Monday Madness: Mahlon Hibbs

The ancestry of Mahlon Hibbs (abt 1747 in Virginia-abt 1850 Indiana?), one of my 4th great grandfathers, is a major brick wall.  I deeply suspect that he is a descendant of the Hibbs family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, due to naming practices, migration patterns, and DNA cousin matches on AncestryDNA, but I have not yet been able to definitively connect him to that family with any one piece of evidence.  One of Mahlon's daughters, Nancy (Hibbs) Nosler (1800-1854), is my 3rd great grandmother.  Her son William Nosler is my 2nd great grandfather (my great grandmother Minnie Nosler's father), and another son of Nancy's is my 2nd great grand uncle James Milo Nosler.  James Nosler briefly mentioned his mother's ancestry in his diary, saying "my mother was purely English as far as I know."

Actually a lot of research work has been done on the Hibbs family, an especially nice one available at L.D. Pierce's page dedicated to his Hibbs Family Genealogy (""Prepared by my Uncle Harry Faus").  A discernable trend in that Quaker family included some branches that left Bucks County, Pennsylvania, for Loudoun County, Virginia.  Based on the above genealogy and Quaker records recently released on Ancestry.com I have been able to figure out that these Hibbs likely attended Quaker meetings in either Goose Creek MM or South Fork MH in Loudoun County, Virginia.  I don't find Mahlon in those records online, unfortunately.

Based on his known children's birthplaces it seems that Mahlon had children born in Tennessee as early as about 1785.  The earliest I find him in that area comes from an 1805 tax list from Anderson County, Tennessee:

[Not an easy image to read, unfortunately.  Ancestry.com. Tennessee, Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Early Tax Lists of Tennessee. Microfilm, 12 rolls. The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.]

According to the Anderson County, Tennessee, County Court Minutes, 1801-1809 and 1810-1814. Two Volumes in One by the Works Progress Administration (WPA),  Mahlon was mentioned as a juror, working as overseer for construction of a local road, and tendering (bail?) for a John Hibbs (I suspect John was his son), as well as being excused from paying taxes due to old age in his mid-50's, which is funny as he lived to at least the 1850 Census (at least 103 years old!).  Here are most of the excerpts I found, all from the above-named WPA publication:

Jun 1807 "Ordered by the court Walter Taylor be overseer of the road from James Taylors to Burrville in place of John Taylor & that he have the same bound & hands."
Mar 1809 "Ordered by the court that Malon Hibbs be overseer in place of Walter Taylor and that he have the same hands and bounds."
page 394 [page 158]
Mar 1809  "Ordered by the court that the following hands work under Melon[sp] Hibbs overseer (to wit) Walter Taylor, Isaac Robbins, Benjamin Potter, Saml. Tipton, Samuel Hibbs, William Sevoirs, John Stewart & Henry George."
page 400 [page 159]

13 Oct 1812
James Newberry
vs
John Hibbs
This day came William Severs and surrendered into Court the body of John Hibbs the Deft. in discharge of himself as Bail.  Whereupon said Defendant tendered Malon Hibbs and Thomas Landrum as counter security who rec'd. &c and entered into bond &c--
from page 148 [page 63] of Vol 2 of:
Anderson County, Tennessee, County Court Minutes, 1801-1809 and 1810-1814. Two Volumes in One

I think that Mahlon was married to Nancy Ann LNU (possibly Nichols?) and that they had the following children, all born in Tennessee as far I can tell:
William Hibbs Sr (b 1785)
John Hibbs (b 1786)
Jeremiah Hibbs (b 1790)
Samuel Hibbs (1791-1849)
Rachel Hibbs (1794-1883)
Amos Hibbs (1796-1866)
Mahlon Nicholas Hibbs (son, nephew, or cousin?) (1800-1850)
Nancy Hibbs (1800-1854)
Elizabeth Hibbs (1802-1890)
James G Hibbs (1806-1852)

An intriguing wrinkle is that Mahlon Hibbs lived in the same area (in later Putnam County, Indiana) as a Mahlon Nicholas Hibbs (born about 1800 in Tennessee).  I have seen a few trees name this younger Mahlon's father as Amos Hibbs (b 1762 in Bucks County, PA to William Hibbs IV and Ruth Blaker, married to Mary Pool in Goose Creek MM, Loudoun, Virginia ), with no further explanation or evidence.  I had originally assumed that Mahlon Nicholas Hibbs was a son of Mahlon Sr., but of course maybe he was indeed a nephew or cousin of Mahlon Sr.  In any case, what then was the relationship between Amos Hibbs (b 1762 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania) and Mahlon Hibbs (b 1747 in Virginia)?  My Mahlon Hibbs (b 1747) does not appear to be a son or brother or even known cousin of William Hibbs IV from the published genealogy of the Hibbs family.

Sometime after 1820 some of the Hibbs family moved from Anderson County, Tennessee, to Putnam County, Indiana, with Samuel Hibbs first purchasing land from the federal government November 10, 1824.  Mahlon Hibbs' sons Amos, Samuel, and Mahlon Nicholas bought land between 1824 and at least 1837, with John and James Hibbs purchasing land in neighboring Hendricks County, Indiana.  Mahlon's oldest son, William Hibbs, apparently stayed behind in Anderson County, Tennessee, for the rest of his life.

I find "Malan Hibbs" in the 1830 Federal Census in Putnam County, Indiana, two lines away from "Mullana N. Hibbs" (I'm assuming this is Mahlon Nicholas Hibbs):

[1830 US Census; Census Place: Putnam, Indiana; Page: 203; NARA Series: M19; Roll Number: 30; Family History Film: 0007719]

I have not yet completely analyzed the other neighbors yet.  There are no other Hibbs names on this page.

On September 3, 1834, a Mahlon Hibbs (not sure if the elder Mahlon or Mahlon Nicholas) was issued a land patent certificate in Putnam County:

[United States. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records. Automated Records Project; Federal Land Patents, State Volumes. http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/. Springfield, Virginia: Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, 2007.]

Mahlon is next on the 1840 Federal Census in Greencastle, Putnam, Indiana:

[Year: 1840; Census Place: Greencastle, Putnam, Indiana; Roll: 91; Page: 378; Image: 771; Family History Library Film: 0007728]

 Nearby neighbors include son Amos Hibbs and a William Hibbs (a man in his 20's).  I am not sure who William is, although maybe a son of Mahlon's son John Hibbs (who is a shadowy figure who I haven't quite been able to figure out).

Mahlon's wife Nancy Ann died on May 30, 1846, and was buried in Deer Creek Cemetery in Putnam County, Indiana.  It is unclear to me if she was his only wife, or maybe his second one?  I have no idea.

Widowed Mahlon is living with son Amos Hibbs and his family in the 1850 Federal Census in Jefferson Township, Putnam, Indiana:

[Year: 1850; Census Place: Jefferson, Putnam, Indiana; Roll: M432_167; Page: 467A; Image: 224]

Mahlon certainly died after the Census was taken, but I don't know where and when.  He is likely buried by his wife Nancy in Deer Creek Cemetery, but judging by her headstone it is likely his headstone is withered away or gone, and his burial place may never be ascertained.







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