The Elusive Gibsons - The Search Continues

Early this week, I opened my email to find a note from another Gibson family researcher wanting to share information.  It certainly didn't take me very long to answer with a definite "yes."  Now, after several days of  passing information back and forth, each of us is convinced there must be more than one line of Gibson families that lived in South Carolina before migrating elsewhere. Some individuals who are on our genea-radar screens are the descendants of Jacob Gibson and his wife Judith Napier who lived near Fairfield, South Carolina, including their son, Joseph L. Gibson.  Joseph married Lydia Rutland before leaving South Carolina for Tennessee, and finally moved his family to Monroe County, Mississippi, where each later died.  Interestingly, this Joseph L. Gibson, or possibly his son by the same name, posted a marriage bond amounting to $500 when John P. Gibson (my brick wall) married Margaret J. Williams on January 3, 1843.  John and Margaret Gibson were my third-great-grandparents who later moved to the Cherry Hill Community of Calhoun County, Mississippi and likely died in Carroll County. 

Surname Saturday - Are We Related?

It's Saturday again, and it's been a while since I last posted a list of the surnames I am researching. If you are also searching any of these names and in any of these locations, I would love to hear from you.  Maybe we can exchange some information or offer each other some new research ideas.  So here goes:


Baldridge -  Ireland >PA>NC?>SC>TN>MS(Carroll County) 
Branch -  England >Virginia>NC>TN>MS (Hinds, Madison, and Attala Counties) 
Coggins - Wales>Nash County)>SC>GA>AL>MS (Holmes County) 
Fenner - Ireland >Rhode Island>NC>GA>AL>MS (MS Territory, Wilkinson County)
Gibson - Scotland>VA>NC>SC>MS (Adams, Monroe, Calhoun and Carroll Counties)
Merriwether - England>VA>KY>SC>GA>TN>MS (Calhoun and Carroll Counties)
Middleton - England>SC>MS Territory (Franklin County)
Netherland - VA>KY>TN>GA>AL>MS Territory (Amite County)>MS (Holmes and Yazoo Counties)
Pettus - Norwich, England>VA>KY>TN>AL>MS (Holmes County)
Porter - Ireland>PA>NC>SC>GA>AL>MS Territory (Franklin County)>Madison & Attala Co (MS)
Ragland - Wales>Ireland>VA>NC>SC>GA>AL>MS (Franklin, Wilkinson, Hinds, Attala Counties)
Trigleth - England>VA>NC>SC>GA>AL>MS (Holmes and Yazoo Counties)

Surname Saturday - Finding the Parents of John P. Gibson

It's been over 10 years since I began searching for the parents of my third great-grandfather, John P. Gibson, and each time I post the surnames I am researching, his name always appears at the top of the list. Without a doubt, John's ancestors have been the most challenging to find, but I am certainly not ready to call off the search.  I do have some pretty useful information about John, including the year and place of his birth (1799 in SC), a copy of his marriage record to Margaret J. Williams in Aberdeen, Monroe County, MS on January 3, 1843, and a copy of the marriage bond posted by Joseph Gibson, whose relationship is unknown.  Thanks to the U. S. Census recorded in 1860, I also know that John P. Gibson and Margaret Gibson were living in the Cherry Hill area of Calhoun County, Mississippi, where he worked as a blacksmith.  According to that census information, John and Margaret Gibson had seven children whose names were Elvira, Malverda (my great-great-grandmother), Francis, Asberry, Sarah, Mary, and Martha. I also found Calhoun County land records showing that John sold his land there and moved to Carroll County, Mississippi, where he and his family were enumerated on the U. S. Census of 1870. Although John most certainly died before the next federal census was recorded, I have been unable to locate either his burial place or where Margaret is buried. As I write this post, I am hoping that another Gibson researcher will read it and have information he or she is willing to share. But until then, I will do what I have done for so long - continue the search for information about John P. Gibson's parents.

Excerpt from "Malmaison" by Mrs. W. H. Neill

Lately, I have been doing some more Carroll County family research and ran upon a copy of a poem, entitled "Malmaison." The poem was written by Mrs. W. H. Neill of Greenwood, Mississippi, and published in the local newspaper on April 12, 1942, not long after Greenwood Leflore's beautiful old mansion of the same name burned in Carroll County, Mississippi.  In the poem's entirely, the artistry of Mrs. Neill's words describe the feeling of loss and sadness experienced by other local Mississippians after the historical residence burned.  But in the excerpt below, the poet's words focus on the powerful enemy of all mankind, the force known as time.

But Time, relentless vandal, hastens onward in his flight,

And destroys with ruthless fingers, beauty, majesty and might.

Unless the strong oppose him, and with zeal his ravage mends,

And ever watchful of his craft, deter him in his ends.

- "Malmaison", by Mrs.W. H. Neill

Calhoun County, Mississippi Courthouse Fire - 1922

Still on the trail of my Gibson ancestors, today I called the Calhoun County Courthouse in Pittsboro, Mississippi and talked to an individual who works in the Circuit Clerk's Office. Although the clerk with whom I spoke was friendly and willing to help, the information he provided stopped my search before it ever began - the Calhoun County Courthouse burned in 1922. Since I am searching for county records that existed during the mid-late 1800s, this was very sad news. Although I was disappointed, I was not surprised, since burned courthouses seem to have been a common occurrence in many places during the years that open fires were used for warmth.

Tomorrow I plan to contact other courthouses nearby, including the ones located in Yalobusha, Chickasaw, and Carroll Counties. And the search for John P. Gibson and his descendants will continue.

Some Genealogical and Historical Societies in Mid-Mississippi

The genealogical and historical societies listed below are among many family history resources available to those who are researching family history in mid-Mississippi counties.

Attala Historical Society, Kosciusko, MS 39090

Carroll County Genealogy Society P. O. Box 282 Carrollton, MS 38917

Calhoun County Historical and Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 114, Pittsboro, MS 38951

Chickasaw Historical & Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 42, Houston, MS 38851

Choctaw County Historical and Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 1382, Ackerman, MS

Rankin County Historical Society, P. O. Box 841, Brandon, MS 39042

http://therankincountyhistoricalsociety.org

Winston County Genealogical and Historical Society, P. O. Box 428, Louisville, MS 39339

Yalobusha County Historical Society, Inc., P. O. Box 258, Coffeeville, MS 38922-0258

The Descendants of John and Nancy Baldridge, Carroll County, MS

In 1850, John and Nancy Baldridge were enumerated in Carroll County, Mississippi, in the U. S. Census taken that same year. John Baldridge, a North Carolina-born veteran of the War of 1812, was my paternal great-great-great-grandfather. The census recorded in 1850 estimated John's birth year to have been about 1780, making him 71 years old at the time the census was taken. Nancy, John's wife, was shown on the census to be 35 years old. Based simply on the difference in their ages, Nancy was likely John's second wife.

According to the census record, John and Nancy Baldridge already had seven children in 1850. The children's names and ages were Calvin, 12, Wesley, 10, Byrd, 8, Martha A., 7, Marten, 6, George 4, and Benjamin, age 1. During a later post, I plan to write more about Marten, age 6, who was actually William Martin ("Mart") Baldridge, and my paternal great-great-grandfather.

In addition, Thomas Marble and James Marble, ages 18 and 16, respectively, were also household members whose occupations were each shown to be "laborer." According to the census, John Baldridge was a "farmer," but it is likely that his age prevented him from engaging in physical labor required by the farm, and that James and Thomas Marble were relatives who worked the land for him.

Next: The Family of William Martin Baldridge