Jo Abbott

Joseph B. "Jo" Abbott (January 15, 1840 – February 11, 1908) was a lawyer, judge, Confederate Army officer, member of the Texas House of Representatives and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas.

Jo Abbott
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 6th district
In office March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1897
Preceded by	Olin Wellborn
Succeeded by	Robert E. Burke
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 20th district
In office February 9, 1870 – January 14, 1873
Preceded by	William E. Estes
Succeeded by	Levi Gillette
Personal details
Born	(1840-01-15)January 15, 1840 Morgan County, Alabama, U.S.
Died	February 11, 1908(1908-02-11) (aged 68) Hillsboro, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Rowena Sturgis ​ (m. 1868)​
Profession	Lawyer judge politician
Military service
Allegiance	Confederacy
Branch/service	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	First lieutenant
Unit	Company B, 12th Texas Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Whitney's Lane Battle of Cotton Plant Battle of Pleasant Hill Battle of Yellow Bayou (WIA)

The city of Abbott, Texas, is named for him.^[1]

Biography

Joseph B. Abbott^[2] was born January 15, 1840, to William and Mary (née McMillan) Abbott in Morgan County, Alabama, near Decatur, and attended the public schools. His parents were both born near Petersburg, Virginia. His father William had been a soldier in the War of 1812, and was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia.^[3] Abbott moved with his parents to Freestone County, Texas, in 1853.^[4] He was educated by the scholar Franklin Laughlin Yoakum,^[3] the father of Benjamin Franklin Yoakum^[5] and the president of Larissa College,^[6] and George F. Allison, who operated a classical school in Freestone County. He began to read law in 1859 and continued in this practice until the beginning of the American Civil War.^[3]

Abbott entered into service of the Confederate Army in the Civil War as a junior second lieutenant, eventually becoming a first lieutenant in Company B of the Twelfth Texas Cavalry Regiment.^[2][7] He fought in at least half a dozen battles^[8] including the Battle of Cotton Plant, the Battle of Pleasant Hill, and the Battle of Yellow Bayou, in which he was wounded and disabled for many months. He later rejoined his command and remained with it until the end of the war.^[3]

After the end of the war he resumed his studies of law and entered the office of Lochlin J. Farrar in Springfield, Limestone County, Texas,^[8] and received instructions from D. W. Pendergast. Abbott was admitted to the bar by Robert S. Gould, who became a chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court.^[3] After he became licensed in October 1866, he began to practice law in Springfield^[4] as a partner of Farrar.^[8] He moved to Hill County in 1867, where he taught a school for five months. He returned to his legal profession after the county court system was organized in 1868. On December 15, 1868, he married Rowena Sturgis of Hillsboro, daughter of James W. L. and Martha Sturgis.^[3]

He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1870 to 1873^[9] He was appointed a district judge in the Twenty-eighth judicial district by Governor Oran M. Roberts. In 1880, he was elected for a full four-year term for that position. In 1886, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives, and served in that capacity through the end of Fifty-Fourth Congress in 1897.^[10] Upon leaving Congress, he resumed his legal career in Hillsboro, Texas, where he died on February 11, 1908.^[7]

Electoral history

1886 election

Texas's 6th congressional district election, 1886     Source:^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jo Abbott	19,185	60
	Independent	J. C. Kearby	11,750	36.7
	Republican	A. B. Norton	1,069	3.3
Total votes			32,004	100

References

1. Sullins, Virginia. "Abbott". Texas Almanac.
2. "Abbott, J. B." Civil War Soldiers. National Park Service.
3. A Memorial and Biographical History of Johnson and Hill Counties, Texas, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company. 1892. pp. 225–227. Retrieved November 29, 2023. – via University of North Texas Libraries.
4.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Abbott, Jo". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. pp. 27–28.
5. Orozco-Vallejo, Mary M. (February 1, 1996). "Yoakum, Benjamin Franklin (1859–1929)". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
6. Kemp, Louis Wiltz (February 1, 1996). "Yoakum, Franklin Laughlin (1819–1891)". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
7. Who Was Who in American History – the Military. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1975. p. 1. ISBN 0837932017. LCCN 75029616. OCLC 2143230. OL 5204417M.
8. Hooker, Anne W. (November 1994). "Abbott, Joseph (1840–1908)". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
9. "Joseph "Jo" Abbott". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Legislative Reference Library of Texas.
10. Leonard, John William; Marquis, Albert Nelson, eds. (1908). Who's who in America. Vol. 5. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, Inc. p. 5.
11. Daniell, Lewis E. (1889) "Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans embracing the Executive Staff, Heads of the Departments, United States Senators and Representatives, Members of the Twenty-First Legislature", Austin: Smith, Hicks & Jones, State Printers. p. 137. Retrieved November 29, 2023. – via Legislative Reference Library of Texas

External links

• United States Congress. "ABBOTT, Joseph (Jo) (id: A000005)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Jo Abbott at Find a Grave

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Olin Wellborn	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 6th congressional district 1887–1897	Succeeded by Robert E. Burke
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by William E. Estes	Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 20 (Hillsboro) 1870–1873	Succeeded by Levi Gillette