Samuel Abbot

Samuel Abbot (30 March 1786 Wilton, New Hampshire 2 January 1839 Wilton) was an American lawyer and the inventor of a process which made starch from potatoes.

Samuel Abbot was the 11th of the 12 children of Abiel Abbot, a farmer and an early settler of Wilton, New Hampshire. His father was a staunch Whig, an officer of the militia during the Revolutionary War, often the representative from Wilton in the New Hampshire General Court, and much entrusted with the business of the town. He formed an excellent farm out of the wilderness. Of his 12 children, 10 lived to be adults. All of them were well educated, and three went to Harvard College: Abiel (a D.D., later of Peterborough), Jacob (later of Windham) and Samuel. Abiel Abbot, Sr., was the son of Captain John Abbot of Andover, Massachusetts, who was descended, in the fifth generation, from George Abbot, who emigrated from Yorkshire, England, and settled in Andover in 1643.

Samuel Abbot pursued his preparatory studies in part under his brother Abiel, but was chiefly fitted for college at the public school at Andover, Massachusetts, which was known for the accuracy of its instruction and the scholars it offered for admission to universities. Samuel graduated from Harvard in 1808.

Soon after his graduation, Samuel Abbot entered the law office of C. H. Atherton, Esq., of Amherst, New Hampshire, as a student at law. Atherton availed himself of Samuel's classical knowledge to prepare his son, C. G. Atherton, later a United States senator, for college. For this purpose, Samuel resided for a time with the Atherton family. Samuel Abbot was admitted to the bar in 1812, and practiced his profession, first at Wilton, and then at Dunstable (now Nashua, New Hampshire).

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