The most famous of its members was undoubtedly Pacuvius Calavius, the chief magistrate of Capua during Hannibal's invasion of Italy, and son-in-law of Publius Claudius Pulcher.
When Calavius feared that the Capuans would massacre their own senators and surrender the city to Hannibal, he shut them in the senate-house until he convinced the citizens to place their trust in their leaders once more.
When Hannibal nevertheless entered Capua following the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, Calavius restrained his son from a rash attempt on the general's life.
The early members of the gens all bore Oscan praenomina, and were prominent in the events of southern Italy during the third and fourth centuries BC.
In imperial times we find the cognomen Sabinus, referring to one of the Sabines, or their culture.