| Notes |
- "Dr. William Cabell was the first member of the Cabell family to leave England for the colonies. He was born in Warminster, graduated from the Royal College of Medicine and Surgery in London, and practiced there before entering the British Navy as a surgeon. The ship on which he was serving put in at Jamestown, and Cabell fell in love with the country. Shortly after, he resigned his post, returned to England to settle his affairs, and immigrated to Virginia in 1724 or 1725. Cabell continued his career as a doctor in Virginia, treating the local population and prescribing treatments for various ailments. Because he possessed considerable wealth and land, his papers are primarily made up of business transactions. There are many indentures recording the loans he made to men and their families and the terms under which they were to be paid back....
"In the 1720s William Cabell married Elizabeth Burks and their first child, Mary, was born in 1727. Mary was followed by William in 1729 and Joseph in 1732. In 1735, William was obliged to return to England for six years to settle the affairs of his parents and other relations. Before he left, he signed over power of attorney to his wife and to his friends, William Mayo and George Carrington. Primarily, however, the job fell to Elizabeth to ensure that the extensive Cabell lands were planted and protected over the six years he was away. During this time, an interesting legend began about Elizabeth Cabell: people claimed she was descended from a princess of the Powhatan tribe and, knowing this, the local Indians had protected William Cabell while he searched out his lands, and Elizabeth while her husband was away. It is more likely, however, that her relationship with the Society of Friends, with whom the Indians were on good terms, helped ensure her safety. However, there may be some truth in the story as both the Floyd and Davis familes (all relatives of the Burks) insist that they have "Indian blood" from the clandestine marriage of a beautiful princess named Nicketti and a member of an old Cavalier family from Virginia. William Cabell's papers primarily record his business transactions; however, from behind the columns of figures we can draw some interesting inferences about life on the Virginia frontier. Although William's nearest neighbor might be a day's journey away, they were still intimately connected through their financial dealings and through local politics. William was well known and wealthy. His neighbors frequently appealed to him for loans or for more time to pay back their loans. Their financial stability was based on their land and the money they could make from it. Loans were granted on their assurances that they would return the money as soon as a profitable harvest made their fortune. At a very last resort, a land owner would sell of a parcel of his land or even more reluctantly some slaves since he was then selling off the means to his future prosperity. William Cabell also received petitions from his female neighbors, indicating that women were actively involved with the management of the land."
|
Search | Advanced Search | Search Families | Search Site
1700 - 1774 (~ 74 years)