Cabaniss Home / Dr. Francis Cabaniss Roberts (1916-2000)

Cabaniss Home, also, Dr. Francis Cabaniss Roberts (1916-2000). . Septimus D. Cabaniss (1815-1889) purchased this home in 1843, upon his marriage to Virginia A. Shepherd (1824-1907). The couple had nine children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. Architect George Steele built the home, in the Greek Revival style, around 1832 for his business associate, John C. Roach. Cabaniss was its second owner. , Born in Montgomery, Cabaniss practiced law there and served as an officer in the chancery court prior to his marriage. After moving to Huntsville, he became partner in a prestigious law firm alongside Robert C. Brickell. He left the practice in 1858, represented Montgomery County in the state legislature during the Civil War, and subsequently returned to Huntsville in 1865. , Born in 1856, Frances Shepherd Cabaniss lived in this home her entire life. For six years, she worked in the office of her brother, James Cabaniss (d. 1903), who served as register for the Madison County Chancery Court. In 1897, after he resigned the position due to poor health, Frances Cabaniss took his place and remained until 1935. She was one of the first women to hold such an office in Alabama. She died in 1937 and is buried in Huntsville's Maple Hill Cemetery near her parents and siblings. , Dr. Frances Cabaniss Roberts (1916-2000) inherited the property upon the death of her aunt. The noted educator, historian, and preservationist lived here for the rest of her life. , Side 2: , A noted educator, scholar, and preservationist, Dr. Frances Cabaniss Roberts made lasting contributions to the understanding of the history of Huntsville and Alabama. The Gainesville, Ala. native earned a degree from Livingston State Teachers College (now the University of West Alabama) in 1937 and spent the first years of her career teaching in Sumter County. Later, while serving as a history teacher at Huntsville High School, she continued her own education through the University of Alabama. In 1956, she became the first woman to receive a doctorate in history from the university. , In 1950, Roberts became the first faculty member hired by the University of Alabama for its extension center in Huntsville. She was made chair of the history department of the renamed University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1966. The campus humanities building was named in her honor in 1988. , Roberts was a founding member of the Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society and served as president of the Alabama Historical Association. She was among the individuals responsible for the creation of several north Alabama public history projects, including Constitution Hall Village, the Weeden House Museum, Burritt Museum, and the Twickenham, Old Town, and Five Points historic districts. , Roberts inherited this property, originally purchased in 1843 by her great-grandfather Septimus D. Cabaniss, and lived here until her death.