Cable, George Washington - Northampton, MA

 

George Washington Cable

Bridge Street Cemetery

Northampton, MA

N 42° 19.598 W 072° 37.736

Headstone

The grave of George Washington Cable and his third wife Hannah Cable is located in a family plot with three other identical grave markers for his first wife Louisa Stewart Bartlett, son William, and sister Mary Louise. His son's marker is broken. The grave markers have ornate double scroll design at the top and the original inscription in raised letters:

GEORGE WASHINGTON CABLE
1844 - 1925

The inscription for his third wife was added later. It is inscribed in incised letters:

HANNAH L. CABLE
THIRD WIFE OF
GEORGE W. CABLE
1862–1951

Inscription

George Washington Cable was born in New Orleans, LA on October 12, 1844. He was educated in private schools and served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He worked for the New Orleans Picayune from 1865 to 1879 and became an established writer. His is considered to be America's first Southern writer. His novels about race relations and racism in the south preceded the topics explored by William Faulkner.

In 1873 he wrote the acclaimed story about Creole life, "Sieur George", for Scribner's Monthly. He then published six more stories about Creole life in the magazine. The stories were collected and published in a book titled Old Creole Days in 1879. In 1880 he published his first novel novel, The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life.

He published three more novels before 1885 when the family moved to Northampton to be close to his friend and fellow on the lecture circuit Samuel Clemens. Also so that his daughter could attend Smith College. He continued writing and publishing his work until 1918.

Wikipedia list the following novels by George Washington Cable:

Old Creole Days (1879)
The Grandissimes: A Story of Creole Life (1880)
Madame Delphine (1881)
Dr. Sevier (1882)
The Creoles of Louisiana (1884)
Bonaventure (1888)
The Silent South (1889)
The Negro Question (1890)
Strange True Stories of Louisiana (1890)
The Busy Man's Bible and How to Study and Teach It (1891)
A Memory of Roswell Smith (1892)
Famous Adventures and Prison Escapes of the Civil War (1893)
John March, Southerner (1894)
Strong Hearts (1899)
The Cavalier (1901)
Bylow Hill (1902)
Kincaid's Battery (1908)
Possen Jone' and Pere Raphael (1909)
The Amateur Garden (1914)
Gideon's Band (1914)
The Flower of the Chapdelaines (1917)
Lovers of Louisiana (1918)

Setting