William Cabell (American Revolution)

William Cabell
Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses representing Amherst County
In office 1761–1776 Serving with Cornelius Thomas, Joseph Cabell
Preceded by	n/a
Succeeded by	Joseph Cabell
Member of the Virginia Senate representing Albemarle, Amherst and Buckingham Counties
In office October 7, 1776 – May 3, 1778
Preceded by	n/a
Member of the Virginia Senate representing Albemarle, Amherst, Fluvanna and Buckingham Counties
In office May 4, 1778 – May 1782
Preceded by	n/a
Succeeded by	Joseph Cabell
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Amherst County
In office May 1782 – May 2, 1784 Serving with Hugh Rose, Nicholas Cabell
Preceded by	Nicholas Cabell
Succeeded by	Nicholas Cabell
In office October 15, 1787 – October 17, 1790 Serving with Samuel J. Cabell
Preceded by	Hugh Rose
Succeeded by	Hugh Rose
In office October 21, 1793 – December 3, 1797 Serving with William Warwick, Joseph Burruss
Preceded by	Samuel J. Cabell
Succeeded by	Joseph Shelton
Personal details
Born	(1730-03-13)March 13, 1730 Goochland County, Colony of Virginia, British America
Died	March 23, 1798(1798-03-23) (aged 68)
Profession	Planter, politician

William Cabell (March 13, 1730 – March 23, 1798) was an American planter, soldier, and politician who served more than four decades in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly representing the area of his and family members' plantations on the upper James River.

Early life, family and education

Cabell was born on March 13, 1730, near Licking Hole Creek in what was then vast Goochland County, Virginia. The firstborn son of physician, planter and surveyor William Cabell (1699–1774), who had emigrated from Warminister, England, and his wife the former Elizabeth Burks (1705–1756), he would have younger brothers Joseph Cabell (1730-1798), John Cabell (1735-1815) and Nicholas Cabell (1750-1803), and a sister Mary. All the Cabell brothers (and Mary's husband John Horsley) became patriots in the American Revolutionary War shortly after their father's death, and married well (thus making their family one of the First Families of Virginia), as they operated plantations using enslaved labor, and served in the Virginia General Assembly and local governments.

Cabell's father returned to England for several years to settle his father's estate, during which time he often wrote his wife about the boy's education. Elizabeth Burks Cabell ran her family's estates and greatly increased them during this time (including by buying slaves). According to family tradition, after receiving a private education suitable to his class from his parents and tutors at home, this William Cabell studied at the

from the western section in 1761. Joseph and John Cabell would represent Buckingham County for many terms and Nicholas Cabell (who inherited his father's last plantation, called "Liberty Hall") would represent Amherst County during many legislative sessions (although "Liberty Hall's address would become Nelson County when it was created from Amherst County).

This William Cabell married Margaret Jordan, daughter of future one-term Buckingham County Burgess Col.

Colonial planter, politician and military officer

In 1756, William Cabell won his first election and the following spring began what became a more than four decade long political career as a delegate in the

Cabell joined the Albemarle County militia in 1756 and two years later (with his father-in-law Samuel Jordan and John Nicholas) became a commissioner for inspecting the damage from the native American raids the previous year, as well as bills for provisions and militia service during the French and Indian War. Governor Francis Fauquier appointing Cabell militia Colonel for Albemarle County on October 11, 1760, and in the following two years the may have been granted 460 acres and 1243 acres in Brunswick County for that service.^[5]

Between February 16, 1761, and May 2, 1763, Dr. Cabell began dividing his land (some received via royal letters patent in 1738) among his sons. He gave William Cabell 1,785 acres of his inheritance early (although he had been living on the acreage bounded by the Fluvanna River since 1752), and began establishing what would become his first and core plantation, "Union Hill". A decade earlier, in 1753, William Cabell had received his first land patent (claim) for 2700 acres on the east side of Tobacco Row Mountain, for which he paid the colony's government 12 pounds and 15 shillings in cash. In 1760, this William Cabell patented land on both sides of Findlay Creek adjoining the acreage he received from his father, and in 1764 he added another 579 acres -- and would build a house and continue to add to the plantation for years.^[6]

Meanwhile, William Cabell also received appointments as the first presiding magistrate of Amherst County, first County lieutenant (chief military officer), first county surveyor (the most important office in a new frontier county), and as its first coroner, all of which legislative, executive and judicial offices he continued to hold until 1775. Thus, while he held all the county offices until 1775, the family historian speculates that many functions were performed by clerks or others under his supervision.^[7]

Patriot

During the American Revolutionary War, William Cabell attended four of the five Virginia Conventions (his brother John Cabell, the sheriff of Buckingham County attended the fifth).

during the revolutionary struggle, and would be the only Piedmont-area representative on the state Committee of Safety. As the presiding justice for Amherst County beginning in 1777, he in effect continued as the area's chief executive officer, in addition to performing judicial duties.

Following the creation of the Commonwealth of Virginia after defeating the British, voters in Albemarle, Amherst and Buckingham counties elected Cabell as their first state senator (and re-elected him in 1788 when Fluvanna County which had been created from part of Albemarle County in 1777 was added to the district).

In 1788 Amherst County voters overwhelmingly elected this William Cabell and his eldest son

, where his sons studied.

Death and legacy

William Cabell Sr. died in 1798 and was buried at Union Hill Cemetery in Winginia, Nelson County.^[10] By the time of his death, he had distributed estates to various family members, who received an additional 30,000 acres in his will. His eldest son, Samuel J. Cabell, was by then representing the area in the U.S. Congress. Many Cabell family papers are held by the University of Virginia libraries, including this man's journals and a 1996 monograph about newly discovered correspondence between his parents during his childhood. However, most of the Union Hill outbuildings were deteriorated by 1898, and much of the property left family hands in 1969 when sold to a Richmond development company. The Union Hill house was moved onto 1551 Carriage Lane in Goochland County circa 1980, although the Cabell Foundation continues to hold and maintain the historic Cabell family cemetery.^[11]

References