Members of the Dabney family were the first, second, and third consuls for the Azores. They were John Bass Dabney, 1766-1826; Charles William Dabney, 1794-1871; and John Pomeroy Dabney, 1822-1874. The latter was also consul to Prussia and acting vice-consul. The family prospered through its foreign trade connections in England, Scotland, Germany, France, Mexico, and elsewhere, and became large and extended. The Dabneys had at least four estates on Fayal in the Azores and were very prosperous and influential. There were four boys and four girls in the family of John P. and Sarah H. Dabney, including Frank Dabney. The boys were sent to school in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Massachusetts, and the girls were tutored at home. Frank Dabney, and possibly his father, attended Harvard University. After the death of John Pomeroy Dabney in 1874, the fortunes of his wife Sarah and his son Frank seemed to diminish, and most if not all of the Dabneys left Fayal. Members of the family then settled in estates in California near Santa Barbara. Sarah H. Dabney lived abroad with at least two of her daughters.
From the guide to the Dabney family papers, 1825-1915, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)
