Edward Carrington Cabell (February 5, 1816 – February 28, 1896) was the first

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Florida.

Biography

Born in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

; attended Washington College (now

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

in 1832 and 1833 and Reynolds' Classical Academy in 1833 and 1834; was graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

in 1836; moved to Florida in 1837 and engaged in agricultural pursuits near

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. Cabell served as delegate to the Territorial convention to form a State constitution in 1838. He returned to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He then returned to Tallahassee, and upon the admission of Florida as a State into the Union he was seemingly elected to the

Twenty-ninth United States Congress The 29th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845, ...

and seated after he presented credentials. However his opponent, William H. Brockenbrough, contested the election on the grounds that if some returns, that were delivered after the 30 day time limit, were included he would've won and arguing that some ballots should be excluded because of how they were delivered. The investigating committee did not agree that who delivered the ballots should matter, but did decide that the time limit was merely directory and that all the returns should be included. This resulted in a small victory for Brockenbrough and so Cabell was deemed ineligible and the seat awarded to Brokenbrough. Cabell thus served from October 6, 1845, to January 24, 1846. Cabell ran again and was elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth and then re-elected to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses (March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1853), but was an unsuccessful candidate in 1852 for reelection to the Thirty-third Congress. During his time in Congress he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings during the Thirtieth-Congress. Resumed the practice of law in Tallahassee; moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

in 1859, In May–June 1861 served as Missouri Governor C. F. Jackson's secret Commissioner (Ambassador) to the Confederate Government. Subsequently, 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 ...

served in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

with rank of lieutenant colonel; engaged in the practice of law in New York City 1868–1872, and subsequently in St. Louis, Mo.; member of the State senate of Missouri 1878–1882; died in St. Louis, Mo.; interment in

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine has several architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the Louis Su ...

Notes

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabell, Edward Carrington 1816 births 1896 deaths Members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Florida Whigs Missouri state senators Washington and Lee University alumni University of Virginia alumni Politicians from Richmond, Virginia Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery Florida lawyers People of Missouri in the American Civil War Confederate States Army officers Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest Cabell family 19th-century Missouri politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives