WELCOME TO THE ROOTSWEB HOME PAGE OF
THE PIONEER HIBBEN FAMILY
OF PENNSYLVANIA
Background and Scope of Research
Tax records document that in the early 1700s, the Hibben and Entriken families lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Two daughters of Samuel Entriken and Mary Huey married two sons of John Hibben (born about 1730) and an unknown wife. Son Thomas (born 1760) married Mary Entriken (born 1762) and son James (born 1776) married Isabella Entriken (born 1777).
The primary focus of the Hibben family research has been on the Pennsylvania family descendants of Thomas and Mary. Nevertheless, considerable documentation about the descendants of James and Isabella has been found and recorded. In addition, it is believed that Thomas and James had three other brothers, William (born 1767) and John (born between 1755 and 1771) and James (born before 1774). While no documentation links them, circumstantial evidence supports this belief. William settled in Greene County, Ohio, John migrated westward to Illinois and Arkansas and Samuel's family settled in Ross and Pike Counties, Ohio.
Additional Hibben lines with origins beyond the borders of Pennsylvania have been recorded. An 1857 newspaper states that the Andrew Hibben (born 1728) of Charleston, South Carolina was the brother of John Hibben (born about 1730). Both had immigrated from Kent, England to the colonies. The Andrew Hibben line has been documented by several of his descendants and they have uploaded the information to Rootsweb and Ancestry databases. I have consolidated this information in another genealogy database and will make it available upon request.
Also, Thomas Hibben (born 1832) and wife, Amy Nettlingham, who immigrated from Kent, England in 1858, have left a trail of documentation in Illinois and California. Data about this family and its descendants is included in my Rootsweb.com WorldConnect database. And, there are several Hibben lines in the United States which originated in Germany and Czechoslovakia. The latter have not been researched and are not included in my database.
Thomas and Mary
In about 1783 Thomas Hibben married Mary Entriken and moved to Shippensburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, where most of their 13 children were born. Then about 1796 they moved to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where they lived in Uniontown and German Township until 1827. Two of their children died at an early age. One son has left no trace. The other ten married and settled in Ohio. Two settled at Hillsboro, Highland County; six at Wilmington, Clinton County; and two at Jamestown, Greene County. The ten children gave Thomas and Mary sixty-seven grand children. Over sixteen hundred descendants of Thomas and Mary have been documented. We are fortunate to have possession of Thomas' and Mary's bible. To read the provenance of the bible and view the appendix which lists their children, click on BIBLE PROVENANCE below.
Starting with Thomas' participation in the Pennsylvania Militia during the War of Independence and his service as a justice of the peace and recorder of deeds, and then continuing for more than two centuries, the family has played an active roll in the building of the Nation. His descendants became representatives to State and the US Government, mayors, merchants, ministers, lawyers, authors, diplomats, artists, ranchers, doctors, archaeologist, chemical engineer, university president, illuminating engineer and president of the American Bar Association.
James and Isabella
James Hibben married Isabella Entriken in 1797 and moved to Uniontown, Fayette County, Ohio. In the early 1800s he moved to West Newton, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. James and his sons, Samuel and Thomas, were recorded as 'waggonmakers.' He served in the War of 1812, along with his brother, Thomas (born 1793). James' grandson, George W. Hibben, and daughter, Mary (Hibben) Springer, moved west to settle at Norway, Benton County, Iowa. Sons Samuel's and Thomas,' descendants remained in Pennsylvania for several more generations. Descendants of James and Isabella are included in my Rootsweb.com WorldConnect database.
GEDCOM
My genealogical database is posted at Rootsweb's WorldConnect Project. Please search for links by clicking on WorldConnect Database below. The database includes notes or source documentation, and it has been 'cleansed' of vital statistics for all living persons and those born after 1915. Descendant reports and/or pedigree charts can be viewed for all individuals listed.
Please contact me if you have questions, need source documentation, have found an error or have information to share.
BOOK
In April 2003 I published a book about the Pennsylvania Hibben family. ". . . .60 POLES TO A SUGAR TREE AND THENCE TO THE BEGINNING," A Social History of the Pioneer Hibben Family 1730 to the early 1900s. Click Book Description & Synopsis below. Books were printed to fill pre-publication subscription orders and cover a few incremental requests. As of October, just a few copies are still available. Please contact me at my e-mail address if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Also note that copies are available at most libraries and historical and genealogical societies in the counties in which the Hibben families lived in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and at the LDS Family History Center, Salt Lake City, UT, the State Library of Indiana, the Ohio Genealogical Society and the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN. This book is the key 'book shelf' Hibben family document. However, since its publication a great deal of new information has been found and some corrections made. As a revised edition is not contemplated, an electrionic version of the book in PDF format has been uploaded to www.hibbengenealogy.org. Many additional images of documents and photos have also been added. Click on REVISED ELECTRONIC VERSION OF BOOK below.
PAGE HISTORY
This page was first submitted on January 13, 1999; revision #1 on June 7, 2000; revision #2 on June 6, 2003. This is revision #3 on November 1, 2007.
George C. Hibben, 75 Weston Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 - [email protected]