Abbey Louise Pettengill, was born on March 9, 1843, in Cleveland, Ohio. She was seven of nine children born to Matilda Wheelock and her husband Willard Burnham. She attended the Hillsdale Michigan College and at the age of 21, she married Charles Pettengill of Springville, Massachusetts. They had four children.

One summer while Mrs. Pettengill was traveling with her daughter from Cleveland to the Atlantic seaboard, she made the acquaintance of Marion H. Skidmore, who was traveling in the same train. Mrs. Pettengill soon became interested in two issues that Mrs. Skidmore was involved with – the Woman's Suffrage Movement and Spiritualism.

Mrs. Skidmore told Mrs. Pettengill about the Cassadaga Lake Free Association, a small colony of spiritualists on the shores of Cassadaga Lake. She became so interested in what she heard that she changed her plans and instead spent her summer there. Afterward she attended each summer session and gradually became associated with the organization. A tireless campaigner for women's rights, including the right to vote, Mrs. Pettengill told it all with her famous statement: "I paid taxes in three states while my gardener, who could neither read nor write, was making the laws for me."

In 1895, Mrs. Pettengill bought a hotel at the assembly known as the Alden house and renamed it the Leolyn Inn, after her granddaughter. She operated it for many years, entertaining dozens of famous guests, including Susan B. Anthony. Today, the Leolyn hotel is owned by the Lily Dale Assembly. In 1904, Mrs. Pettengill was made the first female President of the City of Light Assembly but in 1906, she sold all her interests back to the camp for $10,000 and it became the Lily Dale Assembly, once again.

Abbey Louise Pettengill passed away on October 8, 1921 in Pasadena, California from Cardiovascular Arteriosclerosis. She was cremated at Mt. View Crematory in Pasadena and her ashes were moved to Cleveland, Ohio at the Lake View Cemetery.

(Bio by Elton Brumfield
Find a Grave ID 48711187)