Mary Ogden Abbott Papers 1764-1981; bulk: 1920-1980 Guide to the Collection The Mary Ogden Abbott papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Biographical Sketch Collection Description Related Materials Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed

Collection Summary

Biographical Sketch

Mary Ogden Abbott (1894-1981) was an artist, traveler, hunter and equestrian. Born on 12 Oct 1894, she is the daughter of Mary Ogden Adams and Grafton St. Loe Abbott. She is 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 (1923-24), 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 Nevill's 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 US 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 Neville in 1949. Also in 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 MOA while she was living at home in Concord, and pertain mostly to her daily life at home.v

The third series, "Mary Ogden Abbott personal & family papers," includes bills and deeds from the Griggs family in New Hampshire dating from 1764-1828, as well as a booklet on the "Abbots of Lowell, MA 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.

Related Materials

Mary Adams Abbott's journals from 1920-1925 are at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute.

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 one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

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.

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.