Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 01.djvu/44

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Abbott
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Abdy

ABBOTT, CHARLES STUART AUBREY, third Lord Tenterden (1834–1882), permanent under-secretary for foreign affairs, was the son of the Hon. Charles Abbott, brother of John Henry, second Lord Tenterden, and was born in London on 26 Dec. 1834. He was educated at Eton, and in 1854 entered the Foreign Office, where in 1866 he was appointed précis writer to Lord Stanley. On 10 April 1870 he succeeded to the peerage on the death of his uncle. In the following year he was employed as secretary to the joint high commission at Washington; subsequently he assisted the lord chancellor in preparing the statement regarding the Alabama claims, and at the general conference on the subject he acted as agent for Great Britain. He was assistant under-secretary for foreign affairs from 1871 to 1873, when he became permanent under-secretary. In 1878 he was a royal commissioner at the Paris Exhibition, and the same year was promoted to the rank of K.C.B. Lord Tenterden was a distinguished freemason, being installed provincial grand master of Essex 2 July 1879. He died 22 Sept. 1882.

[Times, 23 Sept. 1882; Foreign Office Sketches (1883), pp. 25–40.]

T. F. H.


ABBOTT, EDWIN (1808–1882), educational writer, born in London on 1 May 1808, was from 1827 to 1872 head master of the Philological School in Marylebone. Besides elementary works on Latin and English grammar he compiled a ‘Complete Concordance to the Works of Alexander Pope,’ which was published in 1875. He died on 12 May 1882.

[Personal information.]


ABBOTT, LEMUEL (d. 1776), poetical writer, became curate of Ansty, Leicestershire, in 1756; vicar of Thornton, in the same county, in 1773; and died in April 1776. He published ‘Poems on various Subjects. Whereto is prefixed a short Essay on the Structure of English Verse.’ Nottingham, 1765.

[Nichols's Leicestershire, iii. 1082, iv. 984; Creswell's Collections towards the History of Printing in Nottinghamshire, 34.]

T. C.


ABBOTT, LEMUEL (1760–1803), portrait painter, was a son of a clergyman in Leicestershire —— most probably the Rev. Lemuel Abbott, vicar of Thornton [q. v.]. At the age of fourteen he became a pupil of Frank Hayman, after whose death, two years later, he returned to his parents, and by his own perseverance acquired the art of taking a correct likeness. About 1780 he settled in London, and resided for many years in Caroline Street, Bloomsbury. He was a frequent contributor to the exhibitions of the Royal Academy between 1788 and 1800. Although he lacked the taste and skill requisite for producing a good whole-length picture, the heads of his male portraits were perfect in their likenesses, particularly those which he painted from the naval heroes of his time. His portrait of the poet Cowper is well known, and the best likeness of Lord Nelson is from his hand. Many of the prints from his pictures are marked Francis Lemuel Abbott, but it is not known why he assumed this additional Christian name, which was not bestowed upon him at the font. Being of a penurious disposition, he employed no assistant, and consequently he was overwhelmed with commissions which he could not execute. Domestic disquiet, occasioned by his marriage with a woman of very absurd conduct, preyed upon his mind and brought on insanity, which at last terminated in his death in 1803.

[Edwards's Anecd. of Painters, 281; Pilkington's Dict. of Painters, ed. Davenport; Bryan's Dict. of Painters and Engravers, ed. Stanley; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists (1878).]

T. C.


ABBOTT, THOMAS EASTOE (1779–1854), poetical writer, was descended from a Suffolk family, and resided for many years at Darlington, where he served many offices of local trust with great credit. For his services in connection with the Royal Free Grammar School, which he succeeded in placing in a satisfactory state, he was presented with a valuable testimonial by the inhabitants of that town. He died at Darlington 18 Feb. 1854, aged 76. His works are:

1. ‘Peace: a Lyric Poem.’ Hull, 1814. 2. ‘The Triumph of Christianity: a Missionary Poem, with Notes and other Poems.’ London, 1819. 3. ‘The Soldier's Friend; or, Memorials of Brunswick: a Poem sacred to the memory of his Royal Highness Frederick, Duke of York and Albany.’ Hull, 1828. 4. ‘Lines on Education and Religion.’ Darlington, 1839.

[Latimer's Local Records of Northumberland and Durham, 338; Gent. Mag. N.S., 1854, xli. 443; Brit. Mus. Cat.]

T. C.


ABDY, EDWARD STRUTT (1791–1846), writer on America, was the fifth and youngest son of Thomas Abdy Abdy, Esq., of Albyns, Essex, by Mary, daughter of James Hayes, of Holliport, a bencher of the Middle Temple. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he obtained a fellowship (B.A. 1813; M.A. 1817). His death occurred at Bath, 12 Oct. 1846, at the age of 56. His works are:

1. ‘Journal of a Residence and Tour in the