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William Cabell Jr.
Member From: 1761 - 1788
- Birth Date: March 13, 1730 Birth Place:"Licking Hole" Goochland County, Virginia
- Death Date: March 23, 1798
- Gender: Male Race: Caucasian, English
- Spouse: Margaret Jordan (1742 - 1812) marriage date 1756
- Children: Samuel Jordan Cabell (1756 - 1818)
William Cabell, Jr. (1759 - 1822)
+ 5 - Religion:
- Education:
- Military Service: Served with Peter Jefferson in the French and Indian War, rising to the rank of Colonel by 1760
- Occupation/Profession:
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Additional Info Links:
http://small.library.virginia.edu/collections/featured/the-cabell-family-papers-2/biographies/genealogy/col-william-cabell/
- Additional Info: Son of William Cabell (1699 - 1774) & Elizabeth Burks (1706 - 1756) date of their marriage 1726
Jr. suffix not used after 1776
- Bio: The eldest son of William Cabell, Col. William Cabell (distinguished most frequently from his father by his military title), followed very directly in his footsteps. He haunted the same stretch of the James River and held many of the same offices, adding markedly to the Cabell family reputation by his outstanding public service.
Very soon after coming of age, in 1751, Cabell joined his father as a vestryman of St. Anne’s Parish in Albemarle county. In late 1753, he took over his father’s position as a surveyor. He obtained a commission in the militia and served with Peter Jefferson in the French and Indian War, rising by 1760 to the rank of Colonel. Already prestigious in 1756, he then married Margaret Jordan and immediately started a family. Like several of their other children and grandchildren, their firstborn, Samuel Jordan Cabell, was extremely active politically; he was both a Delegate to the General Assembly (1785-1792) and a four-term representative to the United States Congress (1795-1803). As a family man, Cabell continued to accrue power and land. Between 1761 and 1775, he held almost every possible office in Amherst County–presiding magistrate, county lieutenant, county surveyor, and even coroner (like his father!). Moreover, he was a Burgess from at least 1761-1776, a member of all five Revolutionary Conventions, and a Senator or Delegate in the General Assembly from 1776-1783, then again 1787-1788.
A great patriot, Cabell protested the Stamp Act and acted within the legislature to defend colonial rights. His last hope for reconciliation with the mother country failed in 1774 when he received word of Parliament’s Boston Port Bill, one of the “Coercive Acts.” Family tradition records his reaction: “No one can deny that the people of this colony have been loyal subjects; they have borne their grievances with patience, and have petitioned, and have petitioned respectfully for their removal. All their remonstrances and memorials have been treated with neglect and contempt, and now we are to be gagged. By the eternal God! we must fight, and for one, I care not how soon.” He afterwards served on the colony-wide Committee of Safety, helped recruit troops for Amherst County, and kept his position in the House of Delegates.
Like his brothers, Col. William Cabell received land from his father, who had patented thousands of acres along the James River. In 1763, he inherited over 1200 acres in what is now Nelson County. He had been living on this land since about 1752 and had, by purchase, already added to it’s extent. He continued to acquire adjacent lands, accumulating in all over 25,000 contiguous acres. It was on this gigantic estate that he built between 1775 and 1778 “Union Hill,” which was to become the most important Cabell homestead. It was to Union Hill that family members traveled to give birth or to die, and from Union Hill that Alexander Brown wrote The Cabells and Their Kin in the late nineteenth century. - Other Notable Service and/or Elected Offices:
Senate of Virginia -(1776 - 1781)
Numerous leadership positions in Amherst County; Presiding Magistrate, county lieutenant, county surveyor & coroner.
| Session | District | District Number | Party | Leadership | Committees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1761-1765 | Amherst | Courts of Justice | |||
| 1766-1768 | Amherst | Propositions and Grievances | |||
| 1769 | Amherst | Privileges and Elections Propositions and Grievances |
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| 1769-1771 | Amherst | Privileges and Elections Propositions and Grievances |
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| 1772-1774 | Amherst | Privileges and Elections Propositions and Grievances Religion |
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| 1775-1776 | Amherst | Privileges and Elections Propositions and Grievances Religion |
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| 1781-1782 | Amherst | Religion (Chair) Privileges and Elections Trade |
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| 1782 | Amherst | Religion (Chair) Privileges and Elections Propositions and Grievances |
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| 1783 | Amherst | Religion (Chair) Privileges and Elections |
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| 1787-1788 | Amherst | Claims Privileges & Elections Propositions and Grievances Religion |
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| 1788 | Amherst | Propositions and Grievances (Chair) Privileges and Elections Religion |
*The information within this interactive and searchable application has been researched extensively by the House Clerk’s Office. As with any historical records of this age and breadth, there may be discrepancies and/or inconsistencies within records obtained from a variety of credible sources. Any feedback is encouraged at history@house.virginia.gov.