Friday, September 26, 2008 The Ghosts of our Ancestors A few
years ago, after I became aware that I had a Gibson great-great-
great grandfather, I began searching for Gibson ancestors.
Little did I know how much information I would find about this
family. Much of what has been written about the Gibson family in
America concerns this family's biracial roots, beginning in
Virginia and continuing in its migration through North and South
Carolina and on into Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and
Louisiana. My Gibson ancestor was born in South Carolina about
1799. His name was John P. Gibson, and I still have not found
the names of his parents. But along the research road, I found
many interesting books and published articles about biracial and
multiracial heritage in the early years of this country. One
such article included "The Free State of Jones", written by
Victoria E. Bynum and published by the University of North
Carolina Press. Chapter 1 of the publication begins with an
interesting quote of Sam Dabney, fro