eboracensis: Gibbons

Elizabeth Gibbons
The mother of Mary Jane Phipps (my great-grandmother) was Elizabeth Gibbons.

I obtained the marriage certificate of James Phipps and Elizabeth Gibbons, and found that they were married on 13th April 1868 in Lower Gornal.

The later life of James and Elizabeth can be found in this entry. Briefly, in 1871 they were living in Tipton, but by 1881 and until 1901 they were living in Norton Canes where James worked as a mining engineer. According to the census, Elizabeth was never employed, presumably more than busy raising 7 children.

Here is a googleearth image of the modern day tipton, gornall, sedgley, coseley areas. Also see here for more information, and click here for an excellent map of the 9 villages of Sedgley Manor:

According to the marriage certificate Elizabeth's father was William Gibbons (b1817).

No jokes about being a Gibbon here. The most famous Gibbon is of course Edward Gibbon. The two surnames are probably related.

In 1861, the family is living at Ebenezer Road, Sedgley - (this is the same street that Elizabeth's future husband's father lived at in 1871) - you can see this road on the map of Ivy House Lane, Coseley found here.

From this census we can see that Elizabeth is the 4th of 9 children born to William Gibbons, an iron shearer, and Elizabeth Gibbons (b1817). Alice, the eldest child, is a dressmaker. The two eldest sons, James and John are a 'beater down' and a 'turner over' in the Iron Works.

In 1851, the Gibbons family are living at Mamble Sq., Coseley, where William is a labourer.

I do not know anything about William and Elizabeth Gibbons before 1851, however, from the Free BMDsite I have been able to find the references for Joseph & Mary Gibbons - Elizabeth Jr's twin siblings who were born in 1852. AFter ordering the birth certificate, this should give information about the maiden name of their mother, Elizabeth, and their grandfathers' first names.

However, I have followed the family post-1861.

In 1871 - William Gibbons is living at 3 Jevons St., Coseley, unable to work aged 54. All but one of his sons (James Gibbons) are living with him, as is his son-in-law Richard Homer who is married to his daughter Mary. His sons work in the Iron Works, being puddlers, boaters, labourers and underhand puddlers. His son Thomas Gibbons is a Fireman in a 'Wire' Mill.