William Joseph McCabe was born in Albany, New York, January 3, 1873. He was educated in Albany, and did secretarial work in the East and Northwest. His military record dates from August 2d, 1899, when he volunteered in the service of his Country during the Philippine Insurrection. He served in Company C, 35th Infantry, and later had the distinction of acting as secretary to General Thomas S. Barry. On June 18th, 1900, he received his honorable discharge with the rank of Sergeant.

Captain McCabe came to Nevada in 1908, and for a time was in the service of the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad Company in the auditor’s department. In the years following he gained an enviable reputation as a court reporter of unusual ability. In July, 1916, he entered the office of the Adjutant General of Nevada. When war was declared an enormous amount of work was thrown upon that office and the Captain entered into the work with his usual energy and ability. On May 15th, 1917, he was made a Colonel on the Staff of the Adjutant General of Nevada. This he held until December 3, 1917, when he resigned it to accept a commission as Captain in the United States Army. On December 4th, the day he was commissioned, he was ordered to active duty as Assistant to the Adjutant General of Nevada and as Disbursing Office and Agent of the United States in Nevada.

Captain McCabe died of heart failure in Reno, Nevada, September 26th, 1918. The news was received with dismay in Carson City and in his home County of Ormsby. High Military honors marked the services held in Reno at the time his remains were shipped to Albany for burial. Six commissioned officers acted as pall bearers, and a company of 100 soldiers from the military training camp at the University of Nevada acted as military escort. The services were attended by the Governor, the Adjutant General, and other State officers. At the funeral services in Albany, the Adjutant General of New York, his staff and a full company escorted the body to its final resting place in St. Agnes Cemetery. In an order issued December 12, 1918, Maurice J. Sullivan, the Adjutant General of Nevada said: “The death of Captain McCabe removes from the ranks of the army an officer of great ability and conscientious devotion to the Service, and one who at all times retained the confidence and esteem of his superiors and the respect and support of his subordinates. . It ends the career of a good soldier, a courteous gentleman, and a loyal friend.

His nearest relatives were his sisters, Mrs. Charles A. Gallagher of 295 Madison Avenue, Albany, New York; Mrs. William O’Leary, of 51 Ferry Avenue, East, Detroit, Michigan; Mrs. V. D. Cliff, 36 Ferry Avenue, East, Detroit, Michigan; Mrs. William Covill, 6 Livingston Park, Rochester, New York; and two brothers, James F. McCabe, 4941 Florence Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; John M. McCabe,2109 Ogden Avenue, Superior, Wisconsin; Fraternally he was a member of the Order of Eagles, Carson City, Nevada.