Mary Cornelia GIBBONS1
F, b. 27 February 1855, d. 2 June 1928
- Relationship
- 2nd cousin 2 times removed of John Kennedy BROWN Jr.
Mary Cornelia GIBBONS, daughter of Samuel Holloway GIBBONS and Mary Caroline HUNT, was born on 27 February 1855 in Autauga County, Alabama. Tammie Gregg's grandmother told her a family story about Union troops marching on "Kingston Road or now Deatsville." It scared Sarah B. Hunt so badly that her hands shook while holding a pan of grease and she spilled some on Tammie's great grandmother's neck. That would be Mary Cornelia Gibbons. A Union doctor put something on the burn.
Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith's 16th Corps following the Siege of Fort Blakeley had arrived in Montgomery April 25, 1865. The Battle of Selma had taken place April 1st. Confederate scouts reported the army encamped above Jackson's Ferry on April 27. "They have pontooned the river to the west side, and commit all manner of depredations." On May 10th Col. Lucius F. Hubbard's 2nd brigade consisting of the 47th Illinois, 5th Minnesota, 9th Minnesota, 11th Missouri, and 8th Wisconsin, left Montgomery passing through Prattville and Autaugaville arriving in Selma May 14th.
Clara a slave servant of A. K. McWilliams was shot and killed by Union troops and was the only known civilian casualty. When the McWilliams heard that the soldiers were near they moved some of their livestock to a canebreak near the Alabama River. Federal troops entered their yard and took Clara away with them. The last time they saw her alive she was on the back of a soldier's horse. The next day her body was found near the canebreak and all the livestock were gone.
Union cavalry would have patrolled and raided farms all around the army's line of march. It was probably the cavalry that passed near the Hunts home. There are family stories that these same troops raided the farm of Martin R. Burt also on the Lower Kingston Road above Prattville.
Mary married Albert Goodwin Nixon on 20 January 1881 in Autauga County, Alabama.1,2
Mary Cornelia GIBBONS died on 2 June 1928 in Autauga County, Alabama, at age 73. She was buried in Nixon Cemetery.
Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith's 16th Corps following the Siege of Fort Blakeley had arrived in Montgomery April 25, 1865. The Battle of Selma had taken place April 1st. Confederate scouts reported the army encamped above Jackson's Ferry on April 27. "They have pontooned the river to the west side, and commit all manner of depredations." On May 10th Col. Lucius F. Hubbard's 2nd brigade consisting of the 47th Illinois, 5th Minnesota, 9th Minnesota, 11th Missouri, and 8th Wisconsin, left Montgomery passing through Prattville and Autaugaville arriving in Selma May 14th.
Clara a slave servant of A. K. McWilliams was shot and killed by Union troops and was the only known civilian casualty. When the McWilliams heard that the soldiers were near they moved some of their livestock to a canebreak near the Alabama River. Federal troops entered their yard and took Clara away with them. The last time they saw her alive she was on the back of a soldier's horse. The next day her body was found near the canebreak and all the livestock were gone.
Union cavalry would have patrolled and raided farms all around the army's line of march. It was probably the cavalry that passed near the Hunts home. There are family stories that these same troops raided the farm of Martin R. Burt also on the Lower Kingston Road above Prattville.
Mary married Albert Goodwin Nixon on 20 January 1881 in Autauga County, Alabama.1,2
Mary Cornelia GIBBONS died on 2 June 1928 in Autauga County, Alabama, at age 73. She was buried in Nixon Cemetery.
Last Edited=24 Jan 2024
Child of Mary Cornelia GIBBONS and Albert Goodwin Nixon
- Eliza Leona Nixon1 b. 23 May 1897
Citations
Information on this site has been gathered over many years from many sources. Although great care has been taken, inaccuracies may exist. Please contact [email protected] with corrections or questions..