Gustavus Abeel

Who was Gustavus Abeel?

Rev. Gustavus Abeel was an American pastor, missionary and writer. He was pastor of several Dutch Reformed Churches in New York and New Jersey.

Abeel was born in New York City. His father was John Nelson Abeel, who was minister of the Arch Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in New York. He graduated from Union College in 1823 and then studied at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. He was ordained in the Classis of Bergen in 1824. He was minister for Belleville, New Jersey while completing his Doctor of Divinity at Rutgers College. He earned his Doctor of Theology degree at Columbia College in 1842. His last post was in Newark, New Jersey, serving from 1849 to 1864.

Abeel married Mary Jane Nest in 1827.