Santa Clara County
Biographies
CHARLES M. ABBOTT
Probably no man near Mountainview has made his influence felt in greater degree as an establisher of beautiful home places than Charles M. Abbott, at present owning an ideal cottage surrounded by ideal grounds on the corner of Alice avenue and Front street. Mr. Abbott has three acres in his place, and all that the landscape artist has at his command has been utilized to produce a representative California retreat. A true lover of nature, and appreciative of its beautiful influences, this honored citizen has improved his opportunities in a rare way, understanding well his materials, and offering an example of what may be accomplished when ability is combined with judgment and good taste.
Born on a farm near Boscawen, Merrimack county, N. H., May 11, 1843, Mr. Abbott passed his childhood and youth in a neighborhood rich in memories of his paternal grandfather, Joseph, who enlisted in the Revolutionary war when sixteen years old, in Colonel Peabody’s regiment, and in return for services rendered received the soldier’s warrant with which he purchased the land near Boscawen. On this same farm Joseph, the father of Charles M., was born, and three of his older sons, and lived there until the family was dispersed by their various ambitions. Joseph and his wife, formerly Mary Elkins, also of New Hampshire, were the last to leave the old place, coming to California in 1875, and settling in Oakland, where both died, the former in 1877, at the age of eighty years. The four sons of this couple were educated primarily in the public schools of New Hampshire, and Charles M. outlined his future by serving an apprenticeship to a carpenter near the home place. In Concord, N. H., he married Emma Bailey, a native of Franklin, N. H., and daughter of Simeon and Nancy (Bachelder) Bailey. Mr. Bailey was a cabinet maker by trade, and learned to do fine finishing work on pianos and other expensive furniture, but his promising career was but short at the early age of thirty.
In the fall of 1861 Mr. Abbott gave vent to a long thought out project and embarked in a sailer with prow turned toward the south seas, and, going around Cape Horn, arrived in San Francisco April 28, 1862, after an adventurous journey upon the deep. Beginning in a small way to follow his trade in San Francisco, he gradually worked up a large business as a builder and contractor in the vicinity, extending his operations to Oakland and other near-by towns. He remained a resident of the metropolis until 1885, and during that time made five different trips back east, during one of which he brought his wife to the coast. Locating in Mountainview in the fall of 1885, he engaged in carpentering and building, at the same time buying a small place and setting out an orchard. This place was improved and cultivated, and sold, and since then four others have come under the capable management of Mr. Abbott, each passing to some one desiring to profit by his taste and skill in improving upon and developing natural resources. His methods have been stimulating to others settling in the community, and his example of thrift and enterprise has been reflected in the homes of many of his fellow townsmen. Besides his home place, he is the owner of other properties in the town, both residence and business, from which he derives a substantial income. Mr. Abbott is a stanch Republican, but aside from the formality of casting his vote has never been identified with the local undertakings of his party. He is highly respected for his success and public spirit and for the integrity with has made his word as good as his bond.
Transcribed
by Joyce Rugeroni.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 989. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Joyce Rugeroni.