Early Years
William H. Cabell was born on December 16, 1772, at Boston Hill in Cumberland County, the son of Nicholas Cabell and Hannah Carrington Cabell. Reared in a wealthy and politically prominent family, he was closely related to many men of importance in Virginia, and his brother Joseph C. Cabell became the first president of the James River and Kanawha Company. Cabell reportedly added the initial H to his name to distinguish himself from several other William Cabells. His acquaintance Hugh Blair Grigsby referred to him in 1860 as William Henry Cabell, but there is no other evidence for a middle name.
Governorship
On December 6, 1805, soon after the start of Cabell's sixth legislative term, the General Assembly elected him governor of Virginia. He defeated Alexander McRae, an outspoken Republican, by a vote of 99 to 90. Cabell was only thirty-two years old when he took office on December 11, 1805, and may have been elected because he was acceptable to Jefferson's supporters, to dissident Republicans led by John Randolph of Roanoke, and to some Federalists. The assembly reelected Cabell in 1806 and 1807. He served the legal maximum of three consecutive one-year terms and relinquished office on December 12, 1808.
Cabell displayed a thoughtful and judicious approach in making decisions as governor. He repeatedly advised correspondents which actions were beyond the purview of his office or reported that he had taken action only with the advice of the Council of State. Even during the Chesapeake affair, although Cabell was quick to mobilize the state's resources, he recognized the superior jurisdiction of the federal government and acted defensively and prudently. So attentive was Cabell to the law that in August 1808 he admonished the Brunswick County jailer for confining a prisoner to a cell with inadequate air circulation that might imperil the prisoner's health. Cabell recommended that the jailer take the prisoner out of his cell occasionally in order to keep him alive until the date of his scheduled execution.
Judicial Career
Early in 1809, a few weeks after Cabell's final term as governor concluded, the General Assembly divided Kanawha County and named the new jurisdiction Cabell County. His deliberate and thorough approach to decision-making both prepared and recommended him for the next stage of his professional life. On December 14, 1808, the assembly elected Cabell a judge of the General Court. For more than two years he conducted civil trials and heard appeals in criminal cases in the counties of Charles City, Elizabeth City, Gloucester, James City, King William, Mathews, Middlesex, New Kent, Warwick, and York. In March 1811 the governor appointed Cabell to a vacancy on the Virginia Court of Appeals, which became the Supreme Court of Appeals under the new state constitution of 1830, and in 1831 the assembly reelected him. As the senior member he became president of the court on January 18, 1842, but his deteriorating physical condition caused him to miss several sessions in 1850 and 1851. The Constitution of 1851 required the judges to be elected by popular vote, and because of his poor health Cabell was not a candidate in the May 1852 election. His forty-one years of service made him, along with his near-contemporary Francis Taliaferro Brooke, among the longest-serving judges in the history of the court.
The most important case Cabell heard occurred early in his judicial career. The issues in Hunter v. Martin (1814) revolved around the right to appeal decisions made in the Virginia Court of Appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. Cabell and his colleagues unanimously ruled that the U.S. Constitution and the federal Judiciary Act of 1789 did not authorize the federal courts to hear appeals from rulings of the highest state courts. Recalling his 1798 vote for the Virginia Resolutions, Cabell wrote that the power of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear appellate cases infringed on the jurisdiction of the state courts. Ultimately the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Virginia Court of Appeals.
Time Line
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December 16, 1772 - William H. Cabell is born at Boston Hill in Cumberland County.
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1785–1789 - William H. Cabell attends Hampden-Sydney College.
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1793 - William H. Cabell graduates from the College of William and Mary with the first bachelor of law degree awarded by that college.
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June 13, 1794 - William H. Cabell receives his license to practice law.
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April 9, 1795 - William H. Cabell and Elizabeth Cabell marry. They will have two sons and one daughter.
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1796–1799 - William H. Cabell represents Amherst County in the House of Delegates.
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November 5, 1801 - Elizabeth Cabell dies from consumption or tuberculosis.
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1802–1805 - William H. Cabell represents Amherst County in the House of Delegates.
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March 11, 1805 - William H. Cabell and Agnes Sarah Bell Gamble marry. They will have three daughters and five sons.
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December 6, 1805 - The General Assembly elects William H. Cabell governor of Virginia.
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December 11, 1805 - William H. Cabell takes office as governor of Virginia.
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1806 - The General Assembly reelects William H. Cabell as governor of Virginia.
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1807 - The General Assembly reelects William H. Cabell to a third consecutive term as governor of Virginia.
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June 22, 1807 - Off the Virginia coast, the British warship Leopard fires on the American frigate Chesapeake and removes four deserters. Governor William H. Cabell orders militia units, arms, and supplies sent to the Norfolk vicinity.
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December 12, 1808 - Having served the legal maximum of three consecutive one-year terms, William H. Cabell relinquishes the office of governor.
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December 14, 1808 - The General Assembly elects William H. Cabell a judge of the General Court.
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1809 - The General Assembly divides Kanawha County and names the new jurisdiction Cabell County.
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March 1811 - William H. Cabell is appointed to a vacancy on the Virginia Court of Appeals.
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1814 - In Hunter v. Martin, the Virginia Court of Appeals finds that the federal courts are not authorized to hear appeals from rulings of the highest state courts.
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1831 - The General Assembly elects William H. Cabell to the Supreme Court of Appeals (formerly the Virginia Court of Appeals).
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January 18, 1842 - William H. Cabell becomes president of the Supreme Court of Appeals.
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May 1852 - Because of his poor health, William H. Cabell is not a candidate for election to the Supreme Court of Appeals.
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January 12, 1853 - William H. Cabell dies at his Richmond home.
References
Further Reading
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Deal, J. G., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. William H. Cabell (1772–1853). (2018, February 2). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Cabell_William_H_1772-1853.
- MLA Citation:
Deal, John G. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "William H. Cabell (1772–1853)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 2 Feb. 2018. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: January 18, 2018 | Last modified: February 2, 2018
Contributed by John G. Deal and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. John G. Deal is editor of the Dictionary of Virginia Biography at the Library of Virginia.