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Smith County, Texas

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The Bibby Families of Smith County, Texas

The Bibbys came to Texas in 1869. They were descendants of John Leggett Bibby and Mary Belk, who were from the Carolinas and settled in Alabama, along with numerous relatives. They acquired land in Coosa County, Alabama, where their family grew to include twelve children.

John Leggett Bibby died in 1858, followed by his wife Mary, in 1866. They are both buried in Coosa County Alabama.

Six of their twelve children left Alabama in the Spring of 1869, answering the beckon of Texas, and five of the six settled in Smith County, where they are found on the 1870 Federal Census.

The family of John Leggett Bibby and Mary Belk are:

  1. Margaret L. Bibby, born 1824, married James M. Bryant, 1844 Chambers County, AL.
  2. Lucinda G. Bibby, born 1826, married Elijah Owens, 1852, Coosa County, AL
  3. Elizabeth Jane Bibby, born 1827, married William S. Ellis, 1852, Coosa County, AL
  4. Moses Darling Bibby, born1829, died 1869, unmarried, buried Coosa County, AL
  5. Susan A. Bibby, born 1831, married Joseph Smart, 1863, Coosa County, AL
  6. Emiline Bibby, born 1833
  7. Molsey M. Bibby, born 1835; married G.L. Loyd, 6 Jan 1874, Smith Co, Texas
  8. James Belk Bibby, born 1837; married Frances Freeman, 1861, Coosa County, AL
  9. John Leggett Bibby, Jr., born 1840, AL; died 24 Sep 1878; buried Hopewell Cemetery, Smith Co, Texas; married Sarah Frances Howard, March 1865
  10. Josephus Byron Bibby, born 26 January 1841, AL; died 7 October 1882, Fincastle, Henderson Co, Texas; buried New York Community, Henderson Co, Texas; married Louise Meador, 17 November 1871, Smith Co, Texas
  11. Julius Albertus Bibby, born 1845, married Mary Jane Howard
  12. Jason Melton Bibby, born 17 July1851, AL; died17 Dec 1921; buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Tyler, Smith Co, Texas; married Omino Cumo Funderburg, 5 November 1874.

Emiline, Molsey M., John Leggett, Jr., Josephus Byron, Julius Albertus, Jason Melton and their families moved to Texas.

Of those who moved to Texas, the family legends tell that the two sisters, Emiline and Molsey, were engaged to young men who went to war and didn't return.

During the War Between the States, the Bibby family had four sons, Moses, James, John L. Jr., and Josephus, who joined the Alabama Infantry and went into battle. They all served honorably in the cause of the South.

Researcher Wilford Lee, who wrote a history of the family, described the travel from Alabama to Texas as follows, "The Bibbys, along with other families joined in the migration to Texas. The wagons, laden with household and personal possessions, were pulled by oxen. Cross-country travel was slow, cumbersome and difficult. One of the main migration routes between Alabama and Mississippi to Texas was a rough dirt road extending across north Louisiana." (p.43). It is presumed by most researchers that this is most likely the Bibby's route, which by today's maps would loosely follow I-20 across the states, arriving in Texas someplace near Nacogdoches. Family stories tell us that upon arriving in Nacogdoches in east Texas they heard of good land in the area of Smith County.

One brother, Julius, settled in Wood County for a short time; then, with his father-in-law, they went into Arkansas for some years before returning to Texas. The other brothers, John L., Josephus, and Jason, and sisters Emiline and Molsey, stayed on the south side of the river in Smith County near the community of Lindale.

Listed following are the families of those who came to Smith County Texas:

Family of MOLSEY M. BIBBY & G. L. LOYD, married 6 January 1874, Smith Co, Texas

  1. Bunyon Oscar Loyd, born November 1874
  2. Moley Crossley Loyd, born June 1881

Family of JOHN LEGGETT BIBBY, Jr, & SARAH FRANCES HOWARD, married 1865. Fannie was born 20 October 1847 and died 4 November 1907. They are buried at Hopewell Cemetery, Smith Co, Texas.

  1. Demetrius Emma Bibby, born 11 March 1866, AL; died 15 June 1952; buried Lindale Cemetery, Lindale, Smith Co, Texas; married Aquilla O Pierce, 9 September 1886, Smith Co, Texas
  2. Lou Ellen Bibby, born 1868, AL; married Thomas Calvin Pierce
  3. Lewis Henry Bibby, born 4 December 1870, AL; died 12 June 1941; buried Lindale Cemetery, Lindale, Smith Co, Texas; married 1. Mattie L. Duncan, 19 December 1895, 2. Ella Beckworth, 21 March 1904
  4. John Howard Bibby, born 21 November 1872; died 17 June 1887; buried Lindale Cemetery, Lindale, Smith Co, Texas
  5. Bogardus Bibby, born 1875; died 5 March 1935; buried Hopewell Cemetery, Smith Co, Texas.
  6. William Hampton Bibby, born 1878; died 1953; buried Bethesda Cemetery, Smith Co, Texas; married Bernice Lyon, 11 October 1903, Smith Co, Texas

Family of JOSEPHUS BYRON BIBBY & LOUISE C. MEADOR, married 17 November1871, Smith Co, Texas. Louise, the daughter of Thomas Meador and Elizabeth Hill, was born in 1853 and died 1896. She is buried in the Meador Cemetery, Smith Co, Texas

  1. John Thomas Bibby, born 21 August 1876, Smith Co, Texas; died 16 July 1934, Yoakum, Texas; buried San Jose Cemetery, San Antonio, Bexar Co, Texas; married Elizabeth Veronica Kramer, 30 January 1900, Dallas, Dallas, Co, Texas
  2. Josephus Richard Bibby, born 5 November 1880, Henderson Co, Texas; died 8 March 1956, Los Angeles, CA; buried Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Los Angeles, CA; married Elizabeth McCart, 16 December 1900, Dallas, Dallas Co, Texas

Family of JASON MELTON BIBBY & OMINO C. FUNDERBURGH, married 5 November1874, Smith Co, Texas. Aromino, the daughter of Walter B. Funderburgh and Sarah Jane Wilson, was born 12 January 1879 and died 10 July1927. She is buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery, Tyler, Smith Co, Texas.

  1. James C. Bibby, born 1875
  2. Letchroe Lenton Bibby, born 22 December 1876, Texas; died 22 December 1931; buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Tyler, Smith Co, Texas
  3. Lano Melton Bibby, born 7 April 1879, Texas; died 16 April 1965; buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Tyler, Smith Co, Texas
  4. Solzie Omino Bibby, born 1881
  5. Lola Emma Bibby, born 1884
  6. Leora Manntha Bibby, born 13 October 1886; died 19 March 1971; buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Tyler, Smith Co, Texas; married T. Nugent Bell, 22 Nov 1913, Smith Co, Texas
  7. Sennie Jame Bibby, born 1890
  8. Leon A. Bibby, born 1891
  9. Lexie Orpha Bibby, born 19 July1893, Texas; died 4 October 1977; buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Tyler, Smith Co, Texas

Sources Of Information:

Personal research of Doris Peirce, and Yvonne Fassett

Coosa Co. AL Probate Records, Book 2, p.109; Book 1, p 243.

U.S. Fed Census, Coosa Co AL,

U.S. Fed Census, Smith Co TX

Marriage Records of Smith Co, Texas - 1846-1899, Published by The East Texas Genealogical Society, P O Box 6769, Tyler, Texas, 1979

Marriage Records of Smith Co, Texas - 1900-1926, Published by The East Texas Genealogical Society, P O Box 6769, Tyler, Texas, 1999

Cemetery Records Smith Co, Texas - Vols. 1, 2 & 4, Published by The East Texas Genealogical Society, P O Box 6769, Tyler, Texas,

Confederate Records, National Archives, 46th Ala. Inf, Coosa Co AL

"BIBBY" by Wilton Lee.

Family history from Burma Bibby, descendant.

Bible Records of Jos.R. Bibby, in possession of Rick Bibby of Dallas TX.

Family records of Martha Debenport and Christine Starr Kent Turman

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