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.

Early life

Agnes was born on August 22, 1783, in

Augusta County Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...

, Virginia. Her father was Robert Gamble, who had served as a colonel during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. She attended Parson Blair's Female Seminary in Richmond and resided at Gambles Hill. Cabell was a devout

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, and while in the role of First Lady, she was involved in charitable endeavors including visiting hospitals and charities to the poor. Cabell was also highly involved in Richmond and Washington society.

Marriage

On March 11, 1805, she married Cabell, the then governor-elect of Virginia. Their children included: * 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 Edward Carrington Cabell (February 5, 1816 – February 28, 1896) was the first U.S. Representative from Florida. Biography Born in Richmond, Virginia; attended Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), Lexington, Virginia in 1832 ...

(1816–1896), who moved to Florida and served in its legislature, as well as the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

. * 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 The Court of Appeals of Virginia, established January 1, 1985, is an intermediate appellate court of 17 judges that hears appeals from decisions of Virginia's circuit courts and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. The Court sits in pa ...

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).

Death and legacy

Cabell died in 1863 aged 79. She is interred at

Shockoe Hill Cemetery The Shockoe Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery located on Shockoe Hill in Richmond, Virginia. History Shockoe Hill Cemetery, as it is presently called, was established in 1820, with the initial burial made in 1822. It was earlier known as th ...

in Richmond.

Descendants

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 The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Her granddaughter was Katherine Hamilton Claiborne, President of the

National Society of the Colonial Dames of America The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (often abbreviated as NSCDA) is an American lineage society composed of women who are descended from an ancestor "who came to reside in an American Colony before 1776, and whose services wer ...

. Her great-grandsons included American novelist

James Branch Cabell James Branch Cabell (; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and ''belles-lettres''. Cabell was well-regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His work ...

and 49th Governor of Maryland

Albert Cabell Ritchie Albert Cabell Ritchie (August 29, 1876 – February 24, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he was the 49th governor of Maryland from 1920 to 1935. Ritchie was a conservative who campaigned for, but did not win, the preside ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabell, Agnes Sarah Bell 1783 births 1863 deaths First ladies and gentlemen of Virginia People from Augusta County, Virginia Agnes