The Biographical Dictionary of America/Abbott, David

ABBOTT, David, pioneer, was born at Brookfield, Mass., Dec. 5, 1765. After being educated at Yale college he went to Rome, N.Y., where for several years he practised law. In 1798 he removed to Ohio, where he took up his residence and figured prominently in public affairs as sheriff of Trumbull county, which in those early days comprised the whole of the Western reserve. He was a member of the convention which met to frame the state constitution in 1802; and a member of the state legislature. In that body he served many terms, and was a presidential elector in 1812. He was fond of pioneer life, delighted in the very wildness of the country, was an enthusiastic sportsman, and especially enjoyed fishing on Lake Erie. In one of these piscatorial excursions Mr. Abbott and a companion were shipwrecked and lost their way in the Canadian wilderness, where for a month they were forced to find their diet in the woods and waters. During his absence Mr. Abbott's funeral services were held, and his wife assumed her widow's weeds. Mr. Abbott was the first white landowner in what became Erie county. He was a man of quaint personality, and eminently suited for the pioneer life which he lived. He died in 1822.