Early Life
Abbott was born in Toronto as the son of Wilson Ruffin Abbott and Ellen (Toyer) Abbott. The Abbotts were a prominent black family in Toronto who had left Alabama as “free people of color” after their store had been ransacked. After living a short time in New York, they relocated to Canada in 1835 or 1836. Wilson Abbott soon began to purchase real estate in and around Toronto. He owned 48 properties by 1871 and also became active in politics. He was also the first black Canadian who served the American civil war.
The family's prosperity allowed Anderson Ruffin Abbott to receive an excellent education. He attended both private and public schools including William King’s school in the black settlement of Buxton, near Chatham. He was an honour student at the Toronto Academy and later attended at Oberlin College in Ohio. After returning to Canada he graduated from the Toronto School of Medicine in 1857. He matriculated in medicine that year at the University of Toronto and then studied for four years under Alexander Thomas Augusta, a fellow black physician. Abbott received a licence to practise from the Medical Board of Upper Canada in 1861, thus becoming the first Canadian-born black doctor.
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