Israel Abbott
Israel B. Abbott (1843-1887) was an African American politician from North Carolina. Abbott was born free and was employed during the American Civil War as a servant to a Confederate officer. In 1861, he fled to New Bern, North Carolina, where he stayed until the entry of Federal troops to the city following the Battle of New Bern in March 1862. During the Reconstruction Era, Abbott became involved in the North Carolina Republican Party and served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1872-1874. He later chaired his state's the Republican Convention in 1884 . In 1886, Abbott challenged fellow Republican James E. O'Hara, who was originally from New York City and was of both black and white ancestry. Both Abbott and O'Hara lost to the white Democrat Furnifold McLendel Simmons in the general election. Simmons eventually became a leader in the movement to disenfranchise Black North Carolinians. Abbott died at New Bern in 1887.