Samuel A. Gibson's Cabin
Samuel Allison Gibson was born in 1782. A couple of his children say he was born in Ireland, and a couple others say he was born in Pennsylvania. The 1820 census has him as a "foreigner not naturalized". His name can be found on a muster roll of the PA Militia in June, 1812, for the War of 1812. He is listed with his future brother-in-law, James "Jimmie Moccassin" Stewart. According to the history of Indiana Co., PA, Samuel became acquainted with James Stewart, and they married each other's sisters. James Stewart married Margaret Gibson, and Samuel Gibson married Mary Stewart.
After James Stewart married Margaret Gibson, they settled in Brushvalley Twp., Indiana Co., PA. in 1813. I believe that is about the same time Samuel Gibson and Mary Stewart settled in Wheatfield Twp., Indiana Co., PA. According to a family story, Samuel Gibson built a small log cabin, moved into it with his wife, and there they raised their seven children: William, Margaret, Ezekiel, Allison, Hiram, Josiah, and Amanda. Since their first child was born in 1814, I would guess that his cabin was built prior to1813.
This is about finding Samuel A. Gibson's cabin.
I knew that Samuel A. Gibson had lived in Indiana Co., PA. The history of Indiana Co. says that, "Samuel Gibson and his sister, Margaret, were of the Manor Settlement." That settlement is located in present-day Cherryhill Twp., Indiana Co., PA. Another history source says that "Samuel Gibson lived in a small house along a line between George Coy and George Brown". But exactly where was his house?
The 1871 Beers Map of Indiana Co., PA shows the names of the individual property owners, and the location of their homes. Samuel Gibson died in 1857, so he is not on that Beers Map. However, all of Samuel's children are shown, and they lived fairly close to one another. I should assume that Samuel had lived close by.
The 1850 Census shows Samuel Gibson living in Green Twp., Indiana Co. That area became Cherryhill Twp. in 1856. I thought by looking at Samuel's neighbors, I may be able to find Samuel's house. (Even though I was using a map made 20 years later.) Imagine the census taker going down the county roads stopping at each house he came across and recording their names.
The 1850 Census shows:
Ezekiel Gibson, John Ober, Daniel Brown, Allison Gibson, Levi Fry, Hiram Gibson, Harry Levington?, Samuel Gibson, George Brown, Martin Myers, David Lockard.--the key names there are Allison Gibson, Hiram Gibson, Samuel Gibson, David Lockard.
The 1860 Census shows:
Samuel Harbridge, Curtis McCormick, Elizabeth Lydick, Allison Gibson, Hiram Gibson, Levi Philips, Elizabeth Harbridge, Josiah Gibson, David Lockard, William Putt, Martin Putt. --the key names there are Allison Gibson, Hiram Gibson, Josiah Gibson, David Lockard. Samuel is gone, and Josiah is living in his home.
There are some thoughts that must be told before going any further:
Josiah Gibson was still living with his father, Samuel, in the 1850 census.
Josiah Gibson inherited his father's house after he died in 1857.
I noticed a pattern in the names. The 1850 census shows Samuel Gibson "between" Hiram Gibson and David Lockard; the 1860 census show Josiah Gibson "between" Hiram Gibson and David Lockard. Evidently, Josiah Gibson is living in his father's house. He didn't stay in his father's house long though, because by the 1870 census, Josiah had moved a little to the north into Taylorsville Borough.
Looking back at the 1871 Beers Map for Cherryhill Twp., Indiana Co, there are two "H. Gibson" 's, almost next to one another. When I first saw them a few years ago, I was puzzled. It appears that Samuel's son, Hiram Gibson, now owns Samuel's old house. Of the two "H. Gibson" 's, the one to the right is Samuel's house. ( see that part of the map here )
Recently, I learned of another old map of Indiana Co., PA. This is the 1856 Peelor Map, and like the 1871 Beers Map, it also shows the individual property owners and the locations of their homes. ( see that part of the map here ). In looking at Cherryhill Twp., on the Peelor Map, the entire Samuel Gibson family can be seen. They are in close proximity to one another as in the 1850 census. There is John McKendrick, Allison Gibson, Ezekiel Gibson, Hiram Gibson, Samuel Gibson, and David Lockard. The important thing here is that Samuel Gibson is shown there, and he is approximately "between" Hiram Gibson and David Lockard. So again, on the 1871 Beers Map, the H. Gibson on the right is where Samuel Gibson lived.
I have two cousins, who live in Indiana Co., PA, Dave Gibson and his father, Robert. They have helped tremendously in locating and finding Samuel Gibson's cabin. They did all the leg work. Since I live too far away, I had asked them previously if they could check out the historical records, to see if they could find a deed or property transfer that had Samuel Gibson's name on it. They weren't having much luck, so that's when I went to the censuses. I thought that if we knew his neighbors, we might find Samuel. (I went through this explaination above.)
Both Dave and I compared the 1871 Beers Map to a present day map. It looked like the present day roads were the old roads of the past. Being still a rural area and not developed, that area really hadn't changed much in the past 150 years. We scaled the maps to each other and overlaid them. We could see where Samuel Gibson's cabin should be found. Dave and Robert knew that area and figured out which road Samuel's house should be found on. They jumped in their car and took the short drive over to Popson Road. After a little while of looking and to their surprise, they saw the remnants of what looked like a foundation, right where we believe Samuel's cabin was built! They got out and walked up to their find. Back in the trees, across a small creek, they found an old stone foundation. There wasn't much left, only three sections and a corner. They took some pictures. (here's a look at the foundation)
Now that they had an exact location of the old foundation, they were able to go back and search the court house records for the property listing. From there, they were able to trace the property owners back to Hiram Gibson!
Since the property once belonged to Hiram Gibson, and that the location is where we believe Samuel did live; we believe that we have found the remnants of Samuel A. Gibson's log cabin that had been built about 1813. We still want to research the records deeper.
From an initial examination by a historical expert, of some of the photos taken at the site, we have been told that, yes "it is typical of a log cabin foundation circa 1700's!" There's a very good chance that we may even get an archaeologist out there to take a look too.
