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Note: 87-g8Le7 May8 Leggett born ca 1860s
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90 iii. May Leggett was born in Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan 1868. May died --- in ---, at age unknown. She married Fredric Abel 1895. May was an accomplished violinist; she studied in Paris, France.
Send email to preparer: kalamcc@AOL.com
Larry and Kathy McCurdy
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1900 Census says she was born May, 1869.
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May and her brother William returned together on the steamer Spaarndam from a trip to Europe in 1894, according to Ellis Island records:
Associated Passenger Date of Arrival Port of Departure Line #
Page # 0050
Leggett, William H. April 23, 1894 Rotterdam and Boulogne - previous next
Original page
Manifest for Spaarndam Sailing from Rotterdam and Boulogne
Name Gender Age Married Ethnicity Place of Residence 0031. Jellema, Willemke F 18y Holland 0040. Haga, Pietje F 15y Holland 0047. Nijdan, Size M 11y Holland 0057. Koning, Amerzns F 9y Holland 0060. Janny, Susanna F 64y Austria 0069. Barton, Samuel M 34y France 0070. Leggett, William H. M 35y US of Am 0071. Leggett, May E. F 25y US of Am 0072. DeCenninek, Rev. Chs. M 58y Belgium 0032. Jellema, Anna F 14y Holland 0034. Felder, Sophie F 21y Holland 0037. Haga, Sjoerd M 50y Holland 0041. Leuchsinsing, Eugen M 53y US of Am 0046. Nijdan, Aalze M 12y Holland 0049. Nijdan, Weibe M 7y Holland 0050. Nijdan, Gtze F 4y Holland 0053. Koning, Gryntje F 46y Holland 0058. Weeda, Gerrit M 33y Holland 0059. Janny, Alois M 26y Austria 0036. VandereMeer, Clalze F 49y Holland 0038. Haga, Bierska F 51y M Holland 0039. Haga, Tryntje F 21y Holland 0043. Markus, Henri H. M 18y Holland 0045. Nijdan, Wikje F 36y M Holland 0051. Nijdan, Meike F 2y Holland 0055. Koning, Sieds F 18y Holland 0061. Bozzert, Jozef M 22y Holland 0065. Mulder, Wize M 21y Holland 0068. Vander Slunis, Hinke F 32y Holland 0033. Knol, Clafje F 22y Holland 0035. Kirchansen, Elizabeth F 50y M Germany 0042. Leuchsinsing, Franjiska F 42y US of Am 0044. Nijdan, Willem M 39y Holland 0048. Nijdan, Reize F 9y Holland 0052. Gran, Therese F 60y M US of Am 0054. Koning, Grietze F 20y Holland 0056. Koning, Sietche F 11y Holland 0062. Hujgen, Johannes Corn M 15y Holland 0063. Hanninga, Jan M 63y Holland 0064. Mulder, Feze M 51y Holland 0066. Mulder, Yschje F 19y Holland 0067. Mulder, Reize M 16y Holland Associated Passenger Date of Arrival Port of Departure Line # Page # 0031
Leggett, William H. April 23, 1894 Rotterdam and Boulogne - previous next
Original page
Built by Harlan & Wolff Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1881. 4,368 gross tons; 430 (bp) feet long; 42 feet wide. Compound engine, single screw. Service speed 15 knots. 975 passengers (75 first class, 900 third class).
Built for White Star and Dominion Lines, in 1881 and named Asiatic. Varied service. Sold to Holland - America Line, Dutch flag, in 1890 and renamed Spaarndam. Rotterdam-New York service. Scrapped in England in 1901.
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-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Mccurdy [mailto:kalamc@ameritech.net]
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2004 12:45 AM
To: Leggett, David
Subject: RE: Congratulations!
My transcription of the PDF of the attached magazine article, DJL:
Michigan Woman
September 1927
Page 14
The Track to the Water's Edge
One of the Women of Old Detroit Whose Work Made our Ways Pleasant
By May Leggett Abel
She said, "And of those that come first, some are swept away, and are heard no more; their bodies do not even build the bridge."
"And are swept away and are heard of no more-and what of that?" he said.
"And what of that-?" she said.
"They make a track to the water's edge."
"They make a track to the water's edge- " And she said, "Over the bridge which shall be built with our bodies, who will pass?"
He said, "The entire human race."
And the woman grasped her staff. And I saw her turn down that dark path to the river.
From "Three Dreams in a Desert." By Olive Schreiner.
[Photo-caption: Mrs. Eliza Seaman Leggett, Philanthropist, Abolitionist and founder of the first Woman's Club in Detroit]
Probably very few of the many women actively engaged in working in the many women's organizations of to-day in this great city of Detroit, know who was the real mother of this movement, which has grown to such proportions and attained the highest standards in point of education and entertainment.
Because I am proud to call her my paternal grandmother, I feel free and happy to write of this gifted and noble woman, Mrs. Eliza Seaman Leggett.
Coming here from New York City where she was born and lived for many years, and had been in contact with the leading literary men and women of the day, she was filled with enthusiasm and love of the beautiful in art and literature. Naturally the congenial souls in the then small coterie of Detroit literati, found food for thought and an atmosphere of inspiration in her home, which was ever open to thinking and progressive people.
In New York she had been an intimate friend of William Cullen Bryant, and it was at her country home in Long Island that the town of Roslyn was named by the poet Bryant, whose picturesque home adjoined the Leggett estate. There many happy hours were spent by the two families, sometimes in listening to the latest poem of Mr. Bryant, or, perhaps, in less artistic moments when the planting of a garden or rare tree was of equal importance to the great poet.
The literary clubs of study and research were many in New York. As my grandfather Augustus W. Leggett, was one of the editors of the "Plain Dealer," a prominent daily newspaper, it was quite natural that the Leggett house should be a favorite place for the journalists, especially as both Mr. and Mrs. Leggett were, also, regular contributors to the press.
Among this coterie of famous men and women were Charles A. Dana, editor of the New York Sun, who lived in one of my grandfather's cottages at Roslyn, William Cullen Bryant, Bronson Alcott, Louisa M. Alcott, Julia Ward Howe, Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott, Wendell Phillips. The last named, when he was to be entertained in Detroit after years for one hour only, asked that they drive him to the home of Mrs. Leggett.
Lucretia Mott and Mrs. Harriet K. Moulton were among her cherished friends. It was at Mrs. Moulton's home my grandmother was to meet Margaret Fuller, the great philanthropist, when the boat Mrs. Fuller was on, bound for New York, was wrecked off Long Island.
To me, one of the most interesting stories of her many famous acquaintances was that of hearing and meeting the great songstress, Jennie Lind, at Castle Garden when first brought to this country by P. T. Barnum, the circus king, and of her birdlike voice and charming face and manner.
Then there was the great Norwegian violinist, Ole Bull, whom my grandmother heard many times. His lithe figure, sweeping coal black hair and benign expression made a master picture even before he had drawn notes from his violin, with weird and exquisite artistry that seemed, indeed, a divine inspiration.
And so, on and on, she thrilled me, as a child, with her memories of these great and beautiful minds, and in the heart of this dear grandmother there was never a thought of criticism. She seemed rather to find the finer points of the characters of these geniuses, and if there was another side, she had forgotten it.
I have in my treasured possession letters she gave me from Bryant, Whitman, Olcott and many others I have mentioned, all attesting to the high esteem and admiration they held for her.
On coming to Detroit with a large family and to establish a permanent home, my grandmother was much interested and absorbed in the city's welfare, and was a pioneer in many improvements the city is now enjoying. Drinking fountains on the streets for horses and dogs, rest rooms in the large stores for tired girls, and she was one of the first to agitate the establishing of a public park at Belle Isle. At this time she was a young woman filled with high ideals and very philanthropic, as, indeed, she continued to be all her long life.
For many years she was a writer on the Free Press, and this gave her an opportunity through the
[Photo-caption: The old Leggett homestead at 169 Elizabeth street (old numbering) where Mrs. Leggett held her famous "salons" for the literary lights of that day]
columns of the press to promote her cause for humanity. Later her "Bryant" papers became very well known to Free Press readers, and in journalistic atmosphere, with such well known writers on that paper as Mr. George P. Goodale, the dramatic critic, M. Quad, and many others, her cup of literary "ambrosia" was full to overflowing; and soon writers and book lovers made a path to her door.
In those days of long ago, Governor John J. Bagley's home, where the Hotel Statler now stands, was a rendezvous for the elect, and there such shining lights as Senator Zach Chandler, Judge Boynton, L.
[Photo-caption: The home of Governor and Mrs. John J. Bagley on Washington Boulevard, Bagley avenue and Park avenue where the Hotel Statler now stands. It was in this house that the first woman's club of Detroit was formed as well as the "October" and the "Prismatic" clubs]
T. Ives, the portrait painter and son-in-law of Mrs. Leggett, Judge Bartlett, the Quimbys, U. S. Commissioner of Customs D. J. Davison, the Buells, Jeromes, Frederick Stearns, Richard Storrs Willis, and others of Detroit's foremost families, spent many inspiring and eventful evenings with enthusiasm and visions for the cultural future of Detroit. There was more leisure in those days and not the distraction of today, and consequently people were more fruitful in content.
It was at one of these evening meetings the "October Club" was formed, and Mrs. Leggett chosen as its first president. Also, the Aurora Borealis Club," composed of men, out of which grew the then famous "Prismatic Club." my grandfather, Augustus W. Leggett, being elected president. I believe this club still exists quietly in Detroit.
Then came the call for a woman's club, a very new idea for this part of the country, and although my
[Photo-caption: "I sell the shadow to support the substance"-Sojourner Truth, famous colored preacher for the abolition of slavery]
grandmother was the founder of this the "Detroit Woman's Club," she modestly declined the presidency in favor of Mrs. Bagley, her esteemed friend and wife of Michigan's governor.
This woman's club flourished and grew to high attainments, and of course all Detroit knows of it as one of the leading women's clubs of the city today.
Recently my sister and I had the pleasure of presenting to the "Detroit Women's Club," through their president, Mrs. Cornell, a large group picture of the charter members of the Club. They are quaint old photographs, and interesting, indeed, as all the faces are bright with eager expectancy in the success of their efforts and the ultimate educational uplift of the city.
But my grandmother's greatest work was in the cause of the abolition of slavery. She was in contact with many of the great abolitionists of the day, Eastern people, among whom were Mrs. Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Julia Ward Howe, Lucinda Hinsdale Stone (who later came to Kalamazoo) Laura Haviland, Mrs. Cheney and Walt Whitman, whom she helped with the publication of his work after the War.
While living at the little village of Clintonville, which now has reverted to green fields, but which then was a town of some size and importance with a mill, hotels, stores and a cluster of dwellings, she harbored two runaway slaves. At that time, this was a State's Prison offense and she was brave, indeed, to take such a chance; but a strong sense of Justice was her guide and protection.
Later, at her home in Detroit, she gave a "Freedman's Fair" and at another time she gave one in Chicago, the proceeds of which went to care for the negro refugees.
All one winter, her home was the meeting place of societies which sewed, mended and bagged clothing to send South for the slaves. She even went to Chicago to take the part of Mrs. Partington in a play given to raise funds for the same great cause.
During this activity, she met the famous colored woman orator, Sojourner Truth, whom she took to her noble heart. Mrs. Leggett helped the colored woman in every way, introducing her to many prominent men and women who marveled at the inspired wisdom and goodness of this lowly woman.
Sojourner Truth-Could there be a more appropriate name for a woman who stood for Truth in its highest sense and who sojourned through the country to help the needy and do good? She chose the name herself after she had been given her freedom-or, as she would often say-the Lord gave it to her.
As she was journeying along from the East, an officer of the law asked her name and something of her history; for a stray colored woman was always suspicious of being an escaped slave. She always said that the Lord told her what to say, and she told the man her name was Sojourner Truth, and that she had been freed by her master in New York, as she truly had been.
Sojourner Truth was born a slave and owned by one of the old Dutch families in New York State. She could not read or write and she knew but one word in the Bible-"God"-but she declared that that one word was sufficient for her full inspiration. She never had any money to help her in her great work of comforting and uplifting her own race but she "Just trusted in the Lord," whom, she said, never forsook her though He did give her "awful trials, sometimes."
Always, she wore the national flag about her shoulders as a shawl. When she met President Lincoln for the first time, she said to him: Abraham Lincoln-I never heard tell of you before you was president." Whereupon Lincoln quickly said, "But I 'heard tell' of you many years before I was president."
She was an inspired talker and one occasion in Detroit, Wendell Phillips and Sojourner Truth talked from the same platform. Sojourner spoke first and then sat down on the steps of the platform to listen to Phillips, the silver tongued orator of his time.
He constantly quoted Sojourner, in his talk, saying "Well may Sojourner Truth say so-and-so." After one of his bursts of brilliant eloquence Sojourner raised up to her greatest height (almost six feet) on the steps and said to Wendell Phillips, "Did I say that?" He had clothed in such beautiful language that she had not recognized her own thought. Afterwards, Mrs. Leggett, while entertaining them both at her home, asked Mr. Phillips why he had quoted Sojourner so often. "Why," he said, "she left nothing more from me to say."
My grandmother said that Sojourner's voice was at time almost thunderous in its power and then again, she would lift her head and raise her eyes heavenward, her voice was like a child's in its liquid sweetness.
And so this good woman, who had suffered degradation, and without money, education or influence had risen to a place among the world's saviors, helped to pave a golden path for the onward march of her own people, and with the sweet, abiding help of my grandmother, whose love for humanity was ever paramount, had helped to write another chapter of history, the substance of which shall live forever.
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The following indicates that May was around to congratulate her brother on his 90th birthday in 1949; don't know if she was a widow at that point, but it is probable:
-----Original Message-----
From: Larry & Kathy McCurdy [mailto:kalamc@ameritech.net]
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2003 9:18 PM
To: David.Leggett@fns.usda.gov
Subject: William H Leggett
David,
...
Below are somethings we noted under William H. Leggett, son of Mortimer. Indeed he was 95 years at his death, we were afraid we may have been mistaken.
Notice in paper: William H. Leggett, Walton Blud., Pontiac, Michigan celebrated his nineth birthday 3/06/1949 at his boyhood home, was born 3/03/1859; present to congradulate him was his sister May Leggett Abel, & George Hodges of Pine Lake who was born 3/03/1864.
He was noted as 95 years of age. He died at the Leggett homestead on West Walton Blvd.
...
Take care
Kathy & Larry
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Genevieve Leggett Abel
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Birth: 1897
Michigan, USA
Death: 1897
Michigan, USA
Genevieve Leggett Abel was the daughter of Frederic L. Abel and May E. Leggett. Genevieve's parents were both musicians.
When still very young, May Elizabeth Leggett "commenced the study of the violin under the careful training of Conrad A. Hoffman, the eminent violinist." On Mr. Hoffman's recommendation, she went to Paris with her brother, Wm. H. Leggett, where both she and her brother studied at the Paris Conservatory. May Leggett completied the four-year course at the Conversatory in just two years. Her teachers there were Charles Dancla and Eugene Brenne. She was the head of the violin department at the Michigan Conservatory of Music (Detroit), which was oranized by her husband in September of 1900.
Frederic L. Abel was a graduate of the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main where he studied under the renowned Joachim Raff.
The following is from a brochure from the Michigan Conservatory of Music in Detroit:
"Frederic L. Abel is justly known as a highly accomplished cellist. He is a graduate of the Raff Conservatory of Music, at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, where he was the classmate and enjoyed the personal friednship of many who have since become distinguished, including Edward A. MacDowell, the American composer and pianist. Mr. Abel completed his studies with Cossman, cello; Urspruch, piano, and Raff and Boehme, harmony, theory, counterpoint, and history of music."
Frederic Abel was among the first faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music when the school was reorganized by Dr. Albert A. Stanley in 1892. In addition, Mr. Abel was the second director of the Spartan Marching Band at Michigan State University (1916-1918).
Frederic Abel enlisted as a member of Co. A, 1st Battlion, Michigan National Guard; he held the rank of major and adjutant general, 1st Brigade. He also served in the Spanish-American War as a 1st lieutenant and adjutant in the 31st Michigan Infantry. He was a member of the Society of Foreigh Wars. He was a Mason (32 degree), a Knight Templar, and a Shriner.
Family links:
Parents: Frederick L Abel (____ - 1943) May L Abel (1867 - 1952) Burial:
Oak Hill Cemetery
Pontiac
Oakland County
Michigan, USA
Plot: Section 1, Lot 169
Created by: Ray Henry
Record added: Nov 11, 2009
Find A Grave Memorial# 44198633
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