His biography in The Biographical Dictionary of America (1906) states that Abbot's mind was extremely clear and active, and he could leave the subject in hand for something entirely different, and then resume his former work without the slightest inconvenience, also he had a singularly even temperament; by his personal goodness, as well as by his books, he had a great influence on the world, he continued active in work nearly to the time of his death, to which he looked forward with joy rather than resignation.

[3] The Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition) stated "He was a voluminous writer of books on Christian ethics, and of histories, which now seem unscholarly and untrustworthy, but were valuable in their time in cultivating a popular interest in history"; and that in general, except that he did not write juvenile fiction, his work in subject and style closely resembles that of his brother, Jacob Abbott.

[4][unreliable source] Together they raised eight children: As a part of the 1872 Iwakura Mission Abbott was given guardianship of Shige Nagai, a Japanese girl sent to the United States to be educated.

[1] In 1910, a series of twenty short biographies of historical characters by J. S. C. and Jacob Abbott, was published.

His brother, Gorham Dummer Abbott, was a pioneer in women’s education in the United States, as well as an author.