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My Gilbert Family - Western North Carolina and North GeorgiaIntroduction - A History of my research on this family My Gilbert Family - Data on my Wright ancestors IntroductionI've known that I had Gilbert ancestry since I was a child, or at least I knew my Great Grandmother's maiden name was Gilbert. Lilly Belle Gilbert Grant (1902-1983). I never got the chance to ask "Mama Grant" about her ancestors before she died, but other family members have since filled me in on what they knew. My Grandfather and Grandmother (Garland and Luella Grant) told me that Lilly was a daughter of Wash and Ibbie Gilbert. They were neither one sure what Ibbie's maiden name was. I later found out it was Henderson. They also told me the names of all of Lilly's brothers and sisters and who they had married. I checked the 1900 census of Union Co, GA, where the Gilberts lived, and found them listed there. I checked 1880, and couldn't find them, but back tracked to 1870, and found Wash home with his father Joshua Gilbert and wife Rhoda. I didn't realize until back tracking to 1860 that Rhoda was not Joshua's first wife, and that in 1860 he had a different wife, named Mary. Wash was home then as well, so it appeared that Joshua and Mary were Wash's parents. The census records shows that Lilly was a daughter of Noah Washington Gilbert and Ibiline, and that Wash was a son of Joshua Gilbert and Mary. I could not go back further on the Gilberts for many years. I found Wash's death certificate in Cherokee Co, NC which gave his mothers name as "Mary Stewart". I also found records showing that Wash's wife Ibiline was a Henderson, as some other relatives had also told me. Several cousins helped me out considerably with the more recent parts of the family, but no one had ever traced the family back very far, and to my knowledge, I'm the only one to attempt to do so. As I mentioned, I couldn't find a lead on who Joshua Gilbert's parents were. He was born ca 1810 in North Carolina, and appeared in Union Co, GA for the 1860 census. I have never been able to find him in 1850, but he had children born in the late 1840's who were born in "GA", so I suspect he was somewhere in Georgia at the time of the 1850 census. There were lots of Gilberts in Western North Carolina, and I assumed this is where Joshua would have come from, as most residents of Union Co, GA were from Western NC, or East TN or Upper West SC. I found men named "Joshua Gilbert" in South Carolina records, but they were all different men from my Joshua. I also found one (or perhaps two) Joshua Gilbert's in Western NC. One was in Yancey Co, NC and another in Rutherford Co, NC. I suspect these "two" are really one person in both counties (not at the same time). This Joshua in Yancey Co, NC and Rutherford Co, NC is the right age to be same person (per the 1840 census), and I have not found any other record of him in those counties, so nothing to prove that it isn't the same Joshua as mine. Based on the assumption that this Joshua of Yancey Co, NC was mine, I've figured that he must be a son of Wilson and Esther Gilbert who were there, and the only Gilberts in that county old enough to be his parents. I'm quite confidant (but based on circumstantial evidence) that the Joshua Gilbert listed on the 1835 Voter List in Yancey County, NC and listed on the 1840 census in Rutherford County, and who signed an 1844 petition in Rutherford, are all one and the same person, and probably a son of Wilson Gilbert of Yancey Co, NC. I'm not 100% sure that this Joshua is my Joshua, but I feel strongly that it is, but could not prove it based on the records I have so far. Wilson Gilbert, supposed father of Joshua, moved to the Yancey Co, NC area (Three Mile Creek, present Avery County) in the 1820's from somewhere. I found records of a Wilson Gilbert in Chatham Co, NC before that, and it may be the same man. More research is needed on that though. I have not determined who Wilson's parents were, nor his wife Esther's maiden name. My Gilbert ancestorsI believe our ancestry goes back to Wilson Gilbert born ca 1760/70, possibly in SC or elsewhere. He was in Chatham Co, NC in the early 1800's (records found in 1800, 1810, 1815, and 1817), and by 1830 was in what is now Avery County, NC (then Burke County, later Yancey County). He died between 1835 and 1840 in Yancey Co, NC. His wife was Esther --- (1760/70-1850) who died January 1850 in Yancey Co, NC. I believe they are the parents of Joshua Gilbert who was born ca 1809/10 in NC (if he is their son, then he was born in Chatham County). Joshua went with the to Yancey Co, NC, and left there between 1835 and 1840 for nearby Rutherford Co, NC where he was until the mid 1840's, at which time he moved to Georgia, possibly Union County. His first wife is unknown, but she died before 1854. Around that time, Joshua married Mary Stewart Chandler (widow of James S. Chandler) in Union Co, GA. Mary died in the 1860's. Joshua married a third time, to another widow, Rhoda Russell Miller (widow of William Miller) in 1869 in Union Co, GA. Joshua died in Union Co, GA sometime after 1880, but before 1900. Joshua and Mary were the parents of Noah Washington Gilbert (1855-1914). Wash married Ibiline Henderson in 1881 in Union Co, GA. Their daughter Lilly Belle Gilbert (1902-1983) was my Great Grandmother. For information on other Gilbert families within my area of interest (Western North Carolina and North Georgia only) but who are not known to be related to my Gilbert family, go to my Documented Gilbert Families page My Gilbert Family:Wilson Gilbert (1760/70-1835/40) and Esther --- (1760/70-1850) Last Updated January 15, 2006 Gilbert Page (Main) | Gilbert Families | What's New? Home | Surnames | Christian Pages | Search this Site | Contact Me
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