Richard Gipson

 Carpenter

Born:1797, Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Died:1849, Alabama
Father of:Rev. George M. Gipson

Notes:

•  Son of William Gipson and Sally Winn. - Ancestry.com

•  Richard Gibson married Elizabeth Hogue April 6, 1834 in Madison County, Alabama by Justice of the Peace, James J. Bell. - Marriage Records

•  "Many settlers came from Virginia as well. Among them was Richard Gipson, of Scottish ancestry, who arrived in 1813 at the tender age of 17. Gipson's journey had begun with his mother, father, and sister. Unfortunately they all died in Kentucky. Perhaps their intention was to come to Alabama or maybe Richard Gipson longed to leave bad memories behind. Whatever the reason, by 1816, he was living with a family named Hess and making his living as a carpenter.
     Richard Gipson would take, as his wife, a Cherokee girl named Mary Elizabeth Hogue from one of the three Indian reservations in nearby Hurricane Valley. Later, members of her family passed by her home and pleaded with her to make a journey with them to a new home out west on federal reservations. This journey is known today as the Trail of Tears and is remembered as a tragedy in American history. Wisely for Mary Gipson and her descendants, she decided to remain in Alabama with her white husband." - HMCHS

•  "William Gipson left Pittsylvania County, Virginia in the year of 1797. His wife had died and his son Richard and a daughter was with him. William died in Kentucky. Richard came on to Alabama. He was 17 years old when he reached the Maysville and Ryland Pike area. This was a around the year 1814. He stayed in that area and farmed. At that time there was three Indian reservations in Hurricane Valley. Richard met a Cherokee Indian girl and married her. Her name was Mary Elizabeth Hogue. Some of her family was on the Trail of Tears. This was in the year of 1834. They had two boys. Richard Jr. became a carpenter and moved away. Ten years after Richard was born they had George. George M. Gipson was a farmer and a preacher." - Watson

•  "The Wilderness
     The year was 1813. Alabama was still part of the Mississippi Territory. Statehood loomed just over the horizon. The War Between the States wasn't even a distant rumble on a stormy afternoon. North Alabama was growing rapidly. Crossing over the Appalachians, settlers were enthralled by the soil-rich, wildlife-abundant Tennessee Valley. Cherokee Indians had known about the water-fed wilderness of North Alabama for centuries. Their ancestors had crossed the Bering Straits from Asia and had migrated southward and eastward into North Alabama. Hurricane Valley, in the northeast corner of what is now Madison County, had long been a favorite hunting ground for the Cherokee. Deer and small game roamed the valley in large numbers.
The Newcomer
     It was unusually hot for an early Spring day. The steamy sun beat down on the broad shoulders of the 17-year old youth from Pittsylvania County, Virginia. From his vantage point on the ridge, Richard Gipson, the young, would-be settler looked down through the late afternoon haze. Somehow he knew his journey was over. It was as his father said it would be. Beautiful, untamed, yet full of promise. His father had wanted North Alabama to be his family's home. A few years earlier, William Gipson, his wife, his son Richard, and his daughter had left Virginia, hoping to start over in Alabama. Along the way, Richard had to mature quickly. He lost his father, his mother and his sister in Kentucky. Now finally he was in Alabama, but he was alone. This sense of loneliness enveloped him as he glanced back toward the valley. A wisp of smoke from a distant cabin caught his eye. Making his way down the ridge, Hurricane Valley's newest inhabitant headed for the cabin. He was ready to start a new life.

The Indian Bride
     Twenty-one years had passed since Richard Gipson first set foot in Hurricane Valley. The 17-year old lad from Virginia had grown into a strong man of 38. He had carved out a life for himself in the fertile confines of the peaceful valley, but there was something missing. Richard wanted a family. The year was 1834.
     This was the year he planned to marry Mary Elizabeth ( ) Hogue, a Cherokee Indian living on one of the three reservation in Hurricane Valley. Four years later, the reservations were but memories. The Indians were to be removed and placed on a reservation in Oklahoma. 'The Trail of Tears' cost the lives of thousands of Indians. Mary Elizabeth's Indian family urged her to come with them. History proved she made the right decision in hiding out and staying behind.

The Family
     In 1839, Richard and his Cherokee wife, Elizabeth, became parents. Their new son, also named Richard, was a welcome addition. Ten years later, a second son, George, was born to Richard and Elizabeth. George was destined to grow up fast. The 'War Between The States' was a rumor spreading on the wind. By 1860, Richard had married and moved to Madison and took up carpentry as a trade." - Gipson


Related Links:

•  Ancestry.com - Page owned by JohnnyNewby16 and can be viewed only with an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/3835217/person/706813029.)

•  Gipson - Article about the Gipson family was submitted by Donald Ernest Gipson for The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, page 207.

•  HMCHS - A History of Early Settlement: Madison County Before Statehood, 1808-1819, Published by The Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, 2008, pages 103-4.

•  Marriage Records - Viewed through an Ancestery.com paid subscription.

•  Watson - Article titled "The Gipson Family" by Treva Ann Watson for The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, pages 204-207.


The Following Pages Link to this Page:
•  HMCHS
•  Rev. George M. Gipson