Synopsis and Description
". . . .60 POLES TO A SUGAR TREE
AND THENCE TO THE BEGINNING."
A Social History of the Pioneer Hibben Family 1730 to the early 1900s
by George C. Hibben
Part One of the book documents the first generation immigrant families who came to the Colonies long before the Revolutionary War. The Huey, Entriken and Hibben families were recorded by tax rolls and wills as living in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Part One also describes in detail the life of Thomas Hibben and his wife Mary Entriken Hibben, of the next generation, who lived in Cumberland and Fayette County, Pennsylvania. As a young man Thomas served in the Revolutionary War, was a blacksmith. Later he was appointed recorder and justice of the peace of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Thomas and Mary had thirteen children, ten of whom lived to marry and raise their own families.
Part Two of the book traces the lives of the ten surviving siblings, all of whom settled in Ohio shortly after it became a State. Two sons settled in Hillsboro, Highland County; a son and a daughter settled in Jamestown, Greene County; and two sons and four daughters settled in or around Wilmington, Clinton County. Each was a pioneer settler in his/her respective town or village and made important contributions to the political, religious, commercial, educational and social fabric of the community. They served as soldiers in the War of 1812, mayors, state representatives, justice of the peace, elders of churches, merchants, school teachers, ministers and, of course, farmers. They collectively had sixty seven children, some of whom remained in Ohio, but the majority led the westward settlement of the country. Generation No. 3 sections of Chapters III through XII capture ten distinctly different, yet related family histories in Ohio from the early 1800s until the death of the siblings.
The structure or backbone of the book is established by vital statistics presented in descendant reports and trees. The statistics are documented by end notes found in each chapter section. The bulk of the text, the substance of the book, is provided by documentation shown in italicized print. The documents tell a myriad of stories. The author has written text to bind the stories together, bridge missing documentation and relate the facts. The reader is left to interpret and visualize the scenes and events, and to assess the character of the individuals.
It is doubted that many persons will read the entire book. Most will use it as a reference and many will read only the chapters which portray their own ancestors. Only those who do read it all will learn the significance of the broad impact the Hibben family had upon the early history of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
ISBN 0-9728888-0-2
� 2003 George C. Hibben
All Rights Reserved
Manufactured in the United States by Acme Bookbinding, Charlestown, Massachusetts
Printed and laminated hard cover
Seven by ten inches
656 pages, 20 photo plates, maps, illustrations, descendant reports and trees
Appendices: Provenance of seven bibles; Family military service; Document collection;
Other descendants; Index of related surnames
Additional image supplement, 263 JPEG files on CD attached to inside rear cover
Published by George C. Hibben