George Isaac Gibson (abt. 1732 - 1819)

Born about 9 Apr 1732 in County Cork, Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 3 Apr 1819 at about age 86 in Gibson Station, Virginia, United States

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Biography

George Gibson was a Lieutenant in the French and Indian War, and served at the Point Pleasant Campaign during the Indian Wars when the Indians were defeated in October 10, 1774. During the Revolution he served in the Continental Army, was promoted to Major. He fought at Valley Forge during the terrible winter of 1777-'78 and is said to have been at the Battle of King's Mountain. Major Gibson served with General Washington after resigning from the British Army and was at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktowne, October 19, 1781. After the Revolution, Major Gibson moved westward to Washington County, Virginia, and when Lee was formed in 1792, his property fell in the new county. He had three or four entries of seven hundred acres of land on Treasury Warrant No. 14,105. One of 200 acres on Four Mile Creek, a branch of the Powell River, and one of 200 acres on Indian Creek, another branch of Powell River. Here he built a fort for the protection of his family and neighbors; it was known as "Gibson's Fort." It was in the western part of Lee County. In later years, 1890, when the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company built their line through Lee County, they named this section Gibson Station. George Gibson served his community as well in peace as he did his country in time of war. He was selected by Governor Lee as one of the eight men to sit on the first court of the county, and was one signers of the petition for the establishment of the town of Jonesville for the county seat. His will in W.B. 1, p. 57, Lee County, written 3 Oct. 1818, filed 1819.

GIBSON'S STATION Gibson's Station was located in lower Lee Co., Virginia about five miles from Cumberland Gap, and is still, today, called Gibson's Station. In 1775, Ambrose Fletcher made a settlement on a tract of land in the western end of what is today Lee Co., Virginia, and on the 10th of August 1785, Fletcher assigned his certificate for land to Major George Gibson. This tract was entered before the Commissioners of Washington Co., Virginia on August 10, 1781, by Fletcher, and is described as 400 acres of land lying in Washington County in Powell's Valley, and known by the name of the "Indian Old Fields". George Gibson had this land surveyed on December 8, 1785, and was issued a patent for the same on August 1, 1785. George Gibson doubtless moved on this land shortly after acquiring it and established a station, since, and to this day known as Gibson's Station. His home was a two story log house nearby a spring. The spring was inside the fort, and the chimney of the old Gibson home is still standing, but another house has been built to it. The location is beyond the Southern Railroad underpass about 300 yards beyond on the right. Apparently this was another of the neighborhood forts, for I find no record that militia was ever stationed there. It was likely defended only by its occupants. Upon coming to Southwest Virginia, it is said that he first settled in the vicinity of Abingdon, before coming to Powell Valley around 1785. The Indians captured his son, Matthew Moss Gibson, when he was a small child and he lived with the Indians until grown, when he was identified by a birthmark and ransomed by his father. Family tradition states that he never became accustomed to living with his family, and would often be found outside the door listening and not entering the house. That he often returned to his Indian parents, staying awhile and then returning to his own parents. He later moved to Missouri where he spent the remainder of his life.

FRONTIER FORTS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA By Emory L. Hamilton From Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia, Number 4, 1968, pages 1 to 26

When George Isaac Gibson was born on 9 April 1732, in Cork, County Cork, Ireland, his father, Robert George Gibson, was 22 and his mother, Isabella Fortune, was 22. He married Elizabeth Smith in 1775, in Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 8 sons and 4 daughters. He died on 3 April 1819, in Gibson Station, Lee, Virginia, United States, at the age of 86, and was buried in Gibson Station, Lee, Virginia, United States.

Sources

• FRONTIER FORTS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA

By Emory L. Hamilton From Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia, Number 4, 1968, pages 1 to 26

• North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher Date 2016 Publisher Location Provo, UT, USA Repository Information Name Ancestry.com
• U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher Date 2012 Publisher Location Provo, UT, USA Repository Information Name Ancestry.com
• Find a Grave Memorial ID: 6250490:

Find a Grave, database and images :(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6250490/george-isaac-gibson: accessed 08 August 2023), memorial page for Maj George Isaac Gibson (9 Apr 1732–3 Apr 1819), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6250490, citing Major George Gibson Cemetery, Gibson Station, Lee County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by Lesa Pfrommer (contributor 46527276).

Acknowledgements

• Thanks to Rene Shepard for starting this profile.

• Gibson-5860 was created by Mark Stockton through the import of collins Family Tree.ged on Jul 4, 2014.