Editing James Branch Cabell (section)

== Life ==
[[File:James Branch Cabell 1893.jpg|thumb|Cabell in 1893 at age 14]] 
Cabell was born into an affluent and well-connected Virginian family, and lived most of his life in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. The first Cabell settled in Virginia in 1664; Cabell's paternal great-grandfather, [[William H. Cabell]], was Governor of the Commonwealth from 1805 to 1808. [[Cabell County]] in West Virginia is named after the Governor. James Branch Cabell's grandfather, Robert Gamble Cabell, was a physician; his father, Robert Gamble Cabell II (1847–1922), had an MD, but practiced as a druggist; his mother, Anne Harris (1859&ndash;1915), was the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel James R. Branch, of the Army of the [[Confederate States of America]]. James was the oldest of three boys—his brothers were Robert Gamble Cabell III (1881&ndash;1968) and John Lottier Cabell (1883&ndash;1946). His parents separated and were later divorced in 1907.<ref name="vcubio">{{citation |url=https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/exhibits/show/jamesbranchcabell/biography |title=James Branch Cabell: Man of Letters and Libraries |periodical= Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries Gallery |access-date=June 20, 2016}}</ref> His aunt was the suffragist and educationist [[Mary-Cooke Branch Munford]].<ref name="JamesJames1971">{{cite book|author1=Edward T. James|author2=Janet Wilson James|author3=Paul S. Boyer|title=Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary|url=https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw02jame_0|url-access=registration|date=1 January 1971|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-62734-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/notableamericanw02jame_0/page/1 1]–}}</ref>

Although Cabell's surname is often mispronounced "Ka-BELL", he himself pronounced it "CAB-ble". To remind an editor of the correct pronunciation, Cabell composed this rhyme: "Tell the rabble my name is Cabell."

Cabell matriculated at the [[College of William and Mary]] in 1894 at the age of fifteen and graduated in June 1898. While an undergraduate, Cabell taught [[French language|French]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] at the college. According to his close friend and fellow author [[Ellen Glasgow]], Cabell developed a friendship with a professor at the college which was considered by some to be "too intimate" and, as a result Cabell was dismissed, although he was subsequently readmitted and finished his degree.<ref name="friendsrivals">{{citation|url=http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/exhibit/friends1.html |title=Friends and Rivals: James Branch Cabell and Ellen Glasgow |publisher=Internet Archive |access-date=June 20, 2016 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127234146/http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/exhibit/friends1.html |archive-date=November 27, 2011}}</ref> Following his graduation, he worked from 1898 to 1900 as a newspaper reporter in New York City, but returned to Richmond in 1901, where he worked several months on the staff of the ''[[Richmond Times-Dispatch|Richmond News]]''.<ref name="vcubio" />

1901 was an eventful year for Cabell: his first stories were accepted for publication, and he was suspected of the murder of John Scott, a wealthy Richmonder. It was rumored that Scott was involved romantically with Cabell's mother. Cabell's supposed involvement in the Scott murder and his college "scandal" were both mentioned in Ellen Glasgow's posthumously published (1954) autobiography ''The Woman Within''.<ref name="friendsrivals" /> In 1902, seven of Cabell's first stories appeared in national magazines and over the next decade he wrote many short stories and articles, contributing to nationally published magazines including ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's Monthly Magazine]]'' and ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', as well as carrying out extensive research on his family's genealogy.<ref name="vcubio" />

Between 1911 and 1913, he was employed by his uncle in the office of the Branch coal mines in West Virginia. On November 8, 1913, he married Priscilla Bradley Shepherd, a widow with five children from her previous marriage.<ref name="vcubio" /> In 1915, son Ballard Hartwell Cabell was born. Priscilla died in March 1949; Cabell was remarried in June 1950 to Margaret Waller Freeman.

During his life, Cabell published fifty-two books, including novels, genealogies, collections of short stories, poetry, and miscellanea. He was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]] in 1937.<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Branch Cabell |url=https://artsandletters.org/?s=james+branch+cabell |access-date=March 11, 2022 |website=American Academy of Arts and Letters}}</ref>

[[File:Branch cabell grave800px.jpg|thumb|right|Grave of Cabell in Hollywood Cemetery]]
Cabell died of a [[cerebral hemorrhage]] in 1958 in Richmond, and was buried in the graveyard of the [[Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill]]. The following year the remains of Cabell and his first wife were reinterred in [[Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)|Hollywood Cemetery]].<ref name=EV>{{cite web|last1=Wetta|first1=Stephen R.|title=James Branch Cabell (1879–1958)|url=http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Cabell_James_Branch_1879-1958|publisher=[[Encyclopedia Virginia]]|access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>

Significant Cabell collections are housed at various repositories, including [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] and the [[University of Virginia]].