Manuscript Group 775, Gibbs Family Papers, 1691 – 1834 (Bulk Dates: 1815 – 1818)

Archives, Documents, Manuscripts, Maps, & Photographs

Manuscript Group 775, Gibbs Family Papers, 1691 – 1834 (Bulk dates: 1815 – 1818), 0.25 linear feet / 1 small manuscript box

Call Number: MG 775

Summary

• Biographical Note

• Provenance Note

• Scope and Content Note

• Folder List

Summary:

Deeds, indentures, and other documents of a Gloucester, Burlington and Camden County family.  Includes Charles Gibbs’s ledger, 1815-1818.

Gift of Mrs. Harry B. Lyon, 1970.

Biographical Note:

The Gibbs family were early settlers of Mansfield Township in Burlington County, New Jersey.  Benjamin Gibbs was a collector for the township and a member of the New Jersey Legislature.  Near the end of the eighteenth century, descendants of this family moved to Gloucester and later Camden County, New Jersey.  Asa Gibbs was a justice for Gloucester County in 1803.  He died around 1817 and appointed Sarah Gibbs, Henry Chew, and John Clement as executors of his estate.  At the time of his death he seems to have lived in Camden County.  Charles Gibbs, possibly Asa’s son, was probably an innkeeper in Camden County.

Sources:

Cushing, Thomas and Charles E. Sheppard. History of the Counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Their Prominent Citizens (Evert & Peck, Philadelphia, 1883).

Woodward, E.M. and John F. Hageman. History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men (Evert & Peck: Philadelphia, 1883).

Provenance Note:

This collection was donated by Joan Lyon in 1970.

Scope and Content Note:

This is a small collection largely made up of financial records (receipts and an account book) of Asa and Charles Gibbs.  It also contains a small number of legal documents and an autograph book.  The collection dates from 1691-1834 with bulk dates of 1815-1818.

Charles Gibbs’ account book dates from 1815-1820, with the majority of the transactions occurring between 1815-1818.  The entries are recorded by account, therefore each transaction, made up of date, service, and fee, is placed under a person’s name.  Typical services rendered to a customer include dinner, expenses, boarding, and sundries.  The volume is labeled with Charles Gibbs’ name and is indexed.

The receipts in the collection come from the same time period as the account book, 1815-1818. They are mostly the receipts of Asa Gibbs and Henry Chew, as Gibbs’ executor.

The collection also contains one folder of contracts and legal documents.  These are the earliest items in the collection dating from 1691-1788.  There is one land survey and one bond to Benjamin Gibbs.  The rest of the documents seem to be court orders or decisions on debts and therefore possibly from Benjamin Gibbs time as a collector for Mansfield Township.

Lastly, the collection contains an autograph book of Elizabeth ( ), possibly a descendant of Asa or Charles Gibbs.  Elizabeth’s friends signed the book in 1834 with a small poem and their signature. The signers came from both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Folder List:

Processed by Kim Charlton, December 1999 as part of the “Farm to City” project funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.