In June 1860, the Gibson family lived at the northeastern corner of present-day Liberty Street and Wolfe Street. Margaret Gibson owned the home, and lived there with her two sons, St. Clair, aged 35, and Marcellus, aged 24. A 40 year old laborer named Leonard Sampson also lived with the family, although it is unknown what his connection was to the Gibsons.

 

Margaret was born in Virginia in May 1800 and worked as a washerwoman, which was a very common occupation for free black women in the antebellum South. As a free African American, Margaret, or Peggy as she was alternately known, was legally required to register her free status at her local county court. These records contain a wealth of knowledge about free blacks in the antebellum era, such as their birth dates, defining physical characteristics, and occasionally their area of origin. According to Margaret's registration record, she was a five-foot-six-inch tall "mulatto" woman. In 1860, she was recently widowed, and it was her late husband Jeremiah Gibson who originally purchased their home and half-acre of property from Abraham Harrell in October 1827. Jeremiah worked as a wagon-maker, and passed his trade on to his eldest son, St. Clair.

 

In 1841, Jeremiah went into debt, and was forced to itemize the family's real and personal property. This list, transcribed at the right, offers a window into the material lives of the Gibson family. Most significantly, a cow would have provided the Gibsons with their own source of dairy products, but with only a half-acre of land, it is likely that they rented pasture space from a larger property owner. Six years before the census taker arrived at the Gibson home, Jeremiah had again found himself in debt and signed an agreement that transferred ownership of the property to Margaret but on the condition that it be sold to his creditor, Charles D. Gray, following her death. It is unknown exactly when Margaret passed away and when Gray took over the property. Today, Matchobox Realty sits on the former Gibson home site.