Descendants of Abner W. Gibson

Generation No. 1

1.  ABNER W.¹ GIBSON  (URIAH MELTON^A, AMOS^B, ZEDEKIAH R.^C, JAMES^D) was born June 15, 1881 in Rapides Parish, LA, and died September 04, 1970 in Hattiesburg, Forrest Co., MS.  He married (1) HATTIE BOUNDS.    He married (2) ROSA LEE December 24, 1903 in Pearl River Co., MS, daughter of THOMAS LEE and ELIZABETH WILLIAMS.  She was born April 04, 1881 in Poplarville, Marion Co., MS, and died March 04, 1933 in Wiggins, Stone Co., MS.

Notes for ABNER W. GIBSON:

Lived in Alexandria, LA as a child.

From his World War I Registration Card, serial number 354, order number A58:

Name: Abner Gibson

Address: Bond, Stone County, Miss.

Age: 37

Date of Birth: June 15, 1881

Race: White

U.S. Citizen: Native Born

Present Occupation: Farmer

Employer's Name: Self

Place of Employment: Bond, Stone County, Miss.

Nearest Relative: Rosa Gibson, Wife

Height: Medium

Build: Medium

Color of Eyes: Gray

Color of Hair: Light Brown

Signature of Registrar: J. R. Davis

Date of Registration: 9/12/18

Stamp of Local Board: Local Board for the County of Stone, State of Mississippi, Wiggins, Mississippi.

According to the 1920 U.S. Census for Stone County, Mississippi, Beat 1, Supervisor's District Number 6, Enumeration District Number 140, Beat 1, Sheet Number 4B, enumerated on the 15, 16, and 17 day of January, 1920 by Lela A. Batson, transcribed by Howard Baulch from census image, the household of Abner Gibson (house 69) was recorded as follows:

Name, Relation, Sex, Race, Age, Marital Status, Birthplace, Father's Birthplace, Mother's Birthplace

Abner Gibson, Head, M, W, 28, M, Louisiana, Louisiana, Mississippi (Home owned free)

Rosa Lee, Wife, F, W, 28, M, Mississippi, Mississippi, Mississippi

Burrel E. Gibson, Son, M, W, 11, S, Mississippi, Louisiana, Mississippi

Eva M. Gibson, Daughter, F, W, 9, S, Mississippi, Louisiana, Mississippi

Mittie R. Gibson, Daughter, F, W, 3 4/12, S, Mississippi, Louisiana, Mississippi

Maybell Gibson, Daughter, F, W, 7/12, S, Mississippi, Louisiana, Mississippi

From http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ms/county/perry/cemeteries/ebeneezer.htm, Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery, Highway 29 South, Perry County, MS. Compiled by Robert J. McSwain, Sr. and Robert J. McSwain, Jr. To get to this Cemetery, from the intersection of Highway 98 & 29 in New Augusta, go 27.6 miles on Highway 29 South to Ebenezer Baptist Church. The Cemetery is on the left side of the Church. Buried there are Abner, wife Rosa Lee, and daughter Mittie Ruth.

Abner's obituary was published in the Daily Herald Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi on September 5, 1970 as follows:

     "Abner Gibson, 89, 1202 West Elmer St., Wiggins, died Friday in a Hattiesburg hospital. He was born June 13, 1881, in Louisiana, and was a member of the Bethel Baptist Church in Wiggins.

     Survivors are three daughteers (sic), Mrs. Eva Mar (sic) Johnson and Miss Mittie Ruth Gibson both of Wiggins, and Mrs. Jim Baulch, Slidell, La.; one son Ernest Earl Gibson, Gulfport; one sister, Mrs. Katherine Johnson, and one brother, J. M. Gibson, both of Wiggins. Ten grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren also survive.

     The body will be taken to the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Wiggins Saturday, at 10 a.m. where it will lie in state until the funeral service at 11 a.m. Rev. Chevis Gibson, Rev. Tommy Mize and Rev. Hollis Smith will officiate. Interment will be in the church cemetery.

     Dees Funeral Home in Wiggins is in charge of arrangements."

More About ABNER W. GIBSON:

Burial: Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery, Perry Co., MS

Religion: Baptist

Social Security Number: Bef. 1951, 427-20-2600

More About ROSA LEE:

Burial: Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery, Perry Co., MS

Religion: Baptist

Children of ABNER GIBSON and ROSA LEE are:

i.    INFANT SON² GIBSON, b. Abt. 1905, Bond, Harrison Co., MS; d. Abt. 1905, Bond, Harrison Co., MS.

                  ii.    INFANT SON GIBSON, b. Abt. 1906, Bond, Harrison Co., MS; d. Abt. 1906, Bond, Harrison Co., MS.

                 iii.    BURL EARNEST GIBSON, SR., b. March 07, 1908, Bond, Harrison Co., MS; d. May 04, 1971, Gulfport, Harrison Co., MS; m. (1) LOTTIE BELL WHIGHAM, October 29, 1926, Bond, Stone Co., MS; b. March 23, 1912; d. July 03, 1929; m. (2) HAZEL ELIZABETH BLACK, March 16, 1932, Pearl River Co., MS; b. September 03, 1914; d. December 09, 1992, Gulfport, Harrison Co., MS; m. (3) MAE ?, Aft. 1944; m. (4) ALICE MARIE BULLOCK, Abt. 1968, Gulfport, Harrison Co., MS; b. June 18, 1936, Woodsworts, LA; d. July 17, 1978, Gulfport, Harrison Co., MS.

More About BURL EARNEST GIBSON, SR.:

Burial: unmarked grave in Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery, Perry Co., MS

Social Security Number: 427-20-0295

Notes for LOTTIE BELL WHIGHAM:

Lottie was killed in an automobile accident.

More About LOTTIE BELL WHIGHAM:

Burial: Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery, Perry County, MS

More About ALICE MARIE BULLOCK:

Burial: Evergreen Cemetery, Gulfport, Harrison Co., MS

                 iv.    EVA MAE GIBSON, b. May 16, 1910, Bond, Harrison Co., MS; d. October 31, 2002, Wiggins, Stone Co., MS; m. LEWIS VAN BUREN JOHNSON, SR., August 08, 1935, Poplarville, Pearl River Co., MS; b. June 16, 1913, Perry Co., MS; d. June 30, 1999, Gautier, MS.

Notes for EVA MAE GIBSON:

The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi), Friday, November 1, 2002:

"Eva Johnson's kindness won the kids

By KAT BERGERON

THE SUN HERALD

WIGGINS - The neighborhood kids loved Eva M. Johnson. She was always there for them, but best of all, she let them take away candy when they didn't have the cash to pay. Her little grocery store on Magnolia Drive in Wiggins was a safe haven - and a stash of goodies.

"We'd be playing in the woods, run over to the store to buy candy and a soft drink, then we'd go back to playing," said Susan Lott, the Stone County comptroller who grew up in the piney-woods neighborhood.

"She'd keep a ticket on each of us and at the end of the month let our parents know how much it was. Sometimes we'd have her slice up just a couple of pieces of lunch meat and we'd take it home to make a sandwich. When I think back on those times, they really were incredible."

"Miss Johnson," as the neighborhood politely called her, died Thursday at 92. Although Johnson's Grocery closed two decades ago, those who grew up with its friendly proprietor in the 1950s through the 1970s never forgot her kindness.

"She was a sweetheart," Lott said.

Johnson is also remembered for her strong faith. Until age slowed her, she taught Sunday school and was faithfully involved in the women's league at Vardaman Street Baptist Church.

"She believed in teaching the Bible to all of her friends and anyone who would listen," said her daughter, Eva "Dimple" Ferrell of Wiggins.

"Her upbringing was the key to her personality. Her mother died when she was a teen-ager so she quit school to take care of the other children. She never resented or regretted it.

"She lived the Christian way and set a good example."

An obituary appears below.

Eva Johnson

Service: 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Moore Funeral Home in Wiggins.

- WIGGINS - Eva M. Johnson, 92, died Thursday, Oct. 31, 2002, in Wiggins.

Mrs. Johnson was a retired owner of Johnson's Grocery in Wiggins and was a member of Vardaman Street Baptist Church.

Survivors include a daughter, Dimple Ferrell of Wiggins; a sister, Madie Baulch of Franklin, Tenn.; two grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Moore Funeral Home in Wiggins. Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home chapel, with burial in Ebenezer Cemetery."

More About EVA MAE GIBSON:

Burial: November 02, 2002, Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery, Perry Co., MS

Religion: Baptist

More About LEWIS VAN BUREN JOHNSON, SR.:

Burial: Serene Memorial Gardens, Escatawpa, MS

                  v.    INFANT DAUGHTER GIBSON, b. Abt. 1913, Bond, Harrison Co., MS; d. Abt. 1913, Bond, Harrison Co., MS.

vi.    MITTIE RUTH GIBSON, b. August 22, 1916, Bond, Stone Co., MS; d. November 13, 1998, Gulfport, MS.

Notes for MITTIE RUTH GIBSON:

Mittie Ruth was never able to support herself independently. She lived with her father, Abner Gibson, or her sister, Eva Mae Gibson Johnson, most of her life, until her care requirements necessitated living in a nursing home. She died in a nursing home in Gulfport, Mississippi. Her obituary read as follows, "Mittie Ruth Gibson, 82, of Gulfport, died November 13, 1998, in Gulfport. She was a member of Vardaman Street Baptist Church in Wiggins, and a native of Stone County. She is survived by two sisters, Eva Mae Johnson of Wiggins and Madie Baulch, of Franklin, Tennessee; and a number of neices (sic) and nephews. Services were held November 15th at Moore Funeral Home in Wiggins, with burial at Ebenezer Cemetery in Wiggins."

More About MITTIE RUTH GIBSON:

Burial: November 15, 1998, Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery, Perry Co., MS

Religion: Baptist

                vii.    MADIE GIBSON, b. May 14, 1919, Bond, Stone Co., MS; m. JAMES HOMER BAULCH, April 13, 1940; b. December 18, 1915, Gallatin, Sumner Co., TN; d. November 24, 1992, Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, LA.

Notes for MADIE GIBSON:

Madie was given the name Maybell at birth, but her sister, Mittie Ruth, could never pronounce it right and called her Madie. Eventually she legally changed her name to Madie and dropped any reference to Maybell. She was raised in Bond, Mississippi and attended Harrison-Stone-Jackson Agricultural High School and Junior College (later known as Perkinston Junior College).

The following is her wedding announcement contained in a local newspaper:

"Mr. Abner Gibson announces the marriage of his daughter Miss Madie Gibson to Mr. James H. Baulch, son of Mr. G. N. Baulch of Gallatin, Tenn. The groom is a graduate of Bowling Green Commercial Law School of Bowling Green, Kentucky and has been bookkeeping instructor and business manager at Perkinston Junior Colege (sic) for two years when he resigned to take a position in Tennessee. The bride is a graduate of Perkinston High School. The young couple left as soon as his work was completed at the Junior College. They will be at his home in Gallatin, Tenn."

Madie was an accomplished seamstress, making clothes for her children and thirteen grandchildren. She was an active member of the United Methodist Church, having held numerous positions on church boards and committees. One of her greatest gifts is her contributions to the Altar Guild and, more directly, the talent she has with the flower arrangements for the church services. When Jim entered semi-retirement, they enjoyed travels to West Germany, Austria, England, Canada, and Brazil. Life was difficult for Madie after Jim died in November 1992. In September 1997 she moved from Slidell, Louisiana to Morningside Assisted Living in Franklin, Tennessee.

More About MADIE GIBSON:

Religion: Bef. 1940, Baptist

Religion: Aft. 1940, Methodist

Notes for JAMES HOMER BAULCH:

The middle name of Homer came from the man who delivered James into this world, Dr. Homer Reese. Raised and schooled in Tennessee, he spent his grammar school years at the Salem School building where he laughingly claimed he "was the smartest one in the eighth grade ... and the only one!" He attended Spartanburg Textile & Industrial Institute (l.k.a. Spartanburg Junior College), University of Tennessee, and Bowling Green College of Commerce. After graduating from college, he became an instructor and business manager at Harrison-Stone-Jackson Agricultural High School and Junior College (l.k.a. Perkinston Junior College), where he met a student, Madie Gibson, who became his wife. He and Madie moved to Charlotte, North Carolina where he was a bookkeeper and instructor for Carolina Business College. He later joined his brother, Ernest, as schoolmaster at "Baulch Junior School for Boys" in Park City, Kentucky until 1949. From there they moved to Hopkinsville, Kentucky where he was Business Manager for Hopkinsville Lincoln-Mercury and bookkeeper for Hopkinsville Auto Parts until 1958. He was then recruited by Oak Motors of Nashville, Tennessee to be Assistant Business Manager. In 1959 he was recruited by Jim Burke Buick of Birmingham, Alabama to be Business Manager. In 1964 he followed his doctor's advice to find a less stressful job and moved to Slidell, Louisiana to be Business Manager and part owner of John Brown Olds (later Tom Brown Olds-Buick, Del Williams Motors, and Bill Ward Motors), Slidell, Louisiana until his retirement in 1986 (excepting for a brief return to Birmingham, Alabama to help out Jim Burke Buick in 1971).

James Baulch was received into membership of the Salem Methodist Church, north of Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee in October 1929 by his brother, Rev. Ernest F. Baulch. He remained an active member of the United Methodist Church his entire life, holding numerous positions on its boards and committees and taught an Adult Sunday School Class for over 30 years. He was an ardent believer in maintaining a healthy body, engaging in a variety of exercise programs, particularly those centered around running. He won numerous awards for finishing top in his age group for 10K and 5K runs through age 76. Having been raised on a farm, the "farmer blood" never left him. He maintained a vegetable garden wherever he lived and helped his children establish ones for them.

Largely due to his active life style, he looked and acted younger than his years. He was admired and respected by his friends and family for his physical, mental, and spiritual strength. He was the epitome of reliability: if he promised he would do something, he did it as committed and did it well. While quite introverted, he was a friend to anyone who needed him, often selflessly sacrificing himself in support of others. Friends and family knew they could count on him.

He and his wife, Madie, lived a beautiful fifty-two years together. They were always committed to each other, to their family, to their church, and to their friends. They were both victims of a tragic car accident (being hit broadside by a one-ton truck that ran through an inoperative red light) in May 1992 and were hospitalized for over a month. With two brain hemorrhages and numerous broken bones, recovery was slow and physical therapy was difficult. Six months later, a massive stroke put him in a deep, irreversible coma. With no hope of a functional life, his family followed his often repeated request if such an occasion arose. He was taken home and removed from life support systems. He died on November 24, 1992, two days before Thanksgiving. It was as he would have liked it: he was at home in his own bed, kept warm by the quilt made by his mother that had been a wedding gift to Madie and him, and surrounded by his family. Madie, all three children, and all their spouses were there, singing hymns from the United Methodist Hymnal. It was during his son Howard's singing of "How Great Thou Art" that he breathed his last breath here on earth. His son-in-law, Floyd Duvall, fittingly read the Twenty-Third Psalm as he joined the angels in heaven.

Originally, Jim was placed in a mausoleum in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Slidell, Louisiana. After Madie moved to Franklin, Tennessee in September 1997, he was moved to his final burial place in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville, Tennessee, near his parents and his brother, Nelson Howard Baulch.

More About JAMES HOMER BAULCH:

Burial: 1992, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Slidell, LA

Burial: 1997, Woodlawn Memorial Park, Nashville, TN

HS Education: Raised and schooled in Gallatin, TN

Religion: Methodist

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