When I get stuck on a family member, I
often look for other family, in-laws, and neighbors. So last week when writing
about #20, Mary Hairston, I decided to find out more about her husband, Thomas
B. Gilbert.
If you read last week’s post, then you
know that Thomas and Mary married in 1864 in Hinds County, Mississippi
and by 1868 were living in Falls County, Texas along with Mary's father
and siblings. Thomas and Mary's last child was born about 1875 and by 1880 they
had disappeared and two of the children were living with my great-grandparents,
Phillip and Lodema Hairston.
I assume that Mary had passed away, but what
about Thomas? Did he move on or did he also die before 1880?
I found a lot of Thomas Gilberts in the
south; many in Texas. I couldn't immediately connect with any of those, so
decided to look for Thomas in Hinds County, where he married Mary Hairston.
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| 1850 Hinds County, Mississippi |
In the 1870 census, Thomas was 42, giving him
a birth year of about 1828, and was reported to have been born in Kentucky. In
1850, a Thomas Gilbert was living in Hinds County, Mississippi. His birth year
and place of birth match the 1870 census. He was living with Fort and Sarah
Weatherby {Weathersbee} along with Larkin Gilbert, Boloh {maybe Buelah}
Gilbert, and a Joseph Noland.
In 1852, a Thomas B. Gilbert married a
Prudence G. Strother in Hinds County. Was this the same Thomas B. Gilbert?
 |
| 1860 Hinds County, Mississippi |
Children, T. Gilbert (born about 1853),
M.E. Gilbert (born about 1854), and S.G. Gilbert (born about 1856) were living
with Fort and Sarah Weathersby {Weathersbee} in 1860. All of these young
children were born in Texas. Also living in the home were Pat Nowland (age 12)
and J. Nowland (age 18).
Thomas B. Gilbert and a Jno. Gilbert (born
about 1846) were living with the Haywood Foote family in Hinds County. Thomas
was employed as an overseer.
Sarah Weathersbee may be the mother of
Thomas. The young Gilbert children living in the Weathersbee home are probably
the children of Thomas and Prudence. What happened to Prudence? Did she die in
Texas? I can't explain the Nowland children or the 14 year old Jno. Gilbert.
Thomas Gilbert and Mary Hairston were
living in Falls County, Texas by 1868. They are found on the 1870 census with
children Emma, John, and William.
 |
| 1870 Falls County, Texas |
However, another interesting Gilbert entry
was also found on that same Falls County census. A Thomas Gilbert is living with William and
Mary Gary. Mary Gary, age 16, is the former Mary Elizabeth "Mollie"
Gilbert. Could this be the M. E. Gilbert living with Sarah and Fort Weathersbee
in Hinds County? This Thomas Gilbert is seven years old. Too old to be Mollie's
child. Could the census "copier" have mistakenly written seven instead of
seventeen. On the 1860 census in Hinds County, T. Gilbert was recorded
with the Weathersbee family. Could this be Mollie's brother? Seventeen would be
the correct age.
M.
E. "Mollie" Gilbert Gary was in Erath County by 1880. According to
the census record, she was born in Texas, her father in Kentucky, and her
mother in Mississippi. This matches Thomas Gilbert and Prudence Strother. AND,
Mollie named a daughter Sarah Prudence "Prudie" Gary.
Beluah, and Larkin as well as a Mary Gilbert Slater, Caroline
Gilbert Jones, and at least one other child may have been a sibling to Thomas.
Fort Weathersbee died on August 24, 1868 in Hinds County. Sarah Weathersbee was
given the estate for her lifetime, but at her death, it would go to Fort Weathersbee's
son-in-law, Benjamin R. Slater, husband of a Mary Gilbert. Thomas B. Gilbert,
Caroline Gilbert Jones, and a Zarrujah Ann D_______ were to each receive
$10.00.
My search for Thomas Gilbert's family generated many
questions, but pointed to the possibility of a larger family unit moving from Hinds County to
Falls County and again to Erath County. Additional research in both Texas and
Mississippi may lead to more clues about my Hairston family.
"James C. Watts, 88 [obituary]," newspaper clipping, 28 April 1963, unidentified newspaper, from the privately-held collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Obituaries were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas, on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.
