He was born in Pennsylvania in 1800, exactly           where I don't yet know.  By 1803,the western           part of Pennsylvania beyond the Ohio River became           the State of Ohio.  Later, Joshua said his           birthplace was in Ohio, but I have not found any           record of the locality.   I want to find his family of origin.  It may be           that his middle name, Whitney, was his mother's           maiden name.  Do any of you Whitneys have an           Abbott from Pennslyvania in your family tree?          If so, please email me at   winterrell@juno.com

    In 1830, Joshua, tall, blonde, and blue-eyed, appeared in Arkansas, in the Washington County
                census. Again his address changed with political necessity when Washington
                County was divided and the northern half became Benton County in 1806.

      It would seem that he followed others of his family to Arkansas since his property
                was adjacent to Henry Abbott's farm and Nathan, John and Enoch Abbott were settled
                nearby.  I need more information about those other Abbotts.
 

How Josh arrived in Arkansa would be an interesting story that we will have to imagine-- It  was about 600 miles from the  border of Pennsylvania and Ohio to Arkansas. What adventures did he have? Did he go on horseback?  Did he walk through unbroken  forest with no trails and with hostile Indians in unexpected  places?   I don't think so.

I think he went by barge down the  Ohio River and on down the Mississippi  to where the Arkansas River  joins the Mississippi.  Another barge would take him past Little Rock and on to Fort Smith. There, he  may have bought a horse and  headed for  Washington Co. north of Fayetteville.  He  would have made friends along the road who told him the way to his uncle's farm.

I can only imagine the         excitement when Joshua        arrived and his feelings in        viewing the new land-- tall         trees, good water, virgin soil        that would grow fine crops,        not too many people.             A place a man could finally call          home - - -

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