LES ABBOTT DE DÉTROIT

D'après les renseignements que j'ai obtenus de l'honorable James-V, Campbell, juge à Détroit, et l'auteur de “ Outlines of the Political History of Michigan,” comme aussi de M. Sicotte, ex-shérif, et gendre de Robert Abbott, cette faille serait anglaise d’origine. James Abbott, la souche, serait néanmoins né à Dublin vers 1725. Il servit dans l’armée anglaise en Amérique, et on le retrace à Albany, dans l'état de New-York, vers 1742 et ensuite jusqu'à 1763. Il avait un frère, sinon un homonyme, le lieutenant Edward Abbott, dans l’armée, dont le général Ambherst avait alors le commandement. Il est présumable que c'est le même Edward Abbott qui fut plus tard commandant dans les postes de l'Ouest, notamment à Vincennes, et dont la correspondance apparaît en partie dans les “ Haldimand Papers” Les descendants de ce frère existeraient aujourd’hui dans les environs de Chatham, Ont.

James Abbott aurait profité de la paix qui avait terminé la guerre de Pontiac, pour aller s’étubl r à Détroit, dans le but d'étendre son commerce de pelleteries. Il était alors pourvu de moyens assez amples, ayant divers comptoirs dans l'Ouest, entre autres à Vincennes, Fort-Wayne, à la Prairie-du-Chien, à la Buie-Verte, à Makinaw et dans l’Indiana, dont Détroit devint le quartier général. .Il n'était pas marié alors et peu de temps après il retourna à Albany pour épouser une dame hollanduise, baronne Van Brocklowe, de la tribu des “ Mohawk Dutch:

Ma mère, étant montée à Détroit en 1854, alla rendre visite à son vieil oncle M. James Abbott Il, fils de James ci-dessus et alors âgé de 82 ans. Il était assez bien pour venir ln reconduire jusqu'au bateau de la traverse.

Je reproduis ici une notice sur cette famille qui a été publiée dans le # Detroit Free Press du 9 décembre 1883, sous le titre suivant :

OLDEN DETROIT

Sketches of Her Pionneer Merchants.

THE ABBOTTS

This family of merchs nts consisted of James, Sr., Robert and James, Jr.

It is not at all probable that the character of our average pionneer merchant will ever be overestimated. A nob'y enterprising and fearless class of men were those early adventurers, mainly French, Irish, Scotch and “ Sco:ch- Irish,” who so early sought homes and fortunes in this frontier settlemens, Even three-quarters of a century later, when the unparallele 1 ressources of Michigan drew hither that multitudinous army of immigrants comprising the

most enterprising of the New Yorkers and New Englanders, the hardships of pionneer life constituted for the local historian almost an ever-present inspiration. Once established here, with capital, nerve and business talent, the issue was fully assured through the handsome profits in vogue from the sale of goods, but more especially from the still larger protits aceruing from the trade in furs. Yet, after all, so far as concerns the operations of some of the more prominent of our early traders, such as the Macombs, the Godfroys, the Abbotts and others, the returns yielded by that very important trade, large as they were, were overshadowed by the immense profits accruing from first to last from their investments in real estate, In the ordinary run of business the accumulation of great weulth is often attained, at least in part, by rigid penuriousness, but this was far from being the rule with the class now under consideration. They wure in à situation to give free scope to lofty ains and generous instincts, and still accumulate an amount of wealth consonant with reasonable ambitions. So far from being, as a class, liege subjects of Mammon, many of them.

—!"‘ scorned his dirty mine, And would not worship at his shrino.'

The personality of the late Hon. James Abbott was à familiur one to the citizens of Detroit previous to his death in 1858. He was well known to have been an old merchant, but all of our citizens were not awure of the fact thab his father before him was in the same line, and that as such he was one of the earliest. The elder James Abbott was born in the city of Dublin, whence he found his way to Albany, N, V, and must have come to Detroit in 1763 or soon afterwards. The only data bearing upon the question of the period of his arrival consist of the facts that after he came he established no fewer than five business posts at other points in the West—his healquarters, of course, being still here —that after this was accomplished he went to Albany upon a matrimonial mission: that his oldest child, Mrs, William Hands, was born in 1770, and Robert, his next oldest, in 1772. The on!'y fact that seems to be known bearing upon the early history of his wife is that she belonged to the tribe of “ Mohawk Dutch,” but this is not entire!ly definite as showing her origin, inasmuch us both Dutch an l German citizens have been included in that category. The posts referred to were at Vincennes, Fort Wayne (then Miami), Prairie-du- Chien “ Michillimakinae, ” and on the Wabash near the mouth of the Tippecanœæ, Although the head of the family was of Irish birth, it is believed that he was of English Jincage, a theory that would seem to be sustainedl by his patronyimic.

James Abbott, Jr. as is well-known to our old citizens, Was married to Sara, daughter of Maj, Whistler, of the army, and sister of the late Col, Whistler, The first fort at Chicago was built by Major Whistler, and the above

marriage Was celebrated at that post. The wedding party came to Detroit on horseback, following an Indian trail.

Robert Abbott was married to a daughter of Mr. Audrain, the first

Registrar of Deeds of Wayne County.” The wife of that well-known Citizen, ex-Sheriff Edwari V. Sicotte, is a daughter of Robert Abbott, Considerable real estate was left by the elder Abbott. Part of this consiste lof ths so ithenst corner of Woodward and Jefferson avenues, so lo ig occeupiel by Jonathan L. King, The corner was purchased by Mr. King, who erccted the brick store now standing. Aithough this store, when first built, was not s> high by o1e story as at present, it was the grandest structure in all the Northwest, ani as such attracted universal attention.

Upon Robert coming of age in 1793, he was taken into partnership, the firm name being James Abbott & Son ; and upon Jaunes, the younger, attainiug his majority a similar formality was gone through, with the plural being aflixed to the name, À few years subsequent to the death of the father, which occurred in 1800, Robert and James entered into a business “understanding ” of some kind (the precise nature of which it would now be difficult to determine) with the famous Col. John F. Hamtramcek, whose gallantry had been pre-eminently conspicuous in the revolutionary war. This copartnership continued until the death of Col. Hamtramck in 1803. This arrangement must have been one not interfering with Col. H's duties as an army officer, Tu adilition to their mercantile operations they carried on a distillery together with a flouring mill run by horse power. After the death of the lunented Hamtramck, the brothers formed associations with other partners at various periods whose names respectively were Réaume, Pentland an ! Finchley.

The last will and testament of James Abbott, Sr. is in a good state of preservation among the files of our Probate office. One of the luminaries of the present Detroit bar would be able to suggest one or two slight improvements as regards grammatical or rhetorical construction, but in terse expressiveness it must have been all that could be asked for. The following is the text.

In the name of God. Amen. I, James Abbott, of Detroit, County of Wayne, merchant, being weak in body but of perfect minland memory, do this twenty-eighth day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, make and publish this my last will and testament in manner following, that is to say : After payment of my faneral expenses an 1 just debts my willis, that the whole of my personal estate wheresocver the same may be situute or be found, shall be realized an l formed into a mass which shall be divided as follows: T give and bequeath unto my wife Mary Abbott one third of the aforesaid mass to whatever sum the same may amount, an the remaining cwo-thirds T give and bequeath unto my sons, Robert, James and Samuel ant my daughéer Mary, wife to William Hanls, Eiquire, Frances, wife to Francis Bâby, Esquire, and Elizabeth Abbott, to be equally divided between them share and share alike. And whereas I, the sait testator, am possessed of divers houses, tracts or parcels of land in my own right, my will and intention is that the whole thereof shall be divided between my said wife and children

aforesaidl as equally as cireumstances will admit of ; and in case my son Samuel or my daughter Elizabeth should happen to lie uninarried prior to their obtaining the devises an 1 legacies hereinbefore bequeathe.l them, then my will is that the part or share accruing to the decensed shall be equaliy dividel among the survivor or survivors of my aforesaid heirs And I make, constitute and oùdain my wife, Mary Abbott, executrix, my son James Abbott and my friend, James Bâby, Esquire, executor and executors of this, my last will and testament. (Then follows a clause revoking former wills)—Witnessed by James Henry and Frederick Bates and acknowledged before Peter Audrain, Judge of Probate, on the fifth day of July, one thousand eight hundred.

Bonds in the sum of $10,000 by Mury Abbott, James Abbott, Robert Abbott and J, Bâby were executed and filed July 26, 1800,

The elder Abbott had lost an arm early in life and was called by the Indians Kish-ke-ne-kah,

The distillery and mill referred to us connected with the business operations of the Abbott Brothers und Co., were located immediately below the mouth of Pultier’s Creek, finally denominated May's Creek, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets. Upon this site, in the early days of the colony, nobody knows how long ago (certainly prior to 1730), was located a water mill originally known as Cumpeau’s mill, afterwar | Cabacier's. The dam, it is believed, was located a short distance north of Fort strect. The bel or hollow of this old stream is a fumilinr feature with the denizens of the lower part of the city, and some years since Was utilized for the rather unromantic purposes of a sewer. The Abbott mill and distillery property, as already intimated, was iminediately.below the Led of the above namel stream, at its mouth. The property Was afterward used as a lumber yard, and the site finally fell into the possession of the Michigan Central Ruilroal Company. For real estate in the same part of the city, expropriated for the use of the Detroit, Lan ing & Northern Railroad Company, $50,000 were awarded by a special jury to the estate of the late Judge James Abbott, Mr. Guy F. Hinchman, Judge Abbott's executor, has in his possession a warranty deed, dated of 1832, from Richard Sinyth and Prudence, his wife, to James Abbott, consideration 850, for a fraction over five acres of land on Woodward avenue in what is known as the 10,000 acre tract. This $50 lot would now be cheap at 850.000. Mr. H. has also a land patent bearing the signature of James Madison for 577 and 94-100 acres ‘“ on the border of River Hurons.”

Abbott & Finchley had a dwelling connected with their store or “ magazine,” as was almost invariably the case with our early traders, Robberies were not then such an everyday occurrence as in these piping times, neverthless they transpired occasionully. A man named Contencineau was charged with the commission of a theft of property from the store of Abbott & Finchley, acting in concert with a woman named Ann Wylie, who was or had been a slave. They were also charged with setting fire to the building,