Cabot family

The Cabot family is one of the Boston Brahmin families, also known as the "first families of Boston".

History

Family

The Boston Brahmin Cabot family descended from John Cabot (born 1680 in Jersey, a British Crown Dependency and one of the Channel Islands), who emigrated from his birthplace to Salem, Massachusetts in 1700.<ref name=Genealogy1927>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Cabot family emigrated from Jersey, where the family name can be traced back to at least 1274. In Latin, caput means "head", and the Rev. George Balleine writes that in Jersey the "cabot" is a small fish that seems all head.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In French, once a commonly spoken language in Jersey, "cabot" means a dog, or a military corporal, "caboter" is to navigate along the coast, and "cabotin" means "theatrical".<ref>Beryl T Atkins et al., Collins Robert French Dictionary, 1978, Collins, p. 90.</ref>

Rise to prominence

File:George Cabot.jpg

George Cabot, one of John Cabot's grandsons

John Cabot (born 1680 Isle of Jersey)<ref name=Genealogy1927/> and his son, Joseph Cabot (born 1720 in Salem),<ref name=JosephCabotDates>Template:Cite web</ref> became highly successful merchants, operating a fleet of privateers carrying opium,<ref name=ThomasDudleyCabotNYTObit>Template:Cite news</ref> rum, and enslaved people.<ref name=Britannica>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Shipping during the eighteenth century was the lifeblood of most of Boston's first families. Joseph's sons, Joseph Cabot Jr. (born 1746 in Salem),<ref name=JosephCabotJr>Template:Cite web</ref> George Cabot (born 1752 in Salem),<ref name=GeorgeCabotDates>Template:Cite dictionary</ref> and Samuel Cabot (born 1758 in Salem),<ref name=SamCabotDates>Template:Cite book Pg. 192</ref> left Harvard to work their way through shipping, furthering the family fortune<ref name=Britannica/> and becoming extraordinarily wealthy. Two of the earliest U.S. Supreme Court cases, Bingham v. Cabot (1795) and Bingham v. Cabot (1798), involved family shipping disputes. In 1784, Samuel Cabot relocated to Boston.<ref name=SamCabotDates/>

George Cabot

George Cabot and his descendants went into politics. George Cabot became a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, and was appointed but declined to be first Secretary of the Navy. His great-grandson, Henry Cabot Lodge (born 1850 in Boston)<ref name=HenryCabotLodgeMother/> was also a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts from 1893 until his death in 1924. In the 1916 election, Henry Cabot Lodge defeated John F. Fitzgerald, former mayor of Boston and the maternal grandfather of John, Robert and Edward Kennedy. George's great-great-great grandson, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (born 1902 in Nahant)<ref name=HenryCabotLodgeJrDates/> was also U.S. Senator from Massachusetts from 1937 to 1943 and from 1946 to 1953, when he lost to John F. Kennedy in the 1952 Senate election. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. went on to be the U.S. Ambassador to United Nations under President Eisenhower and ambassador to South Vietnam under President Kennedy. He was 1960 vice presidential candidate for Richard Nixon against Kennedy–Lyndon B. Johnson. George's other great-great-great grandson, John Davis Lodge (born 1903 in Washington, D.C.)<ref name=JohnDavisLodge/> was the 64th Governor of Connecticut. George's great-great-great-great grandson, George Cabot Lodge II (born 1927, son of Henry Cabot Lodge) ran against the successful Edward M. Kennedy in the United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 1962.

Samuel Cabot

File:Godfrey Lowell Cabot.png

Godfrey Lowell Cabot, one of John Cabot's descendants and the founder of Cabot Corporation.

From John Cabot's grandson, Samuel Cabot's side, Samuel Cabot Jr. (born 1784 in Boston)<ref name=SamCabotJrDates>Template:Cite web</ref> furthered the family fortune by combining the first family staples of working in shipping and marrying money. In 1812,<ref name=SamCabotJrDates/> he married Eliza Perkins, daughter of merchant king Colonel Thomas Perkins. Samuel Cabot III (born 1815 in Boston)<ref name=DrSamCabotIII>Template:Cite journal</ref> was an eminent surgeon, whose daughter, Lilla Cabot Perry, was a noted Impressionist artist.<ref name="Boston Atheneum">Template:Cite web</ref> His son, Godfrey Lowell Cabot (born 1861 in Boston)<ref name=GodfreyLowellCabotDates>Template:Cite web</ref> founded Cabot Corporation,<ref name=CabotCorpFounder>Template:Cite web</ref> the largest carbon black producer in the country, used for inks and paints. Godfrey's son, John Moors Cabot (born 1901 in Cambridge),<ref name=JohnMoorsCabotNYTObit/> a great-great-grandson of Samuel, was a U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, and Poland during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administration. Another great-great grandson, Paul Codman Cabot<ref name=CCCLawyerFather&Siblings/> (born 1898<ref name=CCCParents&SiblingAges>Template:Cite bookPg. 21–23</ref> in Brookline),<ref name=PaulCodCabotMutFunFounder/> was cofounder of America's first mutual fund<ref name=PaulCodCabotMutFunFounder/> and "Harvard's [Endowment] Midas".<ref name=PaulCodHarvMidas>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Boston Toast

The widely known<ref name=Genealogy1927/><ref name=ThomasDudleyCabotNYTObit/><ref name=BostonToastTIME1923>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=BostonToastTIME1961>Template:Cite magazine</ref> "Boston Toast" by Holy Cross alumnus John Collins Bossidy features the Cabot family:

Kabotchnik v. Cabot

In 1923, Harry H. Kabotchnik and his wife Myrtle petitioned to have his family name changed to Cabot.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Some prominent Cabots of Boston (Judge Cabot of the Boston Juvenile Court; Stephen Cabot, headmaster of St. George's School, Middletown, R.I.; Dr. Hugh Cabot, dean of University of Michigan Medical School<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>) along with the Pennsylvania branch of the Order of the Founders and Patriots, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania counter-sued to prevent the change.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Judge Charles Young Audenried eventually ruled for the Kabotchniks,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as there was "nothing in the law to prevent it."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Members

• John Cabot (b. 1680 in Isle of Jersey)<ref name=Genealogy1927/> - successful ship merchant
  • Elizabeth Cabot (b. 1715), married Stephen H. Higginson
    • Stephen Higginson (b. 1743)
    • Sarah Higginson (b. 1745), first wife of John Lowell
      • John Lowell Jr. (b. 1769)
  • Francis Cabot (b. 1717<ref name=FrancisCabotDates>Template:Cite web</ref> in Salem) – ship merchant
    • Susanna Cabot (b. 1754), second wife of John Lowell
      • Francis Cabot Lowell (b. 1775 in Newburyport)<ref name=FrancisCabotLowellDates>Template:Cite web</ref> – cofounded Harvard's Porcellian Club, helped introduce power loom in U.S.
  • Joseph Cabot (b. 1720 in Salem)<ref name=JosephCabotDates/> – successful ship merchant
    • Capt. John Cabot (b. 1745 in Salem)<ref name=CaptJohnCabotDate>Template:Cite book</ref> – cofounded America's first cotton mill,<ref name=CaptJohnCabotCottonMill>Template:Cite book</ref> John Cabot House namesake
    • Joseph Cabot Jr. (b. 1746 in Salem)<ref name=JosephCabotJr/> – ship merchant
    • George Cabot (b. 1752 in Salem)<ref name=GeorgeCabotDates/> – successful ship merchant, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, appointed but declined to be first Secretary of the Navy
      • Henry Cabot<ref name=GeorgeCabotBio>Template:Cite book Pg. 568</ref> (b. 1783)Template:Citation needed
        • Anna Cabot (b. 1821)<ref name=HenryCabotLodgeMother/>
          • Henry Cabot Lodge (b. 1850 in Boston)<ref name=HenryCabotLodgeMother>Template:Cite web</ref> – U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and ardent opponent of Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations
            • George Cabot Lodge (b. 1873 in Boston) – poet
              • Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (b. 1902 in Nahant, MA)<ref name=HenryCabotLodgeJrDates>Template:Cite dictionary</ref> – U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, incumbent 1952 U.S. Senate candidate from Massachusetts against John F. Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to United Nations and South Vietnam, and 1960 vice presidential candidate for Richard Nixon against Kennedy–Lyndon B. Johnson
                • George Cabot Lodge II (b. 1927) – Harvard Business School professor, 1962 U.S. Senate candidate from Massachusetts against Edward M. Kennedy
              • John Davis Lodge (b. 1903 in Washington, D.C.)<ref name=JohnDavisLodge>Template:Cite dictionary</ref> – 64th Governor of Connecticut
    • Francis Cabot (b. 1757 in Salem)<ref name=FrancisCabot>"Francis Cabot", RootsWeb. Accessed January 7, 2016.</ref>
      • Mary Ann Cabot (b. 1784) - married her first cousin, Nathaniel Cabot Lee (b. 1772),<ref name=NathanielCabotLee>"Nathaniel Cabot Lee", RootsWeb. Accessed August 15, 2018.</ref> son of Joseph Lee and Elizabeth Cabot (daughter of Joseph Cabot)
        • John Clarke Lee (b. 1804 in Boston)<ref>"John Clarke Lee", RootsWeb. Accessed August 15, 2018.</ref>
          • George Cabot Lee (b. 1830 in Boston)<ref>"George Cabot Lee", RootsWeb. Accessed August 15, 2018.</ref>
            • Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt (b. 1861), first wife of President Theodore Roosevelt
      • Frederick Cabot (b. 1786 in Salem)<ref name=FrancisCabot />
        • Francis Cabot (b. 1825 in Newton, Massachusetts)<ref name=FrederickCabot>"Frederick Cabot", RootsWeb. Accessed January 7, 2016.</ref>
          • Francis Higginson Cabot (b. 1859 in Boston)<ref name=FrancisCabot2>"Francis Cabot", RootsWeb. Accessed January 7, 2016.</ref>
            • Francis Higginson Cabot (b. 1896)<ref name=FrancisCabot2 /> — vice president, Stone & Webster<ref name=Fox/>
              • Francis Higginson Cabot (b. 1925 in New York City) — noted gardener and horticulturist<ref name=Fox>Fox, Margalit. "Francis H. Cabot, 86, Dies; Created Notable Gardens". The New York Times (November 27, 2011): "A son of the New York branch of one of Boston's storied families ..."</ref>
    • Samuel Cabot (b. 1758 in Salem)<ref name=SamCabotDates/> — successful ship merchant
      • Samuel Cabot Jr. (b. 1784 in Boston)<ref name=SamCabotJrDates/> — shipping businessman
        • Samuel Cabot III (b. 1815 in Boston)<ref name=DrSamCabotIII/> – eminent surgeon
          • Lilla Cabot (b. 1848 in Boston) – among first American impressionist artists, contributor to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
          • Samuel Cabot IV (b. 1850)<ref name=SamCobotIVDOB>Template:Cite web</ref> – chemist, founder of Samuel Cabot Inc. that produces Cabot Stains which would later be purchased by Valspar
          • Arthur Tracy Cabot (b. 1852 in Boston)<ref name=DrArthurTCabotDates>Template:Cite book</ref> – progressive surgeon
          • Godfrey Lowell Cabot (b. 1861 in Boston)<ref name=GodfreyLowellCabotDates/> – founder of Cabot Corporation, philanthropist who sponsored the restoration of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology's complete Kronosaurus skeleton.
            • James Jackson Cabot (b. 1891 in Cambridge)
            • Thomas Dudley Cabot (b. 1897 in Cambridge)<ref name=ThomasDudleyCabotDate>Template:Cite web</ref> – businessman and philanthropist, Cabot House namesake
              • Louis Wellington Cabot – businessman, philanthropist, former chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,<ref name=LouisCabotFedRes>Template:Cite news</ref> married Mabel Hobart
              • Linda Cabot Black<ref name=LindaCabotBlack>Template:Cite news</ref> – cofounder of Opera Company of Boston and Opera New England
                • Sophie Cabot Black (b. 1958) – poet
            • John Moors Cabot (b. 1901 in Cambridge)<ref name=JohnMoorsCabotNYTObit>Template:Cite news</ref> – U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, and Poland during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations
              • Lewis P. Cabot -Busunessman and art collector<ref name=SonLewis>Template:Cite news</ref>
              • John G. L. Cabot
                • Andrew Cabot – CEO and COO of Privateer Rum,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> married Kristin Cabot in 2023<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
            • Eleanor Cabot<ref name=EleanorCabotBradley>Template:Cite journal</ref> – Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate namesake
        • Edward Clarke Cabot (b. 1818) — architect and artist
        • Elizabeth Cabot Lee (b. 1819 in Boston)<ref>Elizabeth Cabot Lee</ref> — philanthropist and co-sponsor of the Harvard Museum of Natural History's famous Glass Flowers exhibit. Widely known as Elizabeth C. Ware (her married name).
        • James Elliot Cabot (b. 1821 in Boston) — philosopher and author
          • Richard Clarke Cabot (b. 1868 in Brookline, Massachusetts) — clinical physician, social work pioneer
          • Hugh Cabot (b. 1872 in Beverly Farms)
            • Hugh Cabot (b. 1905 in Boston)
              • Hugh Cabot III (b. 1930 in Boston) — painter<ref>Engle, Kathy. "Internationally known Western artist Hugh Cabot dies at 75", Green Valley News (May 27, 2005): "Born in Boston, the son of a decidedly patrician family ..."</ref>
        • Walter Channing Cabot (b. 1829)<ref name=WalterCCabot>Template:Cite web</ref>
          • Henry Bromfield Cabot (b. 1861 in Boston)<ref name=CCCLawyerFather&Siblings>Template:Cite book</ref> – lawyer
            • Paul Codman Cabot (b. 1898 in Brookline)<ref name=PaulCodCabotMutFunFounder>Template:Cite news</ref>
            • Charles Codman Cabot (b. 1900 in Brookline)<ref name=CCCBirth>Template:Cite web</ref> — associate judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, Boston Bar Association president
          • Elise Cabot Forbes (b. 1869)<ref name=EliseCabotForbesDOB>Template:Cite web</ref> — maternal grandmother of Michael Paine
      • Eliza Lee Cabot Follen (b. 1787 in Boston) – abolitionist and writer

Cabot family network

Associates

The following is a list of figures closely aligned with or subordinate to the Cabot family.

• Nathan Appleton
• Samuel Bodman
• Sarah Caldwell
• Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Augustus Peabody Gardner
• Prescott F. Hall
• Alexander Hamilton<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Patrick Tracy Jackson
• Abbott Lawrence
• John Lowell
• Harrison Gray Otis
• T.H. Perkins
• Thomas S. Perry
• Josiah Quincy Jr.
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Israel Thorndike
• John Train
• Sam Zemurray

Businesses

The following is a list of companies in which the Cabot family have held a controlling or otherwise significant interest.

• Beverly Cotton Manufactory
• Boston Manufacturing Company
• Cabot, Cabot & Forbes
• Cabot Corporation
• Gulf Central Pipeline Company<ref>Template:Cite report</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
• Holtzer-Cabot Electrical Company<ref>Template:Cite news

</ref>

• John & Andrew Cabot and Company<ref>Template:Cite book

</ref>

• Lee, Higginson & Co.
• Opera Company of Boston
• Radio Swan
• Samuel Cabot, Inc.
• Southworth Machine Company<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• State Street Investment Corporation <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Train, Cabot & Associates<ref>Template:Cite news

</ref>

• United Fruit Company<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Philanthropy Institutions & Miscellaneous Non-profits

• Aero Club of New England
• Cabot Corporation Foundation
• Cabot Family Charitable Trust
• Ella Lyman Cabot Trust
• The Garden Conservancy
• Glass Flowers
• Godfrey L. Cabot Solar Energy Conversion Research Project
• Immigration Restriction League
• Maria Moors Cabot Prize
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Paul & Virginia Cabot Charitable Trust
• Porcellian Club
• Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation
• Watch and Ward Society

Buildings and historic sites

• Cabot House (Harvard)
• Cabot Farm
• Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
• Jeremiah Lee Mansion
• John Cabot House
• Les Quatre Vents
• Lewis Cabot Estate
• Mount Murray
• Stonecrop Gardens

See also

• List of United States political families

External links

• Papers, 1786–1945. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
• The Cabot Family Template:Webarchive