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Biography

Joseph Palmer Abbott was born 29 September 1842 in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia to John Kingsmill Abbott (1805-1847) and Frances Amanda Brady (1821-1902) and died 15 September 1901 Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia of unspecified causes. He married Matilda Elizabeth Macartney (c1848-1880) 23 December 1873 in St Marys, West Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. He married Edith Solomon (1854-1935) 1 March 1883 in East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.


Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, KB, KCMG (29 September 1842 – 15 September 1901) was an Australian politician and solicitor.

Early life

Joseph Palmer Abbott was born on 29 September 1842 at Muswellbrook, New South Wales, to John Kingsmill Abbott, a squatter, and his wife Frances Amanda, née Brady. Abbott was educated at the Church of England school at Muswellbrook, moving to John Armstrong's school at Redfern at 9 years of age, then to J. R. Huston's Surry Hills Academy and finally to The King's School, Parramatta.[1]

Upon completion of his education in 1857, he returned to the family station "Glengarry", near Wingen on the Upper Hunter, where his mother had gone from Muswellbrook in 1847 upon the death of his father.[1]

Work

Abbott was admitted as a solicitor in 1865, and practiced law in Murrurundi, specialising in land cases. He was appointed a commissioner of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, for the district of Maitland.

Founding a firm, Abbott & Allan in Sydney, Abbott established himself as an expert in property and land law.

He was a director, and later chairman, of the Australian Mutual Provident Society.[1][2]

Politics

Abbott was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Gunnedah on 29 November 1880, and later for Wentworth on 26 February 1887 which he served until he retired from parliament on 11 June 1901.

He was briefly the leader of the Opposition for the Free Trade Party, but resigned soon afterwards, after a disagreement about the party's merge with the Protectionist Party.[1][2]

Abbott was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1890 and has a reputation as an authority on parliamentary procedure. He also imposed dignified control over the formerly unruly Assembly. He resigned the Speakership in 1900.

He was known for his work involving property laws of Australia, and as a New South Wales delegate for the Federation Conventions of 1891, 1897, and 1898 where he was Chairman of Committees. He created the 1881 Hospital Acts Amendment Act, which lead to him becoming an honorary governor of several medical facilities. In January 1883, Abbott became the secretary of mines for Premier Sir Alexander Stuart's ministry. After a ministry reconstruction by Sir George Dibbs in 1885, Abbott became the secretary of lands.

Family and social life

Abbott was born in Muswellbrook in New South Wales, and was the son of John Abbott and Frances Amanda (née Brady). Attending the Church of England school in Muswellbrook, he later became a devout member for the church.

He was initiated as a Freemason in 1864, and served as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales from 1895 to 1899.[2] Abbott, along with many other politicians, was a member of the Australian Club and Union Club.

He was knighted in 1892. For his services towards Australian law and politics, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1895.

In 1873, at West Maitland, Abbott married Matilda Elizabeth (née Macartney) with whom he had two sons and a daughter. She died in 1880. In 1883, at East Maitland, he married Edith (née Solomon); they had one son and three daughters. One son, Mac Abbott (1877-1960), also a solicitor, was also a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Upper Hunter (1913-1918).[3] Another son, Joe Abbott (1895–1961) was member for New England in the Australian House of Representatives from 1940 to 1949.[1]

Abbott died on 15 September 1901, and was buried in Waverley cemetery.[1][2]



Children


Offspring of Joseph Palmer Abbott and Matilda Elizabeth Macartney (c1848-1880)
Name Birth Death Joined with
John Henry Macartney Abbott (1874-1953)
Frances Amanda Abbott (c1876)
Macartney Abbott (1877-1960) 3 July 1877 Murrurundi, New South Wales, Australia 30 December 1960 Scott Memorial Hospital, Scone, New South Wales, Australia Elizabeth Clare Hall (c1881-1968)


Offspring of Joseph Palmer Abbott and Edith Solomon (1854-1935)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Lydia Abbott Abbott (1884-1971)
Blanche Edith Abbott (1885-1932) 10 September 1885 Tenterden, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia 4 February 1932 a private hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Frederick Charles Kater (1884-1968)
Eleanor Kingsmill Abbott (1887-1968)
Joseph Palmer Abbott (1891-1965) 18 October 1891 North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 7 May 1965 Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia Katherine Bliss Wilkinson (c1894-1981)


Footnotes

See also

Assembly seats
New title Member for Gunnedah
1880 – 1887
Succeeded by
Thomas Goodwin
Preceded by
Edward Quin
Member for Wentworth
1887 – 1889
Served alongside: Macgregor, Browne
Succeeded by
Himself
Preceded by
Himself
Member for Wentworth
1889 – 1901
Succeeded by
Robert Scobie
Preceded by
James Young
Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
1875 – 1882
Succeeded by
William McCourt
Persondata
NAME Abbott, Joseph Palmer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH 29 September 1842
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH 15 September 1901
PLACE OF DEATH

 




Footnotes (including sources)

‡ General
  • AWT:db: :3083796, id: I618697446 — no longer available
  • AWT:db: ourmob, id: I1878 — no longer available
₪ Wedding
  • On the 23rd instant, at St. Mary's Church, West Maitland, by the Rev. Robert Chapman, JOSEPH PALMER ABBOTT, of Murrurundi, to ELIZABETH, eldest daughter of the late Dr. MACARTNEY.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 December 1873, page 1
2 Wedding 2
  • ABBOTT—SOLOMON.—March 1, 1883, at East Maitland, by the Rev. Mr. Yarrington, assisted by Canon Tyrrell, Joseph P. Abbott, of Sydney, to Edith, second daughter of the late James Solomon, of West Maitland.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 March 1883, page 1
¶ Death
  • ABBOTT.—September 15, 1901, at his residence, Turramurra, the Hon. Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, K.C.M.G. (late Speaker N.S.W. Parliament), aged 53 years 11 months.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 October 1901, page 1
This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Joseph Palmer Abbott. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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