 Gibbs, Wynn/e, Allen, Fisher, and Parker family papers
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteDr. Leonard Gibbs (1775-1824) was a doctor, lawyer and judge in Granville, Washington County, New York. He and his wife, Betsy Robards (1780-1829) had eleven children, among them Isaac Adin Gibbs (1807-1856), a dentist and farmer who settled in Habersham County and married Rebecca Jones Allen. The ancestors of Isaac Adin and Rebecca's grandson, Robert Adin Gibbs (1874-1944) and Robert's wife, Theola Blanche Fisher (Brower) (1876- 1951) of Commerce, Georgia, daughter of Carey William Fisher and Rachel McElrath Parker of Demorest, Habersham County, Georgia, encompass the five major family lines in this collection. Young and Jane Anderson Allen of Melinia, Baker County Georgia, had 11 children, among them Rebecca Jones Allen (Gibbs) (mentioned above) and Elvy Ann Allen, who married Edwin Minor Wynn. They resided in Banks County, Georgia, and had 13 children who lived to be adults. In 1959, their descendants created the Wynne Memorial Association to organize an annual family reunion to be held at the Wynne Family Cemetery in Alto, Banks County, Georgia. The Association would oversee repairs and maintenance of the cemetery and create a marker at the site of the Martha Burns cabin. In 2013, members of the 5 families agreed at their annual Gibbs and Wynne family reunions to place their family collection at the Hargrett Library Descendants of all 5 families listed in the title usually attend both reunions. In 2014, representatives of the five families donated the first installment of the Gibbs, Wynn/e, Allen, Fisher and Parker family papers to the Library. Scope and ContentThe family papers include genealogy research, correspondence, clippings, photographs, land grants, deeds, wills, diaries and printed material related to the Gibbs, Wynn/e, Allen, Burns, Chenault, Fisher, and Parker families between 1826-2014. The Wynne family name has several variations in spelling including Wynne, Wynn, and Winn. In his 1912 article about the Wynn family reunion, Gus Edwards spells the surname without a final "e." He goes on to write, "In the long ago the family name used to be spelled with a final 'e,' thus, Wynne, but in later years somehow or other the family began to write simply, W-y-n-n." The ancestors of Robert Adin Gibbs (1874-1944) and Theola Fisher Parker (1876-1951) encompass the five major family lines in this collection. The collection also includes an address book, family bible, account book, recipe, receipts, and Civil War-era letters by various family members including those between Eliza Jane Wynne (1837-1916) and her husband Charles Rollin Gibbs (1835-1903). Organization and ArrangementThis collection is arranged by family and each member of the family has a genealogy sheet that includes birth and death dates, marriage date, information regarding children, and occasionally information about the individual's profession. Each folder title includes the names of the individuals represented along with their birth and death dates, if known. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationGibbs, Wynn/e, Allen, Fisher, and Parker family papers, ms 3862, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. Finding Aid PublicationFinding aid prepared on: 2014. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in Other RepositoriesThough the collection is open for research, the glass plate photographic negatives have been separated due to their fragile condition. Scans were created as reference copies and are available. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||