“Heirlooms of explorer Cabot are well preserved” from the November 14, 1974 Door County Advocate
Heirlooms of explorer Cabot are well preserved
By LINDA ADAMS
When Eulalia (Ukey) Kubis first met young Frank Cabot at a box social in Sturgeon Bay little did she know that one day she would be guardian of centuries of heritage and culture connected with the famous Cabot name.
Sitting with Mrs. Cabot and her gracious sister, Marie Stephan in the living room of their home, looking over relics of a by-gone era and sipping tea from a delicate, antique Haviland coffee cup transports one back through time to the age of royalty and adventure when this nation was still in its infancy.
Mrs. Cabot is the widow of Frank Cabot II, a direct descendent of the famed explorers from Bristol, England, John (Giovanni) Caboto and his son Sebastian who gained fame in the 15th and 16th centuries as explorers in the service of kings and queens.
In 1497 the Italian navigator John Cabot, sponsored by King Henry VII, voyaged to the northeast coasts of North America. It is believed his course lay close to the 60th parallel which was, because of the earth’s curvature, a much shorter route than the course taken by Columbus. It was suggested that Cabot was aware of the advantages of the northern route and sought to promote his schemes to England.
In 1512 his son Sebastian was commissioned by Henry VIII as a cartographer to accompany the English army to France. He was later given membership in the Council of New Indies and made pilot major. Sebastian later returned to England where he served in the English Navy and was appointed governor of the Merchant Adventurers.
Talking with Mrs. Cabot makes the distant places and names come alive. She has photos and drawings of the famed Cabot estates on Jersey Isle and St. Clements (off the coasts of France and England) and can illustrate the pictures with old legends and tales about the famous Cabots.
Through centuries the heritage, traditions and some of the relics of the Cabot clan have been handed down to the eldest son in each generation. With the death of her son Frank III the direct line of descendants from the explorers ended and the family treasures remain with her.
Among the most prized pieces of glass and silver are a pair of delicate stone plates bearing handpainted figures of a man and woman just as distinct and bright as the day they were painted. This priceless pair of plates is registered as 500 years old.
According to Mrs. Cabot the plates were already 100 years old when they were used by John and Sebastian at their Jersey Isle estate. Now that there are no more direct descendants Mrs. Cabot says she intends to leave the historical plates to a museum.
Mrs. Eulalia Cabot displays a pair of priceless, antique china plates that originally belonged to the explorer John Cabot over four centuries ago.
Besides the cherished plates she has also inherited some beautiful pieces of cut glass, sets of Haviland and Limoges china and select articles of silver and furniture from the Cabot family.
The Cabot fame was not limited to the explorers. Cabots have established themselves many times through the centuries. Indeed in more recent years some Door county residents might remember Frank I and his wife Marie, who owned and built the resort at Cabot’s Point.
Frank Cabot sr. was well known in publishing circles in the early 1900s as the “King of Advertisers.” His wife, the former [Ella Marie] Stephenson, was a woman’s magazine writer and designer of national reputation. Before moving to Door county with her husband and sons Frank II and Harold in 1912 she was assistant editor of Woman’s Magazine and the Woman’s Farm Journal.
The Cabots bought Cabot’s Point at Idlewild in 1912 and built the resort there in 1915. Mrs. Cabot remembers her husband’s parents fondly as they had no daughters and she was their only daughter-in-law.
A former Sturgeon Bay school teacher Mrs. Cabot becomes animated as she talks about her husband’s family. She still proudly wears some lovely pieces of cameo jewelry given to her by her mother-in-law.
After the deaths of her husband and son she has remained the sole heir of the treasures centuries of Cabots have accumulated. Most of the priceless pieces have been put away for safekeeping or given to relatives but she and Mrs. Stephan still make regular use of the tea sets, crystal punch bowl and the silver serving pots.
Hearing Mrs. Cabot reminisce about her husband’s ancestors one has the feeling that if the Cabots had personally selected someone to uphold the Cabot heritage and bear the proud name they couldn’t have come up with anyone more devoted to the family than Eulalia Cabot.
An antique set of Delft china and a rare silver tea and coffee service are part of the Cabot collection used by Mrs. Cabot to entertain guests.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[Genealogy for Frank John Cabot Sr. (1860–1942): https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/G9MG-CG1/frank-john-cabot-sr.-1860-1942
Obituaries:
Frank John Cabot I (or Sr.): https://www.newspapers.com/article/green-bay-press-gazette-obituary-for-fra/52649842/
Another for Frank John Cabot I (or Sr.): https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc/wsbd0000/20141103/00000005&pg_seq=4
Ella Marie Cabot: https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc/wsbd0000/20131118/00000713&pg_seq=1
Frank John Cabot II (or Jr.): https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=1e8fc801-90a4-4104-8e86-19a1ea0947dc/wsbd0000/20141103/00001235&pg_seq=2 ]
Articles by Linda Adams
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