Abigail Cleaveland was born to Thankful Paine and Aaron Cleaveland in Canterbury, Connecticut. She married Parker Cleaveland, the son of Separatist minister Rev. John Cleaveland, and moved to Byfield, Massachusetts. Her son, John Payne Cleaveland, became a Congregational minister. This collection contains a single manuscript volume of sacred and secular music kept by Abigail Cleaveland.