Joshua Whitney Abbott, my mother's grandfather, is my "brick wall".
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He was born
in Pennsylvania in 1800, exactly
where I don't yet know. By 1803,the western part of Pennsylvania beyond the Ohio River became the State of Ohio. Later, Joshua said his birthplace was in Ohio, but I have not found any record of the locality. I want to find his family
of origin. It may be
|
In
1830, Joshua, tall, blonde, and blue-eyed, appeared in Arkansas, in the
Washington County
census. Again his address changed with political necessity when Washington
County was divided and the northern half became Benton County in 1806.
It would seem that he followed others of his family to Arkansas since his
property
was adjacent to Henry Abbott's farm and Nathan, John and Enoch Abbott were
settled
nearby. I need more information about those other Abbotts.
| How Josh arrived in Arkansa
would be an interesting story that we will have to imagine-- It was about 600 miles from the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio to Arkansas. What adventures did he have? Did he go on horseback? Did he walk through unbroken forest with no trails and with hostile Indians in unexpected places? I don't think so. |
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I think he went by barge down the Ohio River and on down the Mississippi to where the Arkansas River joins the Mississippi. Another barge would take him past Little Rock and on to Fort Smith. There, he may have bought a horse and headed for Washington Co. north of Fayetteville. He would have made friends along the road who told him the way to his uncle's farm. |
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I can only imagine the
excitement when Joshua arrived and his feelings in viewing the new land-- tall trees, good water, virgin soil that would grow fine crops, not too many people. A place a man could finally call home - - - |
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