Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/520

This page needs to be proofread.
488
CAAMANO
CABELL

C

CAAMAÑO, José M. Placido, president of Ecuador, b. in Guayaquil, 5 Oct., 1838. He began the study of law and theology in the seminary of his native city, and was educated in Quito. Sub- sequently he was mayor of Guayaquil, and chief of the custom-house service. Having conspired against the dictator-general, Veintimilla, he was banished in 1882, went to Lima, organized a revo- lutionary expedition with which he left Callao on 14 April, 1883, and landed in Ecuadorian terri- tory three days afterward. He organized a di- vision and joined the forces that were besieging Guayaquil about the middle of May. The place was taken by storm by the combined forces under Caamano, Sarasti, Alfaro, and Salazar.* A provis- ional government was appointed until the national convention could meet, and on 11 Oct. he was elect- ed president ad mterini, and finally proclaimed president of the republic on 17 Feb., 1884. He is the leader of the conservative party ; but even his political opponents gave him their votes to his election. On 6 Feb., 1886, an attempt was made to assassinate him, and he narrowly escaped death by throwing himself into a river. Under his ad- ministration telegraphs, railways, an institute of sciences, several colleges, and many new schools have been added to the resources of Ecuador.


CABALLERO, Jose Agustin (kab-al-lyay'-ro), Cuban educator, b. in Havana in 1771 ; d. in 1835. He was for many years director of the theological seminary of Havana and one of the founders of the first newspaper published in Cuba. He wrote in 1797 a work on eclectic philosophy, entitled " Lecciones de Filosofia Eclectica," He translated also from the Latin the " History of America," by Sepulveda, wrote largely for the press on educational topics, and did much to propagate public instruction in Cuba. He was a remarkable j)ulpit orator.


CABALLERO Y OCIO, Juan, Mexican philanthropist, b. in Queretaro in 1(544; d. 11 April, 1707. He studied theology in the city of Mexico, was ordained priest, and filled several important offices, both civil and ecclesiastical, but would not accept that of "adelantado " of California and two bishoprics in Spain that were offered him by the king when the fame of his extraordinary donations to the poor and for religious institutions had reached the Spanish court. He inherited an immense for- tune, amounting to millions, which he spent en- tirely in alms to the poor, in religious and benevo- lent foundations, in building and furnishing churches, convents, colleges, and infii'inaries, in finishing or improving many other buildings and institutions, in endowments for over two hundred young girls, sixty poor priests, and many ninis, in helping newly arrived foreigners, and in distribut- ing useful articles to the sick in the hospitals. He also built and endowed a church in Logroiio, Spain, his father's native city, and gave the Mexi- can Jesuits $150,000, church ornaments, and every- thing they desired for their mission in California. In 1699 Caballero finally distributed all that was left of his property, keeping for himself nothing but a crucifix, and lived humbly for the rest of his days, always refusing to accept public honors.


CABELL, William, surgeon, b. near Warminster, England, 1 March, 1687 ; d. near Warminster, Nelson co., Va., 12 April, 1774. He was tiie son of Nicholas, an English gentleman belonging to the Cabells of Devon and Somersetshire, whose estates were confiscated, either wholly or in part, because of their allegiance to Cromwell. One of the finest specimens of mediasval glass that has survived the iconoclasm of the Roundheads is in the church of St. John of Frome Selwood, which preserves the Cabell arms in the four panels of a chapel-window. According to tradition. Dr. William Cabell was a surgeon in the British navy, who was captivated by the Virginian climate, resigned his commission about 1723, and procured extensive grants of land along James river, in the present counties of Buckingham, Nelson, Appomattox, and Amherst. The patent for these was issued 12 Sept., 1738. Dr. Cabell married Elizabeth Birks, but whether in England or America is uncertain. In 1735 he was called to England by the death of his father, and left his wife in charge of the Virginia property. He re- mained in England for nearly six years, settling the estates of his father and other recently deceased relatives and practising his profession. On his return he made his home on his patented lands, and was appointed assistant surveyor, an office that en- abled him to increase his already generous estate by a large addition of valuable lands, though not equal in fertility to those at first obtained. He promoted immigration, established a private hospital near his residence, and made professional visits far and near, charging from £1 to £5 for a visit, according to the distance travelled. For amputating an arm the charge was £7 10s., or £12 to £15 if " a cure was guaranteed." He had ap- parently a genuine enthusiasm for his profession, and executive abilities of a high order to carry on such extensive enterprises in a professional way as well as superintending'his landed interests and filling acceptably the local offices that he held. His first wife, by whom alone he had issue, died 21 Sept., 1756, and on 27 Sept., 1762, he married Mrs, Margaret Meredith (a widow), who died 26 Feb., 1768. Dr. Cabell had six children, a daughter and five sons ; and all of the sons save one, who died in childhood, attained eminence. — William, the eldest (commonly known as Col. William Cabell, Sr., of Union Hill), b. at Licking Hole, Goochland co., Va., 13 March, 1730; d. at Union Hill, 23 March, 1798, received the best education attainable in the colony. When he had learned to read at eight years of age his father sent him from England " a Bible, a prayer-book, and a small gun." He became sheriff of Albemarle co. in 1751, and from that time was constantly in responsible positions, assistant surveyor for the county in 1753, " his majesty's presiding justice " and member of the house of burgesses in 1757, commissioner for settling militia claims in 1758, and first presiding magistrate for the United States after the declaration of independence. During all this time he was an active promoter of schemes for improving James river and for increasing the educational and commercial advantages of the colony. About 1773 he aided in establishing iron-works on Hardware river. He was a member of the house of burgesses when the colonies revolted against Great Britain, and a delegate to all the conventions looking toward national independence. He was chosen first state senator from the eighth district, and was a member of the committee that prepared the famous "declaration of rights." Throughout the revolution he was active, in both public and private capacity, in promoting measures for an efficient civil and military service. On 7 Jan., 1789, he was for the last time a candidate for a public office, that of presidential elector, and received the vote of every