"English settlement of the area began around 1640, with Middlesex county being officially formed in 1669 from a part of Lancaster County" Wikepedia.
John Gibbs
1716–1770
Birth 5 APRIL 1716 • Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia, United States
Death 1770 • Spartanburg, South Carolina,
Col. James Gibbs' mother Susanne Phillipe Gibbs was born in Orange County, VA. in 1720. This was pretty early in the settlement of this area by the English colonists.Wikipedia says this about Orange County, VA.
The first European settlement in what was to become Orange County was Germanna, formed when Governor Alexander Spotswood settled 12 immigrant families from Westphalia, Germany there in 1714; a total of 42 people. Orange County, as a legal entity, was created in August 1734 when the Virginia House of Burgesses adopted "An Act for Dividing Spotsylvania County." Unlike other counties whose boundaries had ended at the Blue Ridge Mountains, Orange was bounded on the west "by the utmost limits of Virginia" which, at that time, stretched to the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. The colony of Virginia claimed the land, but very little of it had yet been occupied by any English. For this reason, some contend that Orange County was at one time the largest county that ever existed.[6] This situation lasted only four years; in 1738 most of the western tract was split off into Augusta County.
One other son of John and Susanna Gibbs, namely Rev. John Gibbs, 1755-1847, served in the Revolutionary war as a Captain, North Carolina. His grave exists near me in McDowell or Burke County, NC, and there's also possibly one in KY, because someone in the DAR requested it in 1950, and the request was acknowledged in 2000. Rev. John married twice, had about 11 kids by Rebecca, and maybe 4-5 by Hannah.
John York Gibbs and Susanne Phillipe Gibbs both have their place of death as Spartanburg, SC, he in 1770, and she in 1786. I don't have any documentation of where they were buried.
John had recieved a land grant of 500 acres on Fairforest Creek, Union District, SC in 1768. Union District was known as the old 96th District then.
His son, Col. James Gibbs 1740-1794, received a grant of 640 acres on the Fairforest in 1772. (He's my ancestor, great times four grandfather.)
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| Top of map, green is Spartanburg Co. and next to it pink is Union Co. |
Union District History (Wikepedia)
The area that includes Union County was once controlled by the Cherokee Indians and they used it as a hunting ground. Up until recent years, one could find numerous arrowheads with little effort throughout the county.[4]
The first European settlers in Union County came from the backcountry of Virginia and Pennsylvania; more than three-fourths were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. It has been suggested that the first group of pioneers arrived as early as 1751. They settled in the northwestern section of the county near a small river that would later be named Fairforest Creek. According to tradition, a member of the party looked out at the thick woodlands and exclaimed, "What a fair forest!" At the time of their arrival, wild buffalo and horses abounded as well as panthers and cougars, which were called "tigers" or "tygers" by the settlers. This may be where the Tyger River got its name.
The early settlers established Fairforest Presbyterian Church, the first house of worship in Union County. Around 1754, the Brown's Creek area was first settled, about four miles northeast of the present city of Union. A log church or meetinghouse was built and shared among several denominations that could not yet afford their own separate structures. The county and county seat were named for this "Union" church. Quakers arrived in the mid 1750s and settled the southern portion of the county, establishing Cane Creek Church in the Santuc community, and Padgett's Creek Church in the Cross Keys community. The Quakers left in the early 1800s because of their opposition to slavery. Baptists from North Carolina, under the leadership of Rev. Philip Mulkey, reached the Broad River in Fairfield County, SC in 1759. They relocated to Union County in 1762 and established the first Baptist church in the South Carolina upcountry known as Fairforest Baptist Church. Many Baptist churches throughout the upcountry are descended from this original congregation. The congregation later moved to a site on present day SC Hwy 18 between Union and Jonesville where it remains to this day.
Rose Hill Plantation. The home of South Carolina "Secession Governor" William Henry Gist.
Revolutionary Period
During the first part of the American Revolution, the South Carolina backcountry was fairly quiet. Following the fall of Charleston in 1780, the British began focusing their attention on the Carolinas. At least five battles were fought in or near Union County, including Musgrove Mill, Fishdam, and Blackstock. The county also produced many notable heroes including Lt. Col. James Steen. The war divided the population between Loyalists and Patriots. This resulted in churches splitting up and settlers moving out of the area. Personal property was damaged by both sides.John and Susanne Gibbs were my fifth great grandparents on my father's George Rogers Family Tree.
I'll give more information on Spartanburg, SC tomorrow!
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