HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG2642.AM: Luther Jewett Abbott, 1831-1900
Papers: 1850-1940
Fremont, Dodge County, Neb.: Physician, legislator
Size: 0.5 cu.ft.; 1 box
BACKGROUND NOTE
Dr. Luther Jewett Abbott was born in Blue Hills, Maine, September 15, 1831, and moved with his parents to Troy, Ohio, in 1834. He graduated from Ohio Medical College and spent two years at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which he received a diploma on March 12, 1854. He practiced medicine with his father in Troy, Ohio, for six years before moving to Douglas County, Nebraska, in the autumn of 1860. He purchased land in what is now Irvington and continued to practice medicine while raising sheep. In 1866 he moved to Fontenelle, Nebraska, and then to Fremont, Nebraska, in 1868.
Abbott helped organize the Nebraska State Medical Society in 1868 and was its president in 1877. He was the United States examining surgeon for pensions from 1871-1881. From 1896-1900 he was superintendent of the State Insane Asylum in Lincoln. Abbott was a member of the last session of the Territorial Legislature, 1867; president of the Fremont Board of Education; and member of the Fremont Board of Health. He wrote the “Centennial History” of Dodge County in 1876 and wrote many articles for the newspapers. He married Clara F. Culbertson at Troy, Ohio, in 1854. They had eleven children.
Dr. Abbott died at his home in South Omaha on February 22, 1900. He was buried at Ridge Cemetery, Fremont (Dodge County), Nebraska.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection of the papers of Dr. Luther Jewett Abbott, contained in one box, is arranged in five series: 1) Correspondence, 1861-1895; 2) Legislative Papers, 1867; 3) Clippings, 1867-1896; 4) Miscellany, 1850-1889; and 5) Abbott Family Material, 1890-1940.
The collection includes a file of correspondence containing letters from Dr. Abbott’s parents as well as one letter from Robert W. Furnas, October 23, 1870. In Series 2 are petitions sent by citizens of Washington County, Nebraska, to the Territorial Legislature in 1867 regarding a proposal by Dodge County to annex the western portion of Washington County. There are also sets of speeches made by Abbott as a State Legislator in 1867. In one he opposed the annexation of two precincts of Washington County by Dodge County, and in another he supported H.R. 63, a bill to encourage the study of anatomy.
The folder of clippings contains articles on public addresses given by Abbott as well as handbills about and invitations to the celebrations in Fremont on July 4, 1876, at which Abbott gave the main address. The miscellany includes invitations and programs in addition to cards admitting Abbott to classes at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1853. The final series contains clippings and other material concerning the Abbott family, especially relating to a family gathering held in Hastings, Nebraska, on June 15, 1939.
DESCRIPTION
Series 1 – Correspondence, 1861-1894
Box 1
Folder
- 1861-1894
Series 2 – Legislative Files, 1867
- Speeches and Drafts, 1867
- Petitions, 1867
Series 3 – Clippings, 1867-1896
- Clippings, 1867-1896
Series 4 – Miscellany, 1850-1889
- Invitations, Class cards, Jefferson Medical College, 1853
Public addresses by Abbott Certificate (See OB082)
Series 5 – Abbott Family Material, 1890-1940
- Clippings and programs, 1890-1940
ADDED ENTRIES:
Abbott family
Abbott, Luther Jewett, 1831-1900
Dodge County (Neb.) — History
Furnas, Robert Wilkinson, 1824-1905
Legislation — Nebraska
Legislators — Nebraska
Nebraska — Politics and government
Nebraska. Legislative Assembly, 1867
Physicians — Nebraska
Washington County (Neb.) — History
APD/ct 08-01-1975
01-08-2010 Revised TMM
