Steve's Genealogy Blog

Sarah Waters, the wife of John Gibson, died on 02 Jan 1890 and was buried on 04 Jan 1890. She was 85 years old at the time of her death.

The Death and Burial Record of Sarah Waters Gibson -1890

SOURCE: John W. Clipsham, Minister of the Clarenceville Council of the Methodist Church, Missisiquoi, Quebec, Canada. Register of the Acts of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials for 1890. Sarah Waters Gibson Death and Burial. Ancestry.com. Quebec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Death and Burial Record of Sarah Waters Gibson -1890. The record states:

folio two J.C. ccc

Burial Gibson Jan. 4th 1890

Sarah Waters, widow of the late
John Gibson, in his lifetime of the
Parish of Saint George of Clarenceville,
farmer, died on the second day of
January, one thousand eight hundred
and ninety, aged eighty-five years,
and was buried on the fourth day
of the same month and year in
presence of subscribing witnesses by
me.

[Signed] John W. Clipsham.
Minister

Witnesses
Nelson S. Gibson
Mary C. Gibson

The minister, John W. Clipsham, was described at the front of the folios:

…Reverend J.W. Clipsham of the Clarenceville Council of the Methodist Church in the County of Missisquoi in the District of Bedford in the Province of Quebec…

Sarah’s Death and Burial Record states that she was a widow. Since she was enumerated in the 1871 census with her husband, then her husband, John Gibson, died between 1871 and 1890.

I don’t know who the witnesses, Nelson D. Gibson and Mary C. Gibson, were. I assume they were relatives, but I don’t know that for certain.

Clark Gibson, the son of John Gibson and Sarah Waters, was born in 1823 and baptized in 1867. His baptism is recorded in the folios of John Armstrong, a minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Congregations of the circuit of Saint Armand in Canada East, just weeks before the confederation of Canada.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Clark Gibson – 1823 and 1867

SOURCE: John Armstrong, Minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Congregations of the Circuit of Saint Armand, Quebec, Canada. Register of the Acts of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials for 1867. Clark Gibson, Baptism. Microfilm, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Clark Gibson – 1823 and 1867. The record states:

Baptism of Clark Gibson

Clark son of John Gibson of the parish of
St. George District of Bedford farmer and
of Sarah his wife was born on the eleventh of
October one thousand eight hundred and
twenty three and was baptized on the thirteenth
day of June one thousand eight hun-
dred and sixty seven in the presence of
the subscribing witnesses by me

[Signed] J. Armstrong
Minister

[Signed] [J W Saxton?]
[Signed] Lynda Smith

Clark was born in Lower Canada in 1823. In the 1861 Census of Canada East, the religion of the family of Clark Gibson was “none”.

Clark was baptized in Canada East by John Armstrong, a circuit rider for the Wesleyan Methodist Congregations of the circuit of Saint Armand. This implies that there was no permanent Wesleyan Methodist minister assigned to a church in the area.

There is no indication why Clark Gibson finally decided to be baptized in 1867.

I copied this record many years ago and, unfortunately, I didn’t write down a complete source description to indicate where I found the record. According to my notes, I found this record on microfilm at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, but I did not indicate the microfilm number.

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City also holds a microfilm copy of this record; although I am not sure which film number contains this record . Ancestry.com has recently posted an image of this record online with the following source description:

Ancestry.com. Quebec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

The image of this record on Ancestry.com is apparently from a different filming of these records, because the Ancestry.com images are of lesser quality than the one I’ve posted here, and the eraser end of the pencil in the image above is missing from the Ancestry.com image.

I’m not sure of the name of the first witness. The signature looks like it could be J. W. Saxton, but I’m not certain of this.

Clark Gibson, the son of John Gibson and Sarah Waters, was enumerated in the 1871 Census of Canada in the Village of Philipsburg, not far from where John and Sarah were enumerated.

Clark Gibson Family in the 1871 Census of Canada – Page 10

SOURCE: Clark Gibson Household, 1871 Canada Census (Province of Québec), Village of Philipsburg, Missisquoi County, page 10, lines 16-20. National Archives of Canada Film C-10070 Nominal. Microfilm FHL US/CAN Census Area 0493463, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

Clark Gibson Family in the 1871 Census of Canada – Page 11

SOURCE: Clark Gibson Household, 1871 Canada Census (Province of Québec), Village of Philipsburg, Missisquoi County, page 11, lines 1-3. National Archives of Canada Film C-10070 Nominal. Microfilm FHL US/CAN Census Area 0493463, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Clark Gibson Family in the 1871 Census of Canada. The family is listed on pages 10 and 11, and includes six children.

Census of 1871
Province of Quebec
District No. 125 Missisquoi
Sub-District d, Village of Philipsburg
Schedule No. 1 – Nominal Return of the Living

Page 10

Line 16, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: Gibson, Clark
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 45
Country or Province of Birth: Q[uebec]
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: American English
Profession, Occupation or Trade: Blacksmith
Married or Widowed: M[arried]

Line 16, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: ” [Gibson], Maryette
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 35
Country or Province of Birth: United States
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: ” [American English]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: M[arried]

Line 16, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: ” [Gibson], Willard
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 18
Country or Province of Birth: “” [United States]
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: ” [American English]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Line 16, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: ” [Gibson], Hannah
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 16
Country or Province of Birth: Q[uebec]
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: ” [American English]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Line 16, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: ” [Gibson], Emily
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 14
Country or Province of Birth: Q[uebec]
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: ” [American English]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Page 11

Line 1, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: Gibson, Addie
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 11
Country or Province of Birth: Q[uebec]
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: American English
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Line 2, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: ” [Gibson], Arnold
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 8
Country or Province of Birth: Q[uebec]
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [American English]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Line 3, Dwelling 45, Family 45
Name: ” [Gibson], Martha
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 38
Country or Province of Birth: Q[uebec]
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [American English]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Clark and Margaret Gibson and their son Arnold are the direct ancestors of my Gibson relatives.

This census record clearly answers a question I had about the ages of Addie and Arnold. Addie is clearly Arnold’s older sister.

The entry in column 17 of these records shows that Emily, Addie, and Arnold are all attending school.

Although both of John’s parents were listed as Irish, Clark and his family are listed as American English.

While at the Family History Library recently, one of my goals was to obtain additional records of the Gibson family in the Canadian Census. I had previously presented the records from the 1851 Census and the 1861 Census. The records below show the families of John Gibson and William Gibson in the 1871 Census of Canada.

Gibson Families in the 1871 Census of Canada – Page 46

SOURCE: John Gibson and William Gibson Households, 1871 Canada East Census (Québec), Parish of St. Georges de Clarenceville, Missisquoi County, page 46, lines 18-20. National Archives of Canada Film C-10070 Nominal. Microfilm FHL US/CAN Census Area 0493463, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gibson Families in the 1871 Census of Canada – Page 47

SOURCE: John Gibson and William Gibson Households, 1871 Canada East Census (Québec), Parish of St. Georges de Clarenceville, Missisquoi County, page 47, lines 1-5 National Archives of Canada Film C-10070 Nominal. Microfilm FHL US/CAN Census Area 0493463, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

The images are difficult to read, but most of the information can be deciphered.

Census of 1871
Province of Quebec
District No. 125 Missisquoi
Sub-District b, Parish of St. George de Clarenceville
Schedule No. 1 – Nominal Return of the Living

Page 46

Line 18, Dwelling 172, Family 178
Name: Gibson, John
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 70
Country or Province of Birth: United States
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: Irish
Profession, Occupation or Trade: Farmer
Married or Widowed: M[arried]

Line 19, Dwelling 172, Family 178
Name: ” [Gibson], Sarah
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 54
Country or Province of Birth: ” [United States]
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [Irish]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: M[arried]

Line 20, Dwelling 172, Family 178
Name: ” [Gibson], James
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 34
Country or Province of Birth: Quebec
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [Irish]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Page 47 

Line 1, Dwelling 172, Family 178
Name: Gibson, George
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 21
Country or Province of Birth: Quebec
Religion: W. Methodist
Origin: Irish
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Line 2, Dwelling 173, Family 179
Name: Gibson, William
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 34
Country or Province of Birth: ” [Quebec]
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [Irish]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: M[arried]

Line 3, Dwelling 173, Family 179
Name: ” [Gibson], Margaret
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 38
Country or Province of Birth: ” [Quebec]
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [Irish]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: M[arried]

Line 4, Dwelling 173, Family 179
Name: ” [Gibson], [Sothemon?]
Sex: M[ale]
Age: 8
Country or Province of Birth: ” [Quebec]
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [Irish]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

Line 5, Dwelling 173, Family 179
Name: ” [Gibson], Carrie
Sex: F[emale]
Age: 6
Country or Province of Birth: ” [Quebec]
Religion: ” [W. Methodist]
Origin: ” [Irish]
Profession, Occupation or Trade: –
Married or Widowed: –

I had previously discovered that John Gibson (born about 1800) and Sarah Waters (born about 1804) had six children: Clark (born in 1823), James (born in about 1830), Martha (born in about 1833), William (born in about 1836), Sarah (born in about 1841), and George (born in about 1849).

John, Sarah, James, William, and George are mentioned in this record. Their ages in this record agree with the information I previously found, except for Sarah (who should be about 67 in this record, but is reported as 54) and James (who should be about 41, but is listed as 34).

Clark had previously married and was enumerated on another page. William is enumerated with his spouse and children immediately after John’s family. I don’t know where Martha and Sarah were in 1871, but it is likely they were married and enumerated with their spouses.

I was unable to read the first name of William’s son. While in the Family History Library, I asked some of the staff if they could read the name, but none of us could tell what the name should be.

I didn’t realize at the time, but the Family History Library has microfilm copies of the other schedules of the 1871 Census, including the Agricultural Schedule. I’ll have to look up the Agricultural Schedule the next time I’m in Salt Lake City.