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Member Details

Mr Francis ABIGAIL (1840 - 1921)

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Date of Birth: 16/01/1840
Place of Birth: London, England
Date of Death: 23/07/1921
Place of Death: Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Elections and Qualifications Committee No.7 27 May 1891 02 Jun 1891 7 days
Segenhoe Estate Irrigation Bill Committee No.8 27 May 1891 02 Jun 1891 7 days
Segenhoe Estate Irrigation Bill Committee No.45 16 Dec 1890 20 Dec 1890 5 days
Early Closing Bill Committee No.42 14 Nov 1890 20 Dec 1890 1 month 7 days
Illawarra Harbour and Land Corporation Bill Committee No.6 03 Dec 1889 17 Dec 1889 15 days
Mr Manning, Chairman of Licensing Bench at Ryde Committee No.7 03 Dec 1889 17 Dec 1889 15 days
New South Wales Tramway Company’s Bill Committee No.11 30 Apr 1889 17 May 1889 18 days
Broken Hill Water Supply Bill Committee No.8 10 Apr 1889 10 Jul 1889 3 months 1 day
Member for West Sydney 02 Feb 1889 06 Jun 1891 2 years 4 months 5 days
Broken Hill Water Supply Bill Committee No.13 07 Dec 1888 11 Jan 1889 1 month 5 days
Teralba Coal mining Reserve Committee No.59 08 Jun 1888 24 Jul 1888 1 month 17 days
Messrs. Hugh McNeill and Party Mineral Lease at Captains Flat Committee No.55 24 Apr 1888 12 Jul 1888 2 months 19 days
Trades Conciliation Bill Committee No.53 17 Apr 1888 02 Oct 1890 2 years 5 months 16 days
Robert Munford’s Conditional Purchases, parish of Metz Committee No.39 20 Dec 1887 05 Jul 1888 6 months 16 days
The Chinese Committee No.37 20 Dec 1887 24 Jul 1888 7 months 5 days
John Tierney’s Conditional Purchase Committee No.16 11 Oct 1887 24 Jul 1888 9 months 14 days
Practice of Medicine and Surgery Committee No.15 11 Oct 1887 24 Jul 1888 9 months 14 days
Purchase by the Government of land adjoining the Australasian Steam Navigation Company’s Wharf Committee No.10 28 Sep 1887 29 Feb 1888 5 months 2 days
Claim of Matthew McIvor to a Tinmine at Pheasants Creek Committee No.8 22 Mar 1887 21 Apr 1887 1 month
Member for West Sydney 05 Feb 1887 19 Jan 1889 1 year 11 months 15 days
Secretary for Mines 20 Jan 1887 16 Jan 1889 1 year 11 months 28 days
Crookwell Roman Catholic Church Land Sale Bill Committee No.66 04 Oct 1886 06 Oct 1886 3 days
St. Saviour’s Glebe Land Leasing Bill Committee No.65 28 Sep 1886 25 Oct 1886 28 days
Mr Daniel Behan Committee No.59 06 Aug 1886 25 Oct 1886 2 months 20 days
Privilege-Mr Barbour, MP Committee No.53 22 Jun 1886 22 Jul 1886 1 month 1 day
Parramatta Public Baths Bill Committee No.37 14 May 1886 10 Jun 1886 28 days
McLaughlin Estate Bill Committee No.32 15 Apr 1886 21 Apr 1886 7 days Chairman
George Dougherty’s Conditional Purchase Committee No.27 30 Mar 1886 13 May 1886 1 month 14 days
Railway Free Passes – Special Trains Committee No.22 25 Mar 1886 25 Oct 1886 7 months 1 day
Maryville Colliery Company Railway Bill Committee No.20 24 Feb 1886 29 Apr 1886 2 months 6 days
Newcastle Steamship Company’s Preferential Shares Bill Committee No.18 16 Feb 1886 23 Feb 1886 8 days
Balmain Tramway Bill Committee No.14 28 Jan 1886 09 Feb 1886 13 days
Privilege-Mr Melville, MP Committee No.9 11 Dec 1885 28 Jan 1886 1 month 18 days Chairman
St Mary’s Waverley Church of England Land Sale Bill Committee No.13 11 Dec 1885 16 Dec 1885 6 days
Kite’s Leasing Bill Committee No.7 04 Dec 1885 17 Dec 1885 14 days
Member for West Sydney 16 Oct 1885 21 Jan 1887 1 year 3 months 6 days
Balmain Tramway Bill Committee No.13 25 Sep 1885 01 Oct 1885 7 days
Kite’s Leasing Bill Committee No.11 25 Sep 1885 02 Oct 1885 8 days
McLaughlin Estate Bill Committee No.12 25 Sep 1885 02 Oct 1885 8 days Chairman
Great Southern Coal-mining Company Railway Bill Committee No.2 15 Sep 1885 02 Oct 1885 18 days
Privilege-Mr Melville, MP Committee No.3 15 Sep 1885 02 Oct 1885 18 days
Great Southern Coal-mining Company Railway Bill Committee No.6 20 Mar 1885 27 Mar 1885 8 days
Great Southern Coal-mining Company Railway Bill Committee No.5 26 Nov 1884 27 Nov 1884 2 days
Great Southern Coal-mining Company Railway Bill Committee No.60 02 Sep 1884 01 Nov 1884 2 months
Evan McIntosh’s Conditional Purchase Committee No.59 15 Aug 1884 01 Nov 1884 2 months 18 days
William Frederick Collier’s Conditional Purchase Committee No.58 15 Aug 1884 01 Nov 1884 2 months 18 days
Medical Bill Committee No.52 13 Jun 1884 01 Nov 1884 4 months 20 days Chairman
Stirling’s Trusts Bill Committee No.51 05 Jun 1884 25 Jun 1884 21 days
Whaling Road, North Shore Committee No.46 06 May 1884 01 Nov 1884 5 months 27 days
George Dougherty’s Conditional Purchase Committee No.35 14 Feb 1884 22 May 1884 3 months 9 days
Forest Lodge, near Tarlo, Estate Bill Committee No.30 29 Jan 1884 15 Feb 1884 18 days
Oddfellows Hall, Elizabeth street Committee No.18 22 Nov 1883 09 Oct 1884 10 months 18 days
Alienation of Crown Lands in parishes of Willoughby and Gordon Committee No.16 15 Nov 1883 01 Nov 1884 11 months 18 days
Windsor Gaslight Company’s Bill Committee No.12 25 Oct 1883 12 Feb 1884 3 months 19 days
Redhead Coal-mine Railway Bill Committee No.15 07 Mar 1883 09 Mar 1883 3 days
Working of the Fisheries Act of 1881 Committee No.7 30 Jan 1883 21 Apr 1883 2 months 23 days
Member for West Sydney 05 Dec 1882 07 Oct 1885 2 years 10 months 3 days
Working of the Fisheries Act of 1881 Committee No.15 03 Nov 1882 21 Nov 1882 19 days
Forest Lodge, near Tarlo, Estate Bill Committee No.9 06 Oct 1882 20 Oct 1882 15 days
Cookbundoon Slate Quarry Tramway Bill Committee No.26 24 Nov 1881 02 Dec 1881 9 days
Balmain Cemetery Bill Committee No.6 06 Jul 1881 20 Dec 1881 5 months 15 days
Sydney Hospital Bill Committee No.15 11 Mar 1881 16 Mar 1881 6 days
Balmain Cemetery Bill Committee No.5 13 Jan 1881 06 Apr 1881 2 months 25 days
Member for West Sydney 22 Nov 1880 23 Nov 1882 2 years 2 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 22 Nov 1880 06 Jun 1891 10 years 6 months 16 days
Political Party Activity
Community Activity
Member of New South Wales Committee for Melbourne Centennial Exhibition 1888 and for Exhibition of Mining and Metallurgy, London 1890. Active philanthropist, serving on boards of Sydney Hospital and Benevolent Society of New South Wales.
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Leather merchant and manufacturer. Arrived Sydney in 1860. Worked as journeyman boot-closer; around 1866 formed partnership with H Hilder and later with John Biggs in boot manufacturing, leather and grindery business, Sydney; the partnership with Hilder was dissolved in the late 1870s and Abigail continued business on his own. Director of at least two public companies. He was a friend and close associate of Sir Henry Parkes. He was imprisoned in 1892 for 5 years for conspiring to issue a false balance for a bank of which he was a director. After his release Abigail tried to re-enter politics, standing as a Senate candidate in 1901, but without success.
Military Service
Honours Received
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Son of William Abigail, wine cooper, and his wife Hannah Coney. Married in 1861 to Mary Ann Wenner and they had 7 daughters and 5 sons. Orangeman. Congregationalist. According to research (2010) by a descendant the people named as his parents in the 'Australian Dictionary of Biography' entry (Volume 3) - James William Abigail and his wife Mary Ann Crudgington - were in fact his brother and sister-in-law.
Additional Information
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.