Dabney, Charles William, 1855-1945

Charles William Dabney was a scientist, educator, and author. Also represented in the collection are four generations of his ancestors, including William Dabney (ca. 1707-1772?); Charles Dabney (1745-1829); Charles William Dabney (1786-1833); Charles William Dabney (1809-1895); Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898); Lavinia (Morrison) Dabney (1823-1905); and James Morrison (fl. 1817-1865).

From the description of Charles William Dabney papers, 1715-1945. WorldCat record id: 25968501

Scientist, educator and author.

From the description of Memoir of Charles William Dabney [manuscript], n.d. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647997523

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was born 21 January 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia, to Jonathan Jackson (1790-1826) and Julia Beckwith Neale Jackson (1798-1831). He attended West Point and became an instructor at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. Jackson married first Elinor Junkin (1825-1854) on 4 August 1853. After her death during childbirth, Jackson married Mary Anna Morrison (1831-1915) of North Carolina on 16 July 1857. They had two daughters, Mary Graham Jackson (b. 1858) and Julia Laura Jackson (1862-1889). After Jackson's death 10 May 1863, Mary Anna Jackson returned to North Carolina. She became known as the "Widow of the Confederacy" and became the honorary president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She wrote about her husband and traveled about speaking on him. Mary Anna Jackson died 24 March 1915 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898), Presbyterian clergyman and teacher, was an educator associated with Hampden-Sydney College and with the Union Seminary of Virginia at Farmville, Virginia, 1836-1837, 1844, and 1853-1883. He married Lavinia Morrison (1828-1908) in 1855, and together they had several children including Charles William Dabney (1855-1945). During the Civil War he served with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, first as a chaplain with the 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment in 1861, then as an officer and chief of staff for Stonewall Jackson in 1862. After Jackson's death in 1863, Dabney wrote a biography of the general entitled Life and Campaigns of Lieutenant-General Thomas J. Jackson (1866). He was the son of Charles William Dabney (1786-1833) and Elizabeth Price Dabney, and the brother of Charles William Dabney (1809-1895), who served during the Civil War, in 1861 and 1862, as the captain of Company C, 15th Virginia Infantry Regiment.

Charles William Dabney (1786-1833) was the son of Samuel Dabney (1752-1812) and Jane Meriwether Dabney. Samuel Dabney was the son of William Dabney (1718-1776) and Ann Barret Dabney. Charles Dabney (ca. 1744- 1829), a son of William Dabney, served as an officer during the American Revolution in the 2nd Virginia State Regiment.

From the guide to the Dabney-Jackson Collection, 1716, 1744-1867, (Library of Virginia)

Charles William Dabney (1855-1945)

1855 Born, son of Robert Lewis Dabney and Lavinia Morrison Dabney.

1873 B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College at Farmville, Va.

1874-1877 Attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville.

1877-1878 Taught chemistry at Emory and Henry College, Emory, Va.

1877-1878 Earned Ph.D. at Berlin and Gottingen, Germany.

1880-1887 Director of North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and state chemist of North Carolina.

1880-1881 Taught chemistry at the University of North Carolina.

1881 Married Mary Brent of Paris, Ky.

1883-1884 In charge of government and state exhibits at New Orleans exposition.

1887-1904 President of the University of Tennessee.

1887-1890 Director of Tennessee Experiment Station.

1893-1896 Assistant Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

1897 Special agent, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

1902-1904 Head of Summer School of the South, at Knoxville, Tenn.

1904-1920 President of the University of Cincinnati.

1920-1945 Retired educator and scientist, active writer. Universal Education in the South (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1936).

Other family members

Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898), Presbyterian clergyman and teacher, associated with Hampden-Sydney College and with the Union Seminary of Virginia at Farmville, Va., 1836-1837, 1844, and 1853-1883. He married Lavinia Morrison (1828-1908) in 1855, and together they had several children. During the Civil War he served with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, first as a chaplain with the 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment in 1861, then as an officer on the staff of Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson in 1862. After the Jackson's death in 1863, Dabney wrote a biography of the general entitled Life and Campains of Lt. Gen. T. J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson) (1866), and other works as well. A biographical essay on Robert Lewis Dabney can be found in the Dictionary of American Biography . He was the son of Charles William Dabney (1786-1833) and Elizabeth Price Dabney, and the brother of Charles William Dabney (1809-1895), who served during the Civil War, in 1861 and 1862, as the captain of Company C, 15th Virginia Infantry Regiment.

Charles William Dabney (1786-1833) was the son of Samuel Dabney and Jane Meriwether Dabney. Samuel Dabney was the son of William Dabney (born before 1708, died circa 1773) and Ann Barret Dabney.

Anne Barret Dabney was the daughter of Charles Barret and Mary Chiswell Barret. William Dabney was the son of George Dabney, and the grandson of Cornelius Dabney who probably came to New Kent County, Va., about 1649.

Charles Dabney (1745-1829), a son of William Dabney (see previous paragraph), served as an officer during the American Revolution in the 2nd Virginia State Regiment.

Related Morrison family members mentioned in these papers include clergyman James Morrison (fl.1817-1865), father of Lavinia Morrison Dabney and Henry Rutherford Morrison (who served during the Civil War in the 31st Va. Militia until his death in 1864); Mary Anna Morrison Jackson (1831-1915), born near Charlotte, N.C., who married Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson in 1857; and Mary Moore Morrison Smith, who married clergyman Benjamin Mosby Smith (1811-1893) in 1839.

From the guide to the Charles William Dabney Papers, ., 1715-1945, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)