PRESTON C. AND LUDIE GIBSON

The following bio was taken from page 210 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Cemeteries of TX

Allen T. Gibson married Mariah A. Gibson on October 13, 1831 in Upson County, Georgia. Allen T. Gibson died January 12, 1876, and Mariah A. Gibson died January 12, 1876. Both are buried in the Millville Cemetery.

Churchill Clayton, the first Gibson child, was born November 14, 1832. Allen and Mariah, along with their children, were living in Rusk County at least by 1859 or 1860.

On February 23, 1855, Churchill Clayton Gibson married Sarah Ann Stokes in Florida. Sarah Ann was born February 27, 1829, and died September 16, 1861. She is buried in a small cemetery on what was the Gibson Family Plantation at Crims Chapel.

Churchill Clayton Gibson joined the Confederates in the Civil War on March 1, 1862 in Rusk County. His rank was First Lieutenant, Company F, 17^th Texas Regiment Cavalry (also known as Moore’s Regiment). He died April 8, 1864 after fighting in the Battle of Mansfield in Louisiana and is buried in Louisiana.

Children of Churchill Clayton and Sarah Ann were: Allen Abraham Gibson (December 29, 1855-1901); Kent Kane Gibson (March 9, 1858-April 26, 1927); and Lillie P. Gibson (February 4, 1880-1935).

Churchill and Sarah’s three young children were raised by members of the family. William (Bill Gibson was made guardian of Allen Abraham and Kent Kane. Lillie P. lived with her aunt in Birmingham, Alabama. Later, when the estate was divided, Lillie P. took as her part a plantation in Florida. The boys took the land at Crims Chapel, but Allen went on to live in Alabama. That left Kent Kane Gibson at Crims Chapel in Rusk County.

Kent Kane Gibson married Lucy Alma Toney, February 21, 1878 in Rusk County, Texas. Lucy Alma was born June 14, 1861 in Macon, Georgia. Her parents were William Toney and Arena Cole. Lucy and her mother came to Rusk County when Lucy was eleven. Her father had been killed in the Civil War (The Battle of Bull Run) while serving in the Union Army. Lucy Alma Toney Gibson died September 13, 1934.

Children of Kent Kane and Lucy Alma Gibson are: Essie Dora (May 13, 1879-October 4, 1914) who married W. K. Davenport; Lillie Pearl (May 8, 1881-November 26, 1917); Churchill Chester (June 25,1883-October 25, 1945); Moody McKenzie (September 10, 1885-October 21, 1964), who married Ethel Dunklin, March, 1918; Judson Penn (January 27, 1888-November 12, 1959), who married Willie Mae Ray; Grady Kane (March 14, 1890-December 18, 1963), his death was caused from burns when his nightgown caught fire; Houston Kane (August 16, 1892-September 17, 1928), who married Pauline Ballinger; Lucy Irene (February 21, 1895-March 7, 1976); Annie Maude (March 21, 1897-May 15, 1967), who married Lee Gipson; and Preston Carroll, born October 29, 1899, who married Ludie S. Matthews, December 28, 1935 and is the only surviving child of Kent Kane and Lucy Alma Gibson.

Submitted by Miriam Nations