Sunday, December 16, 2007

James Bibb and Thomas Wood Families

The James Bibb family came to Missouri from Virginia in 1831 with the Thomas Wood family. Sara Bibb, the younger sister of Thomas Wood, was 29 years old, James Bibb was 43, and Thomas Wood was 41. Theirs is the story of the early settling of a wilderness called Missouri by those who emigrated from the Eastern United States.

The group left Virginia in the late September, planning to travel to Saline County, Missouri where Charles Wood, brother of Sarah and Thomas had settled. They traveled overland by wagon with eight Wood childen, at least seven slaves, stock of different kinds, household effects, farm implements, chickens, turkeys, cats and dogs. They used ox teams to pull the wagons and took the usual route, finally crossing the Mississippi River at St. Louis, which was then a small frontier village of a few hundred people. They proceeded west another 45 miles and camped at what was known as Shaw Spring on about the tenth of November. Concluding that they had gone far enough and winter was coming on, they decided to stop for the winter. The next day some of the old settlers came to the camp and persuaded them that they had gone far enough.

And so it was that Sara and James Bibb settled about a mile from Thomas Wood and his family in the area that became known as Villa Ridge in East Central Missouri.

One of the interesting stories and mysteries at the Bibb Cemetery involves a little girl named Sarah Wood. According to her stone she was born in Salien County in 1838 and died in Franklin County in 1846 before reaching the age of 8. What caused her death is unknown. She was in Franklin County at the time of her death, according to one family source, to visit her Aunt Sarah Wood Bibb. Her father, Charles Wood, was the older brother of Sarah Bibb and Thomas Wood. Charles had settled several years before 1831 in Saline County, which is the place that the Bibbs and Woods had originally set out to reach.

The Sarah Wood stone was found without its base, so the FCCS made a new base and reset the stone. Included in this group of cemetery restorers were two great, great grandaughters of Thomas Wood.

Others buried at the Bibb Cemetery are Jinnie Bibb King, daughter of James and Sarah. Jinnie died in January of 1861 at the age of 22. Her infant son, James King died one month and one day later at the age of just 9 months.

David Bibb, son of James and Sarah, died in 1848 at the age of 19.

Another mystery is the child, James B. Bibb, son of William R. and L. A. Bibb, who died at the age of 1.

Others buried there are:
William T. F. Desper died in 1853 at age 15.
Son of F. G. Desper
F.G. Desper, born in 1812 and died before 1854.
Frances (Bibb) and W.T.A. Allegree, who were born in Virgina.
W.T.A. died in 1855 at age 76.
Frances died in 1864 at age 71.
Frances was James Bibb’s sister