Cabot family

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The Cabot family is one of the Boston Brahmins, also called the First Families of Boston.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Family Origins

Despite the Cabots' reign as the supreme family of Boston's social elite, the Cabots arrived in America without the prestige that many first families enjoyed. The Cabots did not arrive on the Mayflower, but arrived later than most of Boston's first families. While nearly all of Boston's first families arrived in Boston from England, the Cabot brothers came from the Channel Island of Jersey, which lies off the northwest coast of Normandy, France. The Cabot name itself may have been misleading, as they had no relationship to the explorer John Cabot, or to the French Chabots, despite the Cabot family's adoption of the Chabot coat of arms.

Upon arriving in Massachusetts, the Cabot family landed in Salem, where they stayed for some time before eventually moving to the famous Beacon Hill section of Boston (the address for all Boston Brahmins).

[edit] The Cabots' Rise to Prominence

The Cabot family's rise to prominence in Boston's social circles was very much like the rise of the other Boston Brahmins, in that it was facilitated by wealth gained through marriage and merchants. Shipping during the eighteenth century was the lifeblood of most of Boston’s first families, who usually got their start with the help of "The King of Shipping" Colonel Thomas Perkins. The first great merchant of the Cabot family was George Cabot, who left Harvard to become a cabin boy on a shipping vessel. George Cabot worked his way through shipping to become extraordinarily wealthy, reportedly making profits of $130,000 on a single ship. Cabot made his fortune like many first families through the triangle trade with Africa for slaves and rum and sake and wine. George Cabot also was involved in smuggling during the American Revolution, along with many other first families.

Samuel Cabot provided the next influx of money into the Cabot family by combining the first family staples of marrying money and working in shipping. He moved from Salem to Boston, and in 1812 married the daughter of merchant king Colonel Perkins. Seeing the opportunities in shipping that followed the War of 1812, Cabot became partners in Perkin’s firm and died a millionaire.

The Cabots, like all surviving first families, continued their legacy as Boston elite through the money of various businessmen with fortuitious timing. Eventually the Cabots moved their interests from shipping to textiles and chemicals. John Cabot, son of the founding Cabots, established America’s first cotton mill in 1787 in Beverly, Massachusetts.[1] Godfrey Lowell Cabot was founder of the worlds largest carbon black producer (Cabot Corporation [1] NYSE:CBT ) in the country, which was used for inks and paints.

[edit] The Choicest Cut of Cold Roast Boston

In Boston, the Forbes family is the symbol of inherited wealth; the arts belong to the Lowells; and political history belongs to the Adams family. The Cabots, however, are the kings of Boston’s elite social scene. The Cabots have succeeded in dominating Boston’s social world since their rise to prominence. This is probably partly due to their membership in many of Boston’s first families through marriage. Like all Boston Brahmin families, the Cabots only marry within their social circle, which serves to maintain exclusivity and to keep money within a small pool. Cabots have been known to marry mostly Lees, Jacksons, Higginsons and Lowells. In one Cabot family of seven children, four of them married Higginsons. A Jackson family of five was reported to have married three Cabots.

Another tradition of the Cabot family that is also held by many other first families is the repetition of their sons' names, professions, and their education at Harvard. Francis Cabot Lowell was a founding member of the Porcellian Club, Harvard’s oldest and most exclusive finals club. Godfrey Lowell Cabot donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Harvard. Harvard has several buildings named after the Cabot family, including Cabot House and the Godfrey Lowell Cabot Science Library.

[edit] Cabot Quirks

Many of the first families of Boston have quirks. The Cabots, in particular, are known as shockingly frank. The people of Boston have embraced the Cabots for their straightforwardness. Dr. Richard Cabot was once asked to dinner and replied "Really I have so many people I should like to dine with but never get around to, I should not pretend that I ever would do it." (Amory p.230). Cabot women are especially known for their frank language, despite living in what is almost considered America’s manners capital, behind Charleston, South Carolina.

One of the characteristics of Boston’s social elite that distinguishes it from the social elite from other U.S. cities is its insistence upon conservative clothing, homes, and manners. The Cabots are no exception. Rarely do the Cabot women wear their fine jewels. Like most of Boston’s first families, the Cabots have a familial summering spot in North Haven, Maine. Modesty is apparent in "Cabotville," the Cabots' summering home. The compound consists of a number of small, spartan buildings along the coast. The compound lacks many amenities, including telephones. The boats that are moored off the compound are the only sign of wealth, even though "Cabotville" lacks docks, and has created a strange use of ropes, known as a haul off, to board the boats from the shore.

Though the Cabots have maintained a very exclusive social standing, they have long been known for their incredible generosity and charity. It is said in Boston that "where there is a cause, there is a Cabot." The family has donated much of its money within the city, and often specifically to Harvard University, with multiple buildings named in their honor. The Cabot family is well-known as a family of philanthropy, but only at their own will. When asked to donate money, Cabots have reportedly replied angrily and bluntly.

[edit] Notable Cabots

[edit] See also

[edit] Bibliography

  • Amory, Cleveland; The Proper Bostonians, E.P. Dutton, New York 1947
  • Briggs, L. Vernon; History and Genealogy of the Cabot Family 1475-1927; C.E. Goodspeed & Company, Boston 1927
  • Cabot, Ellsworth S.; Mostly about the Cabots, St Louis 1966
  • Cooke, Carolyn; The Bostons, Houghton Mifflin, Boston 2001
  • Greene, Richard Henry; When the Mayflower Sailed Away, T.A. Wright, New York 1897
  • Li- Marcus, Moying; Beacon Hill: The life and times of a neighborhood, Northeastern University Press, Boston 2002

[edit] References

  1. ^ Beverly Community History Cotton Mill, www.globalindex.com. URL accessed January 14, 2007.

[edit] External links