Lyman Abbott--Bigamist--NY, NH,VT,ME,NJ
If you're researching a Lyman Abbott in your family tree, you may want to make sure he isn't Lyman Abbott, the bigamist from NY, NH, VT, ME, and NJ.I stumbled upon his story on the front page of the New York Times on July 14, 1856.He and his son James H. Abbott were charged with bigamy.The story appeared previously in the Manchester, NH Mirror, and told of their lives there and in Rutland, VT.The Times said, "It is stated that they have each, within a short period, married no less than six wives.The father passed at Manchester, N.H., as the 'rich old uncle' of his son, and in consequence of his representations the tradesmen of Manchester were victimized to the amount of several hundred dollars."
Lyman Abbott, aka Dr. L. A. Abbott wrote a book, "Seven Wives and Seven
Prisons or, Experiences in the Life of a Matrimonial Monomaniac, a True Story, Written by Himself," published in New York in 1870.He had wives in Syracuse NY, Newark NJ, near Keene NH, Rutland VT, Westmorland NH, among other places. The marriages mentioned in the book include:
*Sarah Scheimer
*Elizabeth Roberts
*Mary Gordon
*Margaret Bradly (cohabitation, they may not have married)
*Eliza Gurnsey
Prisons or, Experiences in the Life of a Matrimonial Monomaniac, a True Story, Written by Himself," published in New York in 1870.He had wives in Syracuse NY, Newark NJ, near Keene NH, Rutland VT, Westmorland NH, among other places. The marriages mentioned in the book include:
*Sarah Scheimer
*Elizabeth Roberts
*Mary Gordon
*Margaret Bradly (cohabitation, they may not have married)
*Eliza Gurnsey
He was probably also the Lyman A. Abbott of Portland, ME listed in the Maine Marriage Records in the State Archive as filing a marriage intention with Elizabeth Campbell of Portland on Feb. 18, 1873. According to the NY Times, he also married a Miss Gardner of Westmoreland, NH who married him in 1852 under the name Dr. Lyman Andrews, and he also eloped with a Miss Sherman of Sussex County, NJ.They claimed his real name was Aaron Andrews Abbey and his son was James Henry Abbey. (Probably this is his son Henry who was mentioned in the book as convicted in Trenton, NJ.)
He was probably also the Lyman A. Abbott of Portland, ME listed in the Maine Marriage Records in the State Archive as filing a marriage intention with Elizabeth Campbell of Portland on Feb. 18, 1873. According to the NY Times, he also married a Miss Gardner of Westmoreland, NH who married him in 1852 under the name Dr. Lyman Andrews, and he also eloped with a Miss Sherman of Sussex County, NJ.They claimed his real name was Aaron Andrews Abbey and his son was James Henry Abbey. (Probably this is his son Henry who was mentioned in the book as convicted in Trenton, NJ.)In Lyman's book, he wrote that he was born in Chatham, Columbia, NY in 1813.His father was from New England and was married three times.He was the eldest son of his father's third wife, who was of Dutch descent.His father took the family to Chenango County, NY.Lyman had a son Henry and a daughter Elizabeth, who was born at Sidney.In the later years of his life, he lived in Augusta, Maine and practiced medicine in Portland.At the end of his story, he talks about finding his true wife in Ontario County, NY.
In Lyman's book, he wrote that he was born in Chatham, Columbia, NY in 1813.His father was from New England and was married three times.He was the eldest son of his father's third wife, who was of Dutch descent.His father took the family to Chenango County, NY.Lyman had a son Henry and a daughter Elizabeth, who was born at Sidney.In the later years of his life, he lived in Augusta, Maine and practiced medicine in Portland.At the end of his story, he talks about finding his true wife in Ontario County, NY.That covers what I know of Lyman Abbott's life.If you want to know more, his book is available from the closed stacks of the non-lending Newberry Library in Chicago.