John (Bennett) Gilbert (abt. 1763 - bef. 1832)

Born about 1763 in England

Husband of Hannah (Fitzgerald) Gilbert — married about 1791 in Patrick County, Virginia

Descendants

Died before 5 Sep 1832 before about age 69 in Patrick, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: David Gilbert [send private message] and Angela Derr [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Gilbert Name Study.

Gilbert DNA Project Information

According to William Preston Gilbert (1846-1939), great great grandson of John “Bennett” Gilbert:

About the year 1775, “Bennett”, in his youth, ran away from his home in England and came to America. Here he became fearful that his family might have him sent back to his native land. With this in mind, he immediately changed his name to “John Gilbert” and settled in Virginia.

According to Lucy Mays Gilbert (William Preston Gilbert’s daughter-in-law by his son Samuel Leroy Gilbert) there were two Bennett brothers, and they parted in Dobson, North Carolina in present day Surry County. Both adopted the family name Gilbert. Virginia Flippin Gilbert (wife to another son of William Preston, Richard Lui Gilbert added: “I believe the two boys came over as Bennetts—bound for their passage as tailors—and changed their name after they got over here. ….^[1]

the 1880 census Mayo River District, Patrick, Virginia, however, John and Hannah’s daughter Mary (Gilbert) Cassell (1802-1904) age 77 gives her father's birth place as Virginia and her mother’s as Ireland.^[2]

John purchased land in Patrick County from John Cantwell of Surry County, North Carolina in 1791, (recorded in Patrick County Deed Book 1, p. 42).

Although no marriage record exists, John probably married Hannah Fitzgerald around this time because their first child Frederic was born in 1792.

John Gilbert’s will was probated and his possessions sold for debt as recorded in Patrick County Will Book on 5 September 1832.

Research Notes

Two boys living in Patrick County and seemingly raised by John and Hannah, John Gilbert born 1816 and Pendleton Gilbert born 1820, have been shown by DNA testing not be related to them biologically. See their entries for more information.

Some genealogists tie this John Gilbert to one born in Derbyshire in 1761 to parents George Jilbert/Gilbert and Catherine Reynolds who lived and had other children born in Cornwall ( a very long way from Derbyshire), indicating that they are copying others' erroneous trees! There was a John Gilbert born in Derbyshire in 1761 but to parents William and Mary. This information is all irrelevant as is choosing any John Gilbert born around the right time in England, and conflicts with William Preston Gilbert’s genealogy quoted above that John was born John Bennett and changed his name to John Gilbert when he arrived in America. As both John Gilbert and John Bennett are not uncommon names, more research will hopefully throw light on John "Bennett" Gilbert's heritage.

Sources

1. ↑ Joyce, Leola Gilbert; Dalton, Mrs. Robert; and Gilbert, William Preston. A Genealogy of the Gilbert Family, 1775 through 1957. Photocopy of typescript (7 pages), one handwritten addendum (Leola Joyce?)
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," Mary Castle, Mayo River, Patrick, Virginia (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC5T-1XD : 15 July 2017), Mary Castle, Mayo River, Patrick, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 158, sheet 39A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,383.

See Also:

• 1820 United States Census. Virginia, Patrick Co., p. 641
• "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLJ-2SQ : accessed 14 October 2019), John Gelbert, Patrick, Virginia, United States; citing p. 116, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 141; FHL microfilm 193,700.
• 1830 United States Census. Virginia, Patrick Co., p. 154
• "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH5F-BC9 : 17 August 2017), John Gilbert, Patrick, Virginia, United States; citing 154, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 195; FHL microfilm 29,674.
• The Heritage of Surry County, Volume II. Dobson, North Carolina: Surry County Genealogical Association, 1994, p. 136.