MRS. MARTHA ABBOTT
SOUTHFIELD LEGEND
Mrs. Martha Abbott born May 20, 1925 to Camille Clark Mother and Reverend John H. Clark Father in Columbus, Ohio, she will be 92 on her birthday this year. Martha was baptized at the Full Gospel Business Men Fellowship; she currently attends the First Church of God where Bishop Timothy Clark is her pastor. Martha Abbott is well known throughout the city of Columbus; she has played her gospel music at many different churches. Martha has written over 100 gospel songs; her wish is that someday everyone will start to sing her songs. Martha Abbott started playing the piano at age 5. Her father Rev. John Clark brought her an upright piano, where she learned to play by ear with one finger the song she learned was the nursery rhyme three blind mice. Martha took piano lessons, but found them to be of little interest in fact she said “it was the most boring thing she had ever seen”. As a teenager, Martha played for the Highway Church of God in Columbus, Ohio, her father was the pastor.
When Martha got older she soon would start to back slide from church and singing in various night clubs. She said “you can fool people, but you can’t fool God, for he knows what you do at all times”. She met Mr. Robert Abbott at Lazarus where she worked, they started dating and going out to different night clubs, she would sing and they would pay her, she had gone to Detroit, because she didn’t want her father to know she was singing in night clubs, but he found out anyway, so after that she came back to Columbus, and started singing in night clubs, since her daddy already knew what she was doing. She soon fell in love with Mr. Robert Abbott, and they got married. One night he had taken her the Valley Dale Ball Room, now she could dance, but that one night she couldn’t dance, the food didn’t taste good, nothing was right, she told Mr. Abbott “I’m going home and tomorrow, I’m going back to the Lord”, she didn’t care if Mr. Abbott came or not. So, they both went home that night, and the next morning when the doors of the church opened they went in and never looked back. Mr. Abbott was a deacon, and a speaker, they were married for 53 very good years, they have one son also named Robert Abbott. There was nothing that Mrs. Abbott wanted, because Mr. Abbott gave her everything. She says “you don’t have be in church to be saved”. Every year on her birthday she has a big birthday party at her house, and she does all the cooking. Martha Abbotts is getting ready to work on her 9th gospel CD. You can hear her CD’s being played on the radio station WVKO Mel Griffin and Michael Reeves. she has many hobbies and talents like portrait painting, prison ministry, fishing, bowling, yard work, gardening, and cooking; she says “God has Blessed her”. She likes to push people to use there singing talents. She gets all her songs from the Bible, it backs up every song she has ever written, it might not save you but it will inspire you. Mrs. Abbott recorded her first (3) recordings in Nashville, Tennessee. Mrs. Abbott has many plaques and award letters presented to her from Mayors, Governors and others.
Martha Abbott is truly a Legend of the Southfield Community, she has lived in this area since 1958, and she says it best “you have to love everybody, let GOD use you”. As you have read all she needed for her success was GOD, The Bible and Mr. Robert Abbott, and her son Robert Abbott Jr.
By Michele Williams
