Gorham Dummer Abbott

Gorham Dummer Abbott (September 3, 1807 – August 3, 1874) was an American clergyman, educator, and author. He was one of the earliest pioneers in the work of higher education for women in this country.

Early life and education

He was born in Hallowell, Maine, to Jacob and Betsey Abbott. In 1826, he graduated from Bowdoin College, and later attended Andover Theological Seminary were also graduated in 1831. Abbott’s purpose, according to The American Journal of Education, was “the hope of calling attention to a higher order of education for daughters in our country, and of elevating its general character.” Abbott’s progressive school also housed a large playground for girls and provided athletic equipment, which was unusual for the era. The students also were self-governed, and no punishments were meted out.

On August 23, 1862, The Chicago Daily Tribune called it “one of the best if not the very best institutions in the country...Parents and guardians who wish their daughters and wards to enjoy the highest social and religious advantages, and an intellectual training equal to that which our best colleges can afford, will be sure to have them at the Abbot [sic] Collegiate Institute.” He also was a significant influence on Matthew Vassar in the matter of education of women. In 1870, he retired to South Natick, Massachusetts, where he died in 1874.

Legacy

Abbott also inspired and guided his longtime, personal friend Matthew Vassar in the founding of Vassar College in 1861, and when a Vassar Scholarship fund was dedicated in memory of Gorham Abbott in 1902, more than thirty years after his passing, it was noted that: “Gorham D. Abbott has been considered by many educators to be one of the very earliest pioneers in the work of higher education for women in this country, working in behalf of collegiate education for women at a time when the obstacles and opposition were discouraging in an extreme which is hardly possible to realize today, with Vassar, Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, and other institutions leading their flourishing and influential existence.”

Publication He was the author of several books, including: The Family at Home: or, Familiar Illustrations of the Various Domestic Duties (1834) and Mexico and the United States, Their Mutual Relations and Common Interests (1869).