William Cabell Rives
William Cabell Rives | |
---|---|
Thomas Mann Randolph | |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Nelson County | |
In office 1817–1820 | |
Preceded by | Joseph Shelton |
Succeeded by | John P. Cobbs |
Personal details | |
Born | alongside William F. Gordon May 4, 1793 Amherst County, Virginia |
Died | April 25, 1868 Charlottesville, Virginia | (aged 74)
Resting place | alongside William F. Gordon alongside Thomas McCleland, John P. Cobbs and Joseph Shelton |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic, Whig |
Parent |
|
William Cabell Rives (May 4, 1793 – April 25, 1868) was an American lawyer, planter, politician and
Early life and education
Rives was born at "Union Hill", the
After private tutoring appropriate to his station, W. C. Rives attended
During the War of 1812, he joined the local militia, which defended the Commonwealth.[5]
Personal life
In 1819, Rives married Judith Page Walker (1802–1882), the daughter of
Early career
In 1814, Rives was admitted to the bar at Richmond. He began his law practice in Nelson County, but after his marriage moved to her estate Castle Hill, near Cobham in Albemarle County. This remained his primary residence for the rest of his life.
Like his father and other family members, Rives operated his plantations using enslaved labor. In the 1830 federal census, he owned 26 enslaved men and 26 enslaved women in Albemarle County.[10] In the 1850 federal census, he owned 54 slaves in Albemarle County.[11] A decade later, Rives owned 68 slaves and his son William C. Rives Jr. owned 24 slaves in Albemarle County.[12] His brother or nephew Robert Rives Jr. owned 43 slaves in Albemarle County in 1850.[13] and 70 slaves a decade later.[14]
Political career
Rives's political career began by as one of Nelson County's delegates in the state constitutional convention of 1816.[5] Rives then won election and re-election as one of Nelson County's delegates (part time) in the Virginia House of Delegates (serving 1817–19), then won election as one of Albemarle County's delegates in 1822.[15] During that session, his younger brother Robert Rives Jr., also served, as one of the Nelson County delegates.
Rives did not seek re-election to the Virginia legislature because in November 1822, voters in Virginia's 10th congressional district (which included both counties) elected him to represent them in the United States House of Representatives. He also won re-election and served from 1823 to 1829. In 1829 President Andrew Jackson nominated Rives to become Minister to France.
When Rives took office, compensation demands for captured American ships and sailors, dating from the Napoleonic era, caused strained relations between the American and French governments. The French Navy had captured and sent American ships to Spanish ports while holding their crews captive, thus forcing them to labor without any charges or judicial rules. Secretary of State Martin Van Buren, considered relations between the U.S. and France "hopeless."[16] Yet, Rives was able to convince the French government to sign a reparations treaty on July 4, 1831, that would award the U.S. ₣ 25,000,000 ($5,000,000) in damages.[17] However, the French government fell behind in its payments due to internal financial and political difficulties, but after firm insistence from the United States, payments were finally made in February 1836.[16]
Rives was presented as a candidate for the Democratic vice presidential nomination in 1835, but the nomination went to Richard M. Johnson, in spite of having been presidential nominee Martin Van Buren's preferred candidate.
After Rives returned from France, Virginia legislators elected (and twice re-elected) him to the
Rives also served on the Board of Visitors for the University of Virginia from 1834 to 1849, and for many years as president of the Virginia Historical Society.
In 1849, Rives once again accepted an appointment (and the Senate confirmed him) as Minister to France. He served until 1853, when he returned to his Virginia plantations. In 1831, Rives was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.[18]
Later life and American Civil War
Rives published several books and pamphlets, including the Life and Character of John Hampden (1845), Ethics of Christianity (1855) and Life and Times of James Madison (4 vols., Boston, 1859–68). His wife also published several volumes: The Canary Bird (1835), Epitome of the Holy Bible (1846), Tales and Souvenirs of a Residence in Europe (1842), Home and the World (1857),[5]
In 1860, Rives endorsed the call for a
Death and legacy
Rives died at Castle Hill in 1868 and was buried in the family cemetery. In addition to re surviving historic estate homes, Rives is the namesake of the town of Rivesville, West Virginia.[19]
See also
- Rives, Barclay (2014). William Cabell Rives : a country to serve. New York, New York: Atelerix. OCLC 878972025.
- Latner, Richard B. (2002). "Andrew Jackson". In Graff, Henry (ed.). The Presidents: A Reference History (7th ed.).
- McCoy, Drew R. The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 323–369.
References
- Appleton's Cyclopediavol. V p. 267
- ^ "Historical Marker Detailing Oak Ridge Plantation".
- ^ "Founders Online: Robert Rives to Thomas Jefferson, 3 July 1811".
- ^ Brown, Alexander (1939). The Cabells and Their Kin. Richmond: Garrett and Massie.
- ^ a b c d Appleton's
- ^ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (December 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Cobham Park" (PDF).
- ^ inscription to the right of the Great Choir.
- ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 386–387.
- ^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Albemarle County, Virginia family no. 63, p. 8 of 261
- ^ 1830 U.S. Federal Census for Albemarle County, Virginia pp.111-112 of 150.
- ^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule for Fredericksville, Albemarle County, Virginia pp. 33 of 149.
- ^ 1860 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule for Fredericksville, for Albemarle County, Virginia pp. 25, 26 of 86.
- ^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule for Fredericksville, Albemarle County, Virginia p. 149 of 149.
- ^ 1860 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule for St. Anne's, Albemarle County, Virginia pp. 25, 26, 27, 89 of 89.
- ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 290, 295, 300, 313
- ^ a b Latner 2002, pp. 119–20.
- ^ Cunningham, Hugo S. (1999). "Gold and Silver Standards France". Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
- ^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 533.
External links
- United States Congress. "William Cabell Rives (id: R000285)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- William Cabell Rives at Find a Grave