Gibbs, Worthington J.

Born: 1800 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Flourished: Johnson County, Illinois

Gibbs grew up in Philadelphia and after studying medicine, he worked as a physician in Philadelphia. In 1830, he moved from Philadelphia to Johnson County, Illinois and married Sabrina Rentfro, with whom he had five children. In addition to his medical practice, Gibbs was a frequent public servant in Johnson County. He was a county commissioner in 1837, and was elected to the Illinois Senate, serving from 1838 to 1842. In 1850, Gibbs was the head of a large household in Vienna, Illinois, and he owned over $3,000 worth of real estate.

Pleasant Thomas Chapman, A History of Johnson County, Illinois (Herrin, IL: Herrin News, 1925), 163, 277-78, 379; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Union County, 25 July 1830, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; John Clayton, comp., Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1970), 206, 208; Theodore C. Pease, ed., Illinois Election Returns, 1818-1848, vol. 18 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1923), 307; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Johnson County, IL, 321.