HON. OTHMAN A. ABBOTT, A member of one of the oldest American families, an
honored veteran of the Civil War, an exmember of the Nebraska Senate, first
lieutenant-governor of this state, and a leading member of the legal
profession, Hon. Othman A. Abbott occupies a distinguished place among his
fellow-men and is justly accounted one of the foremost of Grand Island's
distinguished citizens. He was born September 19, 1842, at Hatley, County
Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, a son of Abiel B. and Sarah (Young) Abbott, and
is directly descended from ancestors who came from England to America as
early as 1643. In that year they settled at Andover, Massachusetts, where
the old Abbott homestead is one of the famous landmarks of the country, and
after two and three-quarters centuries, still remains in the hands of the
same family. This family has contributed many brilliant and distinguished
men and women to the professions, not the least of whom is Othman A.
Abbott, of Grand Island.
From the home in Canada, where the family had temporarily resided, the
parents of Judge Abbott removed to DeKalb County, Illinois, and there the
youth divided his time between and there the youth divided his time between
work on the home farm and attendance at the local schools, including the
high school at Belvidere. He was still residing there at the outbreak of
the Civil War, and in 1861 enlisted in Company I, Ninth Illinois Cavalry,
beginning a military career which lasted four years, three months and
twenty-nine days, which was crowded with feats of courage, soldierly
conduct and absolute fidelity to duty. His early military experiences
included participation in the battles of General Curtis' campaign in
Missouri and Arkansas, and subsequently his regiment was assigned to the
guarding of the Memphis & Charlestown Railway. He was wounded in the right
arm at Pontotoc, Mississippi, and was subsequently with General Thomas at
Nashville, at which battle he received his second wound, a gun-shot through
the left side. His gallantry and valor had earned recognition even before
this, and February 23, 1865 he was promoted to the rank of second
lieutenant, his advancement to the rank of first lieutenant coming May 23d
following. His record throughout the long period of his service was one
filled with brave and daring deeds.
While in the army he found time from his duties to commence the study of
law, and after receiving his honorable discharge, upon his return to
Belvidere he entered the office of Ira M. Moore, where he spent two more
years in preparation. He was duly admitted to the bar in 1867, and not long
thereafter came to Nebraska selecting Grand Island as his home, a community
in which he was destined to establish a name and reputation far beyond that
of many contemporaries. His legal acumen and ability soon brought him to
the forefront among the younger lawyers of his day, and as he took an
interest and active part in republican party politics, in 1871 he was
elected as a member of the Constitutional Convention. The following year he
was chosen to complete an unexpired term in the State Senate, and in 1875
he was again elected a member of the Constitutional Convention. By this
time he had become a figure of state-wide reputation, and in 1876 was
elected as the first lieutenant-governor of Nebraska, in which office he
discharged his duties with dignity and distinguished ability. He has also
served as county attorney of Hall County, and numerous other honors have
come to him in recognition of his great abilities and splendid personal
qualities. For a number of years past he has devoted himself exclusively to
the practicing of law, and he is ranked among the most capable members of
his profession in his part of the state.
Judge Abbott married, February 9, 1873, Miss Elizabeth M. Griffin, of
Sycamore, Illinois, a woman in every way qualified to be the helpmate of so
capable a man. She is a graduate of Rockford (Illinois) College, and a
woman of marked intellectuality and literary ability, who has been
president of the Grand Island Library Board since its organization. Four
children have been born to Judge and Mrs. Abbott: Othman A. Jr., a court
reporter; Edith, a writer and educator of Chicago, and one of the heads of
the School of Civics and Philanthropy under the Sage and Carnegie
foundations, holding chairs in civics and philanthropy at the University of
Chicago, one of whose several books, "Women in Industry," has been
favorably received by press and public; Grace, recently an advisor for the
War Labor Policy Board, at Washington, D. C. She is a graduate of the
College at Grand Island and of the State University, and for many years was
superintendent of the League for the Protection of Immigrants established
and maintained by wealthy Chicago people. Later she was appointed as
assistant of Miss Lathrop to enforce the child labor law, afterward held
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, and is now
under employment of War Labor Board in connection with her labor in
children's bureau. Miss Abbott was sent to Europe by the government with
Miss Lathrop and is still in Europe but expects to return soon; and Arthur
G., a graduate of the University of Chicago, class of 1906, who after
several years of law practice at Chicago is now a prominent member of the
Grand Island bar.
Mrs. Abbott is a member of the Unitarian church. The Judge is a Scottish
Rite Mason and belongs to the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of the
Republic. He is a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican
Party.
[A picture of O. A. Abbott is on page 566.]
