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 - 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.