Santa
Clara County
Biographies
JOSEPH
EMERY ABBOTT
JOSEPH EMERY
ABBOTT. Among the scions of fine
old eastern families who are pursuing careers of interest and usefulness as
fruit raisers in Santa Clara county may be mentioned Joseph Emery
Abbott, owner of sixty acres of valuable land in the vicinity of Saratoga. Mr. Abbott’s ancestors were inclined
toward the trades, and were also excellent farmers, patriotism being one of
their strong and leading characteristics.
The name was known in New Hampshire long before the Revolutionary war,
for the paternal grandfather, Joseph, was born there, and in time shouldered
his musket in the service of the oppressed colonists. The second Joseph, the father of Joseph
Emery, was also born in New Hampshire, and by trade was a cooper, an occupation
which he combined with farming for many years of his life. His wife, Mary (Elkins) Abbott, was a native
of the same state, and died there after rearing a family of four sons, of whom
Joseph is the second. When his sons had
dispersed upon their respective independent careers, Joseph Abbott, left alone
through the death of his wife, came to Oakland, Cal., and lived in retirement
until his death. He was a moderately
successful man, and prided himself upon, and derived great satisfaction from, a
disposition to be uniformly kind, generous and thoughtful.
When Joseph Emery had acquired a fair
start in the public schools, he applied himself to learning the carpenter’s
trade in Penacook, N.H., taking readily to it, owing to his former instruction
under his father. He possessed
mechanical talent, and realized the advancement possible to the builder who
thoroughly understands his business. Few
buildings were going up in the old conservative towns of New Hampshire, and he
rightly estimated that the crude west offered the chances denied him in the
midst of a people who prided themselves upon the ancient character of their
houses and customs. Arriving in
California in the fall of 1861, he found a large field of opportunity in San
Francisco, and remained there engaged in building and contracting until
1885. Always a lover of nature, and an
appreciator of manifold charms of country life, he came to Santa Clara county and purchased thirty acres of land on the Mountainview road, near Saratoga. Of this, twenty acres were set to prunes, and
five acres each to peaches, apricots and cherries. January 30, 1903, his interests had
extended so far beyond his land limits that he found it advisable to purchase
thirty more acres, the same being equally divided between prunes and
apricots. Mr. Abbott is fortunate
in the possession of excellent facilities for caring for fruit, having a large
packing and storehouse, and dryer. His
brand, Sylvan Dell, has a reputation for excellence throughout the state and in
the east, and nets its owner a comfortable yearly income. The Abbott home has an intelligent and
thrifty manager in the wife of Mr. Abbott, who was formerly Sylvia P.
Kelley, a native daughter of Monmouth, Me.
As a Republican Mr. Abbott has filled various
offices in the community, his largest sphere of political usefulness being as a
member of the school board. He is
a wide-awake and progressive horticulturist, thoroughly mindful of the comforts
and advantages of life, and most heartily devoted to his interesting and expanding
calling.
[Inserted by D.
Toole.]
ABBOTT
1918
Apr 5, San Jose Mercury News, P14, San Jose, California
Died
Abbott
– In Los Gatos, Cal., April 4, 1918, Mrs. Sylvia Abbott, beloved wife of J. E.
Abbott of Los Gatos, Cal., and sister of Mrs. L. R. Bailey of Portland, Maine,
a native of Maine, aged 83 years, 10 months and 11 days. Private services in Los
Gatos today (Friday), April 5. Interment in Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Cal., Saturday, April
6, at 11:30 a.m.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 1184. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Donna Toole.