Mrs Abbott was the wife of Henry Abbott who struck up a partnership with William Irwin on 12 December 1853 in Ballarat. They invested ₤120 each in an eating house. William was to dig for gold and share it with Henry, all expenses to be equally paid by both parties and all expenses attending the eating house to be equally divided. If any sickness befell either party they pledged themselves to look after each other. The business was to be sold by public auction should there be any disputes. Mrs Abbott was to receive for her services a wage as each agreed upon. Joseph Irwin, William’s father wrote saying that Abbott could not be trusted. By August 1854 William Irwin was partner in another venture.

This Mrs Abbott may have been Emma Egerton, who married Henry Abbott and with him had at least three children around Ballarat and Smythe’s Creek in the 1860s.