passing that Devonshire, particularly in the first part of the
seventeenth century, was not an obscure part of England to hail from,
for it was the native shire of England's first great naval heroes and
circumnavigators of the globe, such as Drake and Cavendish.

George Abbott married Hannah, the daughter of William and Annis
Chandler, whose descendants have been both numerous and influential. The
young couple settled in Andover. As has been said, ten years after the
advent on these shores of George Abbott came William Fletcher, who,
after living for a short time in Concord, settled finally in Chelmsford.
In direct descent from these two original settlers of New England were
Caleb Abbott and Mercy Fletcher, the parents of the subject of this
sketch. Judge Abbott is, therefore, of good yeomanly pedigree. His
ancestors have always lived in Massachusetts since the settlement of the
country, and have always been patriotic citizens, prompt to respond to
every call of duty in the emergencies of their country, whether in peace
or war. Both his grandfathers served honorably in the war of the
Revolution, as their fathers and grandfathers before them served in the
French and Indian wars of the colonial period of our history. In his
genealogy there is no trace of Norman blood or high rank: but

"The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the gowd for a' that."


In this country, while it is not necessary to success to be able to lay
claim to an aristocratic descent, it is certainly a satisfaction,
however democratic the community may be, for any person to know that his
grandfather was an honest man and a public-spirited citizen.