Agnes Sarah Bell Cabell

Agnes Sarah Bell Cabell (August 22, 1783 – February 15, 1863) was the First Lady of Virginia from 1805 to 1808 as the wife of the fourteenth governor, William H. Cabell.

Agnes Sarah Bell Cabell
First Lady of Virginia
Assumed role
December 7, 1805 – December 1, 1808
GovernorWilliam H. Cabell
Preceded byMargaret Lowther Page
Succeeded byElizabeth Monroe
Personal details
Born
Agnes Sarah Bell Gamble

August 22, 1783
Augusta County, Virginia]], U.S.
DiedFebruary 15, 1863 (aged 79)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeShockoe Hill Cemetery
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseWilliam H. Cabell
Children7, including Edward and Henry

Early life

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Agnes was born on August 22, 1783, in Augusta County, Virginia.[1] Her father was Robert Gamble, who had served as a colonel during the American Revolutionary War.[2] She attended Parson Blair's Female Seminary in Richmond and resided at Gambles Hill.[3]

Cabell was a devout Presbyterian, and while in the role of First Lady, she was involved in charitable endeavors including visiting hospitals and charities to the poor.[4] Cabell was also highly involved in Richmond and Washington society.[3]

Marriage

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On March 11, 1805, she married Cabell, the then governor-elect of Virginia.[5][6] Their children included:[4][2][7]

  • Emma Catherine Cabell Carrington (1808–1887)
  • Robert Gamble Cabell (1809–1889)
  • Elizabeth Hannah Cabell Daniel (1811–1892)
  • William Wirt Cabell (1813–1891)
  • Edward Carrington Cabell (1816–1896), who moved to Florida and served in its legislature, as well as the U.S. Congress.[8]
  • John Grattan Cabell (1817–1896)
  • Henry Coalter Cabell (1820–1889), Civil War Confederate Army Officer who later served as director of the Central Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and the James River Canal Company, and judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals

In 1840, the Cabell household comprised seven free white persons and ten slaves (2 adult men, 4 boys under age 10, and 4 adult women).[9]

Death and legacy

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Cabell died in 1863 aged 79. She is interred at Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond.[4]

Descendants

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Cabell's grandsons included James Alston Cabell, Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge of Virginia, and Isaac Carrington, provost marshal for the city of Richmond during the American Civil War. Her granddaughter was Katherine Hamilton Claiborne, President of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Her great-grandsons included American novelist James Branch Cabell and 49th Governor of Maryland Albert Cabell Ritchie.[10][11][12]

References

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  1. ^ MacKenzie, George Norbury (1917). Colonial Families of the United States of America: In which is Given the History, Genealogy and Armorial Bearings of Colonial Families who Settled in the American Colonies from the Time of the Settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the Battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. Grafton Press.
  2. ^ a b Deal, John G. "William H. Cabell (1772–1853)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  3. ^ a b Munford, George Wythe (1884). The Two Parsons: Cupid's Sports; The Dream; and The Jewels of Virginia. J.D.K. Sleight.
  4. ^ a b c "Obituary - Mrs. A.S.B. Cabell". Richmond Whig. February 18, 1863.
  5. ^ "Midway". The Cabell Family Society, Inc. 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  6. ^ Brown, Alexander (1895). The Cabells and Their Kin: A Memorial Volume of History, Biography, and Genealogy. Houghton, Mifflin & Company.
  7. ^ Burke, Arthur Meredyth (1908). The Prominent Families of the United States of America. Sackville Press, Limited.
  8. ^ Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Biographical Society.
  9. ^ 1840 U.S. Federal census for Richmond, Virginia.
  10. ^ Virkus, Frederick Adams; Marquis, Albert Nelson (1925). The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy: First Families of America. A.N. Marquis.
  11. ^ Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. 1903.
  12. ^ Kennedy, Mary Selden (1911). Seldens of Virginia and Allied Families. Frank Allaben Genealogical Company.
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