Alabama Pioneers Honored

BIOGRAPHY: Van Buren Augustus Gibson born Oct. 30, 1865 – photograph

Van Buren Augustus Gibson
Van Buren Augustus Gibson

VAN BUREN AUGUSTUS GIBSON

BIOGRAPHY and GENEALOGY

(1865-1928)

Pike County, Alabama

Van Buren Augustus Gibson, of Troy, Alabama, was born Oct. 30, 1865, near Troy, Pike county, Alabama His father, Matthew Van Buren Gibson, was born near Troy, Pike county, Alabama, where he lived except four years during the Civil war. He was a successful farmer. He was tax collector of Pike county from 1884 to 1896. He was a gallant Confederate soldier who enlisted January, 1862, at Troy in company K, Thirty-seventh Alabama, Capt. J. M. Leach commanding, under Col. J. T. Dowdell. He served in this regiment until February, 1865. He fought in twenty-six regular engagements: Iuka, Corinth, Lookout Mountain, Saltillo, Chickasaw Bayou, Fort Pendleton, and in the siege of Vicksburg for forty days. After the surrender of Vicksburg and his parole, with his reorganized regiment placed in the brigade of Gen. Alpheus Baker, Stuart’s division, he fought at New Hope church, Resaca and Kenesaw Mountain. He was transferred to the Sixth Alabama cavalry, Capt. C. S. Lee’s company, Colonel Calvin commanding regiment. He was furloughed for the first time during the war in order that he might go home to secure a horse. He served as a cavalryman during the last three months of the war, his last battle being that of Bluff Springs, Ala. During the entire war he was on sick leave but twenty-five days.

He was the father of nine sons,

  1. William Malone Gibson, of Winnsboro, Texas
  2. Walker Larkin Gibson, of Winnsboro, Texas
  3. Perry Anderson Gibson, all of Winnsboro, Texas;
  4. Van Buren Augustus Gibson, of Coffee County, AL
  5. Caspar Clay Gibson, of Coffee county,AL
  6. Edwin Larkin Gibson,
  7. Joseph Richard Gibson,
  8. Samuel Britton Gibson
  9. Lamar Van Buren Gibson.

Matthew Van Buren Gibson was the son of Edwin Larkin Gibson, the son of Samuel B. Gibson, the son of James Gibson, who emigrated from Scotland to South Carolina. He was a son of Edwin L. Gibson and wife, Martha Jones, daughter of Britton Jones, of Sumter district, S. C.

The maiden name of the mother of Van Buren Augustus was Rebecca Flowers, daughter of Richard Flowers (born in 1798) and wife, Lucinda (Graves) Flowers. Richard Flowers came from North Carolina in 1835 to Pike county, Ala. Mrs. Flowers was born in Pike county, Ala., in 1819.

Augustus Van Buren obtained his education under the direction of Miss Anne Cunningham, a Pike county teacher. He was a successful farmer. He was elected as a Democrat to the office of tax collector of Pike county, the office which was formerly filled by his father for twelve years. He was also United States register of cotton statistics for Pike county under the United States Department of Agriculture. He was a working conservative Democrat.

He was a member of the primitive Baptist church, of which his father was an ordained minister. He married Jan. 9, 1877, near Paron church, Pike county, Ida Valerie Russell, daughter of John Thomas Russell, M. D., of Talbot county, Ga., a prominent citizen and Baptist of Brundidge, Ala., and his wife, Agnes Sophia McDowell, of Talbot county, Ga.

The father of Mrs. Agnes (McDowell) Russell was James McDowell, who was born at Fairfield, S. C., in 1804, and moved to Talbot county, Ga., in 1832. He married Miss M. A. Gamble, of Fairfield, in 1829. She was born at Fairfield, May 27, 1804. Both lived to the age of eighty years.

In addition to the fine war record as a Confederate soldier of Martin Van Buren Gibson, the Gibson family had a brilliant and patriotic record in the Civil war. It furnished six volunteers, all brothers, to the Confederate army, viz.: Matthew Van Buren, Daniel Britton, John James, Henry Larkin, Joseph Daniel and Calvin Riley Gibson. All were brave soldiers and good citizens. The children of Van Buren A. and his wife in 1904 were:

  1. Rosalee Brantley Gibson, aged eleven years in 1904 ;
  2. Russell John Gibson, aged nine years in 1904;
  3. Albert Matthew Gibson, aged seven years in 1904,
  4. Lucile Boyd Gibson, aged five years in 1904 –

 Van Buren Augustus Gibson passed away Jan 31, 1928 and is buried in Paran Cemetery in Pike County, Alabama

SOURCES

  1. Notable Men of Alabama: Personal and Genealogical, Volume 1 edited by Joel Campbell DuBose
  2. Find A Grave Memorial# 42961279 # 81801828 l# 81801591 # 81801638

.ALABAMA DEATHS FROM WW I – Essential book for research in Alabama around the turn of the century. This KINDLE book includes all the deaths from World War I, listed by the county where they last resided, over 60 pages of names

 

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