Forrest Chaffee Abbott (1916-1999)
Biography
Forrest Chaffee Abbott was born in Old Town to Herbert Burr Abbott and Geneva M. Spearin(g) on February 5, 1916. He graduated from Old Town High School in 1935.[1] In that same year he also married Vivian Gertrude Eastman (1918-1967) of Milford.[2] By the time of the 1940 Census, they lived on Lincoln Street---with two kids and both working as laborers at the Moose River Shoe Company.[3] Later on, Abbott worked for the T. M. Chapman Company, where he was employed when he joined the war effort. While after the war his brothers all lived on Abbott Street,[4] Forrest may not have returned to Old Town after his discharge from the military. In 1958 he is reported to be living in Los Angeles (CA) and not to have been back in Old Town in eight years. Around the time of his wife's death, he was living in La Habra (CA) and working as a mechanic with the United States Motor Co. in nearby Anaheim (CA).[5] In the 1990s, Abbott lived in Chino Valley (AZ) and his last residence was close-by Prescott Valley (AZ),[6] which is probably where he passed away on April 13, 1999. He is buried at Wickenburg Cemetery (AZ).[7] His daughter Connie Marie (1937-?) married Joe Manuel Ybarra of Mexico in 1953 (in Los Angeles). As of 2025, both appear to be still alive and to live in La Habra (CA).
One confounding set of facts is that while Abbott and Eastman appear to be living together as husband and wife in 1967, they must have divorced at some point as Eastman is on record to have remarried one Robert P. Wescott in 1947 (in Maine), while Abbott married one Marie Lou Gurb of Nicaragua in 1953 (in California).[8] There is no record of Abbott and Eastman marrying a second time.
Military Service
Abbott enlisted in Portland (ME) on June 19, 1945 and was discharged on October 7, 1946. According to his headstone, he was a Private First Class with the Air Force (then still part of the Army),[9] but there does not seem to be a record for that. He is not included in the World War II City of Old Town Honor Roll either.[10]
Notes
- ↑ Sachem 1935, p. 8.
- ↑ ME.Marriages, FamilySearch.
- ↑ See the 1940 census for Old Town under "Forest Abbotte". Both are listed as working in a shoe factory. At the time The River Moose Shoe Co. was the only such factory in town.
- ↑ In fact, the street was named for the family after Herbert deeded the right-of-way for a new street to the City. See PT19380505, OTPL-DA and PT19680815, OTPL-DA.
- ↑ See PT19580731, OTPL-DA and PT19680815, OTPL-DA. The Forrest Abbott mentioned a few times in the Penobscot Times as living in the Old Town area in the late 1950s and 1960s was Forrest Keith Abbott (1922-1975), who does not appear to have been related.
- ↑ US.SS, FamilySearch.
- ↑ See Find-a-Grave. Memorial for Forrest C. Abbott
- ↑ See ME.Marriages, FamilySearch and CA.Marriages, FamilySearch.
- ↑ See Find-a-Grave. Memorial for Forrest C. Abbott
- ↑ See WWII.HonorRoll
References
- The Sachem (= Old Town High School Yearbook). 1935.
- Maine. Marriage Index, 1892-1966, 1977-1996.
- California. County Marriages, 1849-1957.
- United States. Social Security Numerical Identification Files, 1936-2007.
- "Old Town Personal Notes and News Brevities". The Penobscot Times. Vol. 66, no. 18. 1958-07-31. p. 3.
- "The Times Page for Neighbors". The Penobscot Times. Vol. 77, no. 22. 1968-08-15. p. 2.
- "Mayor and Aldermen Hold Busy Monthly Meeting". The Penobscot Times. Vol. 51, no. 10. 1938-05-05. p. 1.
- "World War II - Honor Roll" (1946). City Lot, 2021, ID: OBJ.N.2021.19. Old Town Museum.
