Anderson Abbott

Anderson Abbott

Anderson Ruffin Abbott (born April 7, 1837 in Toronto ; died December 29, 1913 there ) was a Canadian doctor and surgeon . He served as a civilian surgeon in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was the first Afro-Canadian to earn a medical degree .

Life

Early years and family

Abbott was born into a wealthy family. His parents, Wilson Abbott and Ellen Toyer, were exempt from slavery and were from Mobile , Alabama , where they ran a general store. After the shop was looted by whites, they both moved to Toronto in 1835. The Abbotts rose to fame and fortune, and owned about 50 properties in and around Toronto.

Anderson Abbott attended the Buxton Mission School near Chatham , where blacks were integrated and which was known for its good education. The school was located in the Elgin Settlement, which was established in 1849 as a safe haven for escaped slaves. He later studied at Toronto Academy , from which he graduated with honors , and Oberlin College , Ohio . In 1857 Abbott enrolled in chemistry at University College Toronto. In 1858 he began his studies at the Toronto School of Medicine , which was later affiliated to the University of Toronto . After an internship under the supervision of Alexander Thomas Augusta , North America's first black doctor and director of Toronto City Hospital , Abbott was licensed to practice medicine in 1861 , becoming the first Canadian black doctor.

Medical career

Abbott felt compelled to use his medical skills in the Civil War and served with the Colored Troops (USCT). He later worked as a civilian doctor in several Washington, DC hospitals that treated Union Army troops. Abbott received many referrals and was well respected in Washington society. He was also friends with US President Abraham Lincoln , whom he visited on his deathbed in 1865 . Lincoln's widow, Mary Todd , gave him the plaid scarf that Lincoln wore when he was inaugurated in 1861.

Back in Canada, Abbott married and moved to Chatham, where he was hired as a medical examiner for Kent County in 1874 . He also appeared as a public advocate for integrated schools. After living in other Ontario cities, he accepted a post in Chicago and in 1896 became director of Provident Hospital , which trained black nurses. In 1897 he returned to Toronto and in his last years wrote a. a. Newspaper article about the history of African American people .

literature

• Catherine Slaney: Family Secrets: Crossing the Color Line , Natural Heritage, Toronto 2003, ISBN 1-896219-82-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Eli Yarhi: Anderson Abbott. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved January 7, 2018 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Owen Thomas: Abbott, Anderson Ruffin . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
3. ↑ Anderson Abbott (1837-1913). Buxton Museum, April 1, 2012, accessed January 7, 2018 .