He was admitted to the Worcester County bar in 1798 and commenced practice in Leominster, Massachusetts, in the same year.

Bigelow was elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Stedman.

Bigelow was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1813,[1] and subsequently served on its board of councilors from 1817 to 1828.

[2] The Antiquarian Society also holds a collection of manuscripts generated by Abijah and his extended family from 1785 to 1883.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress