1764-1981; bulk: 1920-1980
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Mary Ogden Abbott papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers of artist, traveler, hunter, and equestrian Mary Ogden Abbott of Concord, Mass., 1920-1981, including family correspondence, travel writings and notes, sketches, scrapbooks, published pamphlets of her adventures, legal and financial papers, maps, clippings, and Abbott family genealogical notes.
Biographical Sketch
Mary Ogden Abbott (1894-1981) was an artist, traveler, hunter and equestrian. Born on 12 Oct. 1894, she was the daughter of Mary Ogden Adams and Grafton St. Loe Abbott. She was a descendant on her mother's side from Presidents John and John Quincy Adams, and on her father's side from George Abbott, one of the early settlers in Andover. She was born and lived most of her life in Concord, Mass. Abbott attended the Westover School in Connecticut and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass.
Abbott and her mother traveled from 1920-1928. They traveled by car to Los Angeles in 1920 and back-packed to the Grand Canyon and Montana in 1921. From 1922-1927 they ventured abroad, exploring Java, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Greece, Athens, Delphi, across Peloponnesus on horseback, and Morocco, eventually ending with an automobile trip through Europe to Italy. She hunted wild game in Kashmir, Ladakh and Baltistan (1923-1924), and in Sonora, Mexico (1940) she shot a jaguar that was sent to the Museum of Natural History in New York. In 1948 she made her first run down the San Juan River to Lee's Ferry near the Marble Canyon on the Colorado River. In 1949 she returned to the San Juan with "The Nevills Expedition" from Bright Angel to Lake Meade (Boulder/Hoover Dam). The expedition was Norm and Doris Nevills' last trip down the river before their deaths in a tragic plane crash. Abbott designed a plaque to commemorate their lives that was placed at Lee's Ferry. The friendships she developed while rafting the San Juan lasted the rest of her life, and much of the correspondence in this collection includes letters from the "River Rats" or "Canyoneers," as they called themselves.
Abbott was an accomplished artist in various media, especially woodcarving. She made the reredos and altar for Grace Episcopal Church in Lawrence, an altar depicting St. George in cowboy attire in St. Andrew's Church, Nogales, Arizona, and her teak doors were hung in the U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., and the Peabody Museum in Salem. Her drawings appeared in the journal Appalachia and books on travel. She was also a founding member of the Concord Art Association.
As a skilled equestrian, Abbott participated in hunts on the Alexander Higginson estate and with the Middlesex Hunt Club in South Lincoln, Mass. She maintained stables in Concord until 1977, when she gave them to the city along with 3 ½ acres of land.
Abbott never married and died on 11 May 1981.
Collection Description
The Mary Ogden Abbott papers consist of 2 cartons and 1 oversize box that span the years 1764-1981, with the bulk between 1920-1980. The collection is divided into three series. The first, "Travel papers," consists of travel writing, correspondence, and sketches from the years 1920-1977. The majority of this series is travel correspondence, the first half of which is correspondence written by Mary Ogden Abbott, her mother, Mary Adams Abbott, and her brother John Adams Abbott as they traveled abroad. Most of the letters are addressed to Mary Adams Abbott's mother, Mary Hone Adams, John Adams Abbott, and Henry Adams Abbott. Letters include information on their travels throughout Europe, the Middle and Far East, and the American West, including John Adams Abbott's arrest in Italy in April of 1926. The second half of correspondence is between Mary Ogden Abbott and her "Canyoneer" friends, particularly Frank Masland, who helped organize the dedication of the Nevills' plaque, which commemorated the tragic deaths of Norm and Doris Nevills in 1949. Also in the travel papers are reminiscences, including notes written on loose paper while abroad, as well as published pamphlets by Masland about their adventures on the river.
The second series, "Correspondence, 1920-1982," is comprised of correspondence with Mary Ogden Abbott while she was living at home in Concord, and pertain mostly to her daily life at home.
The third series, "Mary Ogden Abbott personal and family papers," includes bills and deeds from the Griggs family in New Hampshire dating from 1764-1828, as well as a booklet called The Abbotts of Lowell, Massachusetts in the Civil War. Other papers include a handwritten manuscript on gardening, poetry, and plays by Mary Adams Abbott. The will of her brother Henry Adams Abbott (22 Aug. 1949) is also included. Subject files include papers on the Adams Memorial Society, of which she served as president, and art-related papers. Legal and financial papers and genealogical notes are also in this series.
Acquisition Information
Gift of James B. Ames, Mar. 1989.
Restrictions on Access
The Mary Ogden Abbott papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Travel papers, 1920-1977
A. Travel writing, 1920-1948
Arranged chronologically
This series contains the notebook for the Women's Travel Club 1948, which contains a description of Mary Ogden Abbott's destinations and a supplement by her detailing places omitted in the notebook. Also includes reminiscences of travels written on loose paper while they were traveling, as well as remembrances from later in life.
Travel Club notebook, 1948
Supplement to travel notebook, n.d.
Travel writing, 1920-1928
Reminiscences, n.d.
B. Travel correspondence, 1920-1928
Arranged chronologically by correspondent
Correspondence from Mary Ogden Abbott, 1920-1925; Mary Adams Abbott, 1921-1927; John Adams Abbott, 1921-1926; Elizabeth Ogden Abbott, 1923; and Bob Vaughn, 1922-1928 during their travels in Europe and the American West. Abbott and her mother traveled extensively together. Their correspondence includes letters from their automobile trip to Arizona, 1920-1921; Kashmir, Baltistan and India, 1923-1924; Baghdad to Damascus by car via Palmyra, and across Peloponnesus to Sparta on horseback, 1925, and Italy by car, 1925-1926. Letters from Italy include John's arrest for assaulting an Italian guard in April 1926. Most of the letters are addressed to their grandmother. Bob Vaughn was their guide in Arizona; his letters discuss horses, hunting, and the American West.
Mary Ogden Abbott travel correspondence, 1923-1925
Mary Adams Abbott travel correspondence, 1920-1927
John Adams Abbott travel correspondence, 1921-1926
Elizabeth Ogden Abbott travel correspondence, 1923
Bob Vaughn travel correspondence, 1922-1928
Transcriptions, 1925
C. "Canyoneers" papers, 1949-1977
Arranged chronologically by type.
Includes letters, maps, schedules, and pamphlets from trips down the San Juan River from 1949-1952. Many letters concern the deaths of river guides Norm and Doris Nevills in September 1949. Mary Ogden Abbott was on their last expedition down the San Juan. The group of friends who traveled together called themselves the "River Rats" and "Canyoneers," and continued traveling together after the Nevills' deaths. Frank Masland, Jr. asked Mary to design a plaque commemorating the Nevills' lives, and most of the correspondence pertains to the memorial. Also included are letters from Barry Goldwater, who spoke at the dedication of the plaque on 10 Aug. 1951 and 3 Jan. 1952. There are also reminiscences of the river by Masland and other "canyoneers".
"Canyoneers" correspondence, 1949-1977
"Canyoneers" reminiscences, n.d.
"Canyoneers" reminiscences, 1948-1951
"Canyoneers" papers, 1949-1958
D. Sketchbooks and miscellaneous travel papers, 1918-1950
Arranged chronologically.
Four sketchbooks, some with drawings of travel scenes. Includes "Artistic Anatomy Notebook Philip Hale Course, 1918," an undated "schetsboek," ca. 1922-1924, with drawings of people and scenes in Java and India; an undated notebook marked "sketches," ca. 1920-1923, which includes sketches of unidentified American cowboys and scenery and people from the Far and Middle East, and an unmarked sketchbook, ca. 1922-1924. Also contains bills for pony and coolie hire in Ladakh, and papers from Kashmir State Preservation Department giving Mary Ogden Abbott permission to hunt there.
"Artistic anatomy note book" - Phillip Hale course, 1918
"Schetsboek" - Java, India, ca. 1922-1924
"Sketches," ca. 1920-1923
Sketchbook, ca. 1922-1924
Miscellaneous travel papers, 1923-1950
II. Correspondence, 1920-1981
Arranged chronologically
Letters written to and from Abbott while she was at home in Concord, Mass. Included throughout are letters concerning her ownership of horses and her involvement with the Concord Art Association, the Adams Memorial Society, and various art projects.
Mary Ogden Abbott correspondence, 1920-1981
III. Mary Ogden Abbott personal and family papers, 1764-1980
A. Related family papers,1764-1949
This series contains deeds and letters from the Griggs family in New Hampshire and Massachusetts from 1764 to 1828 and a "direct tax of Congress to press the War with England 1813" signed by William Eaton. Also includes "recollections of the Civil War," possibly by Eldridge H. Guilford of Danvers, Mass.; and bills and checks of the Griggs family, 1828-1833. Also contains one handwritten manuscript on gardening, and plays and poems attributed to Mary Adams Abbott. Includes Henry Adams Abbott's will, 22 Aug. 1949, and a printed booklet, The Abbotts of Lowell, Massachusetts in the Civil War.
The Abbotts of Lowell, Massachusetts in the Civil War, 1941, and "Recollections of the Civil War," n.d.
Henry Adams Abbott will, 22 Aug. 1949
Griggs family papers, 1764-1833
Griggs family papers, 1841-1865
Mary Adams Abbott gardening manuscript, n.d
Mary Adams Abbott poetry and writing, n.d
Mary Adams Abbott play, n.d.
Mary Adams Abbott "Retribution," n.d.
Mary Adams Abbott miscellaneous writing, n.d.
Mary Adams Abbott name lists, ca. 1928
B. Scrapbooks
Includes pages from four scrapbooks, Henry Adams Abbott's childhood scrapbook; a scrapbook with clippings on prohibition; another with clippings from World War I, and another with clippings on "home tips." Also included is a map of northern France, on which their travel route was mapped out.
Map of northern France with travel route
"Home Tips" scrapbook
"Prohibition" scrapbook
"Henry Adams Abbott" scrapbook
"World War I" scrapbook
C. Subject files, 1919-1975
This subseries includes Adams Memorial Society papers, art-related papers, and documents on the Wheeler land development in Concord (1969), which Abbott opposed.
Adams Memorial Society papers, 1947-1975
Art-related papers
Wheeler land development, 1969
Prescriptions, 1919-1927
D. Legal and financial papers,1924-1980
Arranged chronologically
Contains bills, deeds, receipts, equestrian certificates, and other financial papers.
E. Miscellaneous notes and photocopied clippings
Biographical and genealogical notes, as well as miscellaneous fragments.
Materials Removed from the Collection
Engravings have been removed from this collection and are stored onsite in the MHS Engravings collection.
Photographs have been removed from this collection and are stored onsite in the MHS Photo Archives.
For a list of printed materials removed from this collection, see Curator of Manuscripts.
Preferred Citation
Mary Ogden Abbott papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.