Luther J. Abbott

Luther J. Abbott

Born: 15 SEP 1831 at Blue Hill, Hancock County, Maine; Son of Dr. Nicholas Abbott.
Died: 22 FEB 1900 at South Omaha, Nebraska
Buried: Ridge Cemetery; Fremont, Dodge County, Nebraska

Luther Jewett Abbott is descended from the Old Puritan families of Bancrofts, Adams, and White. George Abbott, who came to Andover, Mass. in 1640, was an early relative of Dr. Abbott. He attended the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati for two years. He then spent two years at Jefferson College in Philadelphia, PA, graduating in 1854 after which he returned to Ohio and entered into practice with his father. In 1860, he traveled to California then to Douglas County, Nebraska where he lived for five years. He moved to Washington County and practiced medicine at Fontanelle, and while residing there was elected to the last territorial legislature in 1867. At the close of his term he located at Fremont, on the Union Pacific, which was then in process of construction, and the young village was one of the most promising towns. Here he resided, constantly engaged in the practice of his profession until appointed by Nebraska Governor Silas Holcomb to Superintendent of the Nebraska Hospital for the Insane at Lincoln, Nebraska in 1895. Early in his professional life Dr. Abbott became a member of the Ohio State Medical Society and of the American Medical Association. In 1868 he was foremost in organizing the Nebraska State Medical Society, of which he became president in 1876. He served for twenty-five years as a member of the insanity commission of Dodge County, where he had been county physician for most of the time he lived in the county, and for twenty years was a member of the examining board for pensions. In 1882 he was elected Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine in what is now the University of Nebraska at Omaha. An earnest student, he had kept abreast of science of medical discoveries during his lifetime.

Besides being a physician and surgeon, he was a sought after lecturer.

Dr. Abbott married Clara Frances Culbertson-Abbott
Born: 20 FEB 1835 at Troy, Miami County, Ohio
Died: 18 JUL 1911 at Fremont, Dodge County, Nebraska
Buried: Ridge Cemetery; Fremont, Dodge County, Nebraska

Mrs. Abbott was a music teacher prior to her marriage. Her ancestry was Puritan and included the Culbertson, Coleman and Hollister families.

In all, the Abbotts had eleven children. By 1897, six were still living. Known are:
Anna E, b. abt 1855 in Ohio
Ephrom, b. abt 1859 in Ohio
Osee M. (dau), b. abt 1863 in Neb. - was teaching school in 1880 in Fremont
John W. C., b. abt 1865 in Neb.
Jane H., b. abt 1868 in Neb.
Luther J, b. 8 NOV 1871 in Neb., d. 10 MAR 1914, bur. Ridge Cemetery, Fremont, NE
Edward C., aka "Ned", b. 9 MAR 1874 at Fremont. He was an educator of the blind. He married Lillian Newbranch at Lincoln, NE on 19 JUN 1901. Their children were Clara Louise, who married Frederick Ware; Lea, Grace, and Annabelle.
Lewis Keene, called "Keene", b. 17 JUL1876 in Fremont, NE, graduate of Fremont High School and the University of Nebraska. Keene married Mable Avery Rundell on 29 AUG 1905 at Iowa City, IA. He was an English tutor at the University of Iowa at Iowa City in 1901. The following year, he was publishing The Lariat at Lawton, OK. In 1903, he began working for the World-Herald in Omaha, NE, first as a reporter then as a drama critic. He retired from the World-Herald in 1935. After his retirement, he continued writing and authored Melody in Silver, Wine O’ the Winds and Tree of Life. He was a contributor to Outlook, Atlantic Monthly, Harpers, Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, and McClures. In Omaha, he resided at 2461 St. Mary’s Avenue.

Source: Ruth Moss, Washington County Genealogical Society