BIBB
CEMETERY (north side of Bibb Road), LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA
Some quick notes on the Bibb family. The two Bibb brothers who were the first
and second Governors of Alabama mother's name was Sarah "Sallie" Smith Wyatt.
Sallie's 5th Gr-Grandfather was Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger who led the
unsuccessful "Wyatt's Rebellion" against Queen Mary. He confessed and was
executed. His father, Sir Thomas Wyatt (the Elder) was a famous poet you
probably studied in high school. He introduced the Petrarcan or Italian style
sonnet to English Literature. He was a confidant of Henry VIII and counseled the
King against marrying Anne Boleyn (Thomas had had a previous affair with her)
Ella Claiborne Bibb was actually Philipella Claiborne Bibb after her father,
Philip. Her husband Henry "Hal" Chambers Bibb was a medical doctor and practiced
after the Civil War.. Their only child (they both died very young) was Ella
Claiborne Bibb Fariss, the wife of Mora Brooks Fariss; and they both are buried
in Rose Hill in Columbia. They are my gr-grandparents. How his middle name
Chambers came into the family is quite a tale, and we named our younger son the
middle name of Chambers. I'll pass the story along to you when I have more time.
When my wife and I visited Belle Mina, the then current owners gave us a brick
from the house. There are great public domain photos of the house on the Library
of Congress web site as part of the HABS (Historic American Building Survey)
collection from the 30s.
Update 21 Jul 2017 by Jim Dedman:
I had
occasion to visit your Bibb Family Cemetery site to check on Fannie Bibb. I note
that a message I sent in earlier was imprecise. I meant to say that Ella
Claiborne Bibb (who married Mora B. Fariss and now in Rose Hill, Columbia) was
the only surviving child of Dr. Henry "Hal" Chambers Bibb and Philipella "Ella"
Claiborne. They had three children: Robert Chambers Bibb (died 2 Feb 1873 at age
6 -- in Bibb cemetery), Fannie Bibb (born 5 Apr 1864), and Ella Claiborne Bibb
(born 1 Jul 1871.
Dr. Bibb and Philipella "Ella" died early, and their two surviving daughters,
Fannie and Ella were raised by Dr. Bibb's brother Robert Chambers "R. C." Bibb
Dr. Bibb and R.C. were the sons of David Porter Bibb and Mary Chambers Betts.
David Porter Bibb was the fifth child of Gov. Thomas Bibb and Parmelia Watkins
Thompson. The other children were Adeline, Emily Julia, William Dandridge,
Thomas, Elmira, Robert Thompson, and Eliza Parmelia.
Dr. Bibb's wife was Philipella Bibb, the daughter of Philip Whitehead Claiborne
and Arnette S. Craig. Philip Whitehead Bibb is the 4th gr-grandson of William
Claiborne of Jamestown and Williamsburg. There is a plaque honoring William
Claiborne in the ruins of the old church at Jamestown. He came from England not
long after Jamestown was settled.
I have attached a coat of arms that my gr-grandfather Mora B. Fariss obtained
while searching the ancestry of his wife Ella Claiborne Bibb Fariss. I don't
know the authenticity of the Bibb arms, but I obtained it from him.
Dr. Bibb served as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company F, 9th Alabama Infantry and is
listed as serving with Company C in the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors records.
He left the war early either to illness or wound. He died at age 37 on 1 Oct
1873. Philipella died at age 28 on 2 Aug 1871.
There is some confusion regarding their daughter Fannie Bibb. Some records
report her name as Fannie Claiborne D. Bibb, some as Fannie C. Bibb, but there
is a stone in the Bibb cemetery for Fannie Craig Bibb showing a DOB of 5 Apr
1864 and a DOD of 19 Jul 1883. Given that Fannie and Ella were raised at Belle
Mina by their uncle (and listed as neices for him in the 1870 Census), I tend to
think that it is her grave in the Bibb cemetery. The dates are approximately
correct compared to the other records of Fannie D. or Fannie Claiborne; and
there are mistakes as to actual names when children are raised by other family
members.
At any rate, I pass this along to you.
Above is a
photo of Ella Claiborne Bibb from about 1873. The photo was made while she lived
at Belle Mina mansion where she was raised by her uncle R. C. Bibb after her
father Dr. Henry "Hal" Chambers Bibb died. I have asked that Ella and Mora B.
Fariss' Findagrave.com memorials be transferred to me since they are my gr-grandparents
but thus far I have been ignored, I lived two houses from them, and I will be
buried just a few feet from them in Rose Hill, Columbia Tennessee. Ella's
parents are buried at the Bibb Cemetery Limestone County Alabama (her mother was
Philipella Claiborne who predeceased husband Henry Bibb), as well as her brother
and sister.
Attached above is a family photo of Belle Mina mansion in Belle Mina, Limestone
County near Mooresville Alabama. from my private (Jim Dedman) collection. Please
feel free to use this photo also.
Jim Dedman 23 Jul 2017
As detailed and sent in by Jim Dedman of South Carolina, 23 Apr 2016/Revised 21 Jul 2017 & 23 Jun 2017