Anderson Ruffin Abbott (1837 - 1913)

Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 2.1 Will 3 Sources 4 See also

Biography

In 1861, Abbott ^[1]became the first Canadian-born man of Black heritage to become a licensed physician. He was born to a prominent family in Toronto. His parents, Wilson Ruffin Abbott and Ellen (Toyer) Abbott, were two “free people of colour” who left Alabama to flee violence and eventually settled in Toronto in 1835 or 1836. His father owned several properties in Toronto and was active in politics. Thanks to his family success, he able to have access to an extensive education. An honour student, he eventually studied medicine at the Toronto School of Medicine and did his medical matriculation at the University of Toronto.

Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Physician, Educator, Author^[2]

Abbott worked as one of eight black surgeons during the American Civil War. His skills in both the operating theatre and in social circles made him a popular figure in the Washington D.C.’s social scene. He enjoyed a close relationship with President Lincoln.

Dr. Anderson R Abbott

When Lincoln was mortally wounded, Abbot was in attendance at his deathbed. Abbott returned to Canada in 1866 where established a medical practice. He was admitted to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 1871 and became a prominent figure in Toronto’s Black Community, like his parents before him. As a man committed to education and integration, 1873 to 1880 Abbott fought against racially segregated schools while president of the Wilberforce Educational Institute, a well-respected school for Chatham’s Black students preparing for university. Abbott was made president of both the Chatham Literary and Debating Society and the Chatham Medical Society in 1878. Abbott believed that access to higher education was essential to the success of individuals in his community.

A prolific writer, Abbott contributed to the Chatham Planet, Colored American Magazine of Boston and New York, the Anglo-American Magazine of London and New York Age. He wrote about medicine, the Civil War, Black history, Darwinism, biology, and poetry. Other notable accomplishments include being chosen as coroner for Kent County, Ontario in 1864, becoming the first Black man to hold that post. In 1892, Abbott was given the highest military honour ever bestowed on a Black person in Canada or the United States when he was appointed aide-de-camp “on the Staff of the Commanding Officers Dept.” of New York.

Abbott died in 1913 at the Toronto home of his son-in-law Frederick Langdon Hubbard, son of Black municipal reformer William Peyton Hubbard, at the age of 76. He is buried in the Toronto Necropolis.^[3][4]

Legacy

University of Toronto - The Dr. Anderson Abbott Award is for Black undergraduates in any field of study who demonstrate high academic achievement, financial need and service to the Black community.

Will

In his will, signed October 7, 1912,^[5] Anderson nominated his wife, Mary Ann Abbott, his son, Wilson R Abbott physician, and son-in-law Frederick L Hubbard as executors. Legatees named in the will:

wife Mary Ann Abbott

sister-in-law Henrietta M Casey

daughter Mary Etta Ellen Sayer

son Wilson R Abbott

daughter Anna Ida Stevenson

daughter Isabel Hubbard

son Gordon A Abbott

sister Amelia Etta Watkins

niece Helen Watkins

Sources

1. ↑ Famous Canadian Scientists and Inventors of African Descent http://www.alternavox.net/736/famous-canadian-scientists-and-inventors-of-african-descent/
2. ↑ Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LCXG-3QC
3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Anderson Ruffin Abbott," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anderson_Ruffin_Abbott&oldid=848182024 (accessed August 31, 2018).
4. ↑ Owen Thomas, “ABBOTT, ANDERSON RUFFIN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed August 30, 2018, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/abbott_anderson_ruffin_14E.html.
5. ↑ Anderson Ruffin Abbott – Probate of the Last Will and Testament 1914, Toronto Public Library, digital archives, accessed 08-25-2022 Link to Image

• 1861 Canada Census

"Ontario Census, 1861," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MQ7W-WCQ : 5 September 2017), Ruffin Abbott, Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; citing p. 510, line 4; Library and Archives Canada film number C-1106-1107, Public Archives, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,435,838.

• 1871 Canada Census

"Canada Census, 1871," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M43T-3ZY : 11 March 2018), Anson R Abbot, St James Ward, East Toronto, Ontario, Canada; citing p. 41, line 17; Library and Archives Canada film number C-9972, Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 4,396,301.

• Marriage

"Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FMFG-ZP1 : 11 March 2018), Anderson Ruffin and Mary Ann Casey, 09 Aug 1871; citing registration , Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,862,694.

• 1881 Canada Census

"Canada Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MVFN-X9J : 11 March 2018), Anderson Abbott, Dundas, Wentworth North, Ontario, Canada; citing p. 76; Library and Archives Canada film number C-13256, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 1,375,892.

• 1891 Canada Census

"Canada Census, 1891," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MWGT-QJX : 3 August 2016), Anderson Abbott, St Albans Ward, York West, Ontario, Canada; Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario; Library and Archives Canada film number 30953_148182.

• 1901 Canada Census

"Canada Census, 1901," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KHGV-46K : 18 March 2018), Anderson Abbott, Toronto (west/ouest) (city/cité), Ontario, Canada; citing p. 12, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa.

• 1911 Canada Census

"Recensement du Canada de 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/27XM-8M2 : 16 March 2018), Anderson Abbott, 1911; citing Census, Toronto East Sub-Districts 13-49, Ontario, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,418,526.

• Death / Burial - Toronto Necropolis and Crematorium

"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVV9-1386 : 13 December 2015), Anderson Ruffin Abbott, 1913; Burial, Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada, Toronto Necropolis and Crematorium; citing record ID 6374956, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

See also

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/black-doctor-from-canada-served-in-u-s-civil-war-attended-dying-abe-lincoln-1.3034687
• https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/once-upon-a-city-archives/2018/02/08/canadas-first-canadian-born-black-doctor-got-his-md-licence-in-1861.html
• https://www.utoronto.ca/news/first-canadian-born-black-doctor-studied-u-t
• http://www.blackhistorycanada.ca/profiles.php?themeid=20&id=8
• https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anderson-abbott
• https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/abbott-anderson-ruffin-1837-1913/
• https://www.thewhig.com/opinion/columnists/black-doctor-a-man-of-many-talents
• https://ckphysiciantribute.ca/doctors/anderson-ruffin-abbott/