b. Sep 1787; d. 3 Apr 1800.
Notes:
Photo Credit: Bentley, The Diary of William Bentley, volume 4, p 65; portrait of Colonel Stephen Abbot owned by Miss Charlotte A. Chase
1) White, The Descendants of William White, p 17
2) Bentley, The Diary of William Bentley, volume 4, p 64
3) Massachusetts: Grand Lodge of Masons Membership Cards, 1733-1990. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010. (From records held by the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts.)
4) Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Probate of Stephen Abbott, 6 Sep 1813, case number 134.
5) Society of Friends, The American Annual Monitor for 1862, pp 20-22
6) There are various spellings of this name: Snethen, Seathen, Sneathing
