Eustace Gibson

Eustace Gibson (October 4, 1842 – December 10, 1900) was a Democratic politician and lawyer in the Commonwealth of Virginia, who served in the Confederate Army and in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868. He moved to the State of West Virginia, where he served as a delegate and Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, and then as representative from the now-defunct Fourth Congressional District of West Virginia for the U.S. House of Representatives.[1][2]

Eustace Gibson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from West Virginia's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887
Preceded byn/a
Succeeded byCharles E. Hogg
Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates
In office
1877
Preceded byAlexander W. Monroe
Succeeded byGeorge H. Moffett
Personal details
Born(1842-10-04)October 4, 1842
Culpeper County, Virginia
DiedDecember 10, 1900(1900-12-10) (aged 58)
Clifton Forge, Virginia
Resting placeHuntington, West Virginia
Political partyDemocratic
ProfessionPolitician, Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/service Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–1863
RankCaptain
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Early and family life

Eustace Gibson was born in Culpeper County, Virginia on October 4, 1842 to lawyer Jonathan C. Gibson, Sr. and his second wife Mary Shackleford. He and his brothers received a private education, although their father died in 1849 when Eustace was a boy. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. He opened his law practice in 1861.

Virginia career

Gibson entered the Confederate States Army in June 1861 as first lieutenant of the Sperryville Rifles, serving under his brother Jonathan C. Gibson who would rise to the rank of colonel of the 49th Virginia Infantry. Eustace was promoted to captain in 1863 and retired as a result of his severe abdominal wound at the Battle of Gettysburg.[3] After the war, Gibson decided to practice in the mountains of southwest Virginia, rather than the north-central Piedmont region where his father had practiced and later his brother J.C. Gibson was practicing.[4] Voters from Pulaski and Giles Counties elected this Gibson to represent them at the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, and voters from his native Culpeper County elected his brother J.C. Gibson as one of their representatives.[5]

West Virginia career

Gibson moved to Huntington, West Virginia in 1871. Voters elected him to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1876 and he was re-elected in 1878, after fellow delegates elected him their speaker in 1877.

In 1882, voters elected Gibson as a Democrat to the 48th United States Congress. He defeated local Judge Robert S. Brown, who ran in part on a temperance platform.[6] Gibson was re-elected in 1884 to the 49th United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1887. While a member of the Forty-ninth Congress, he served as a chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice. His candidacies for renomination in 1886 and for nomination in 1888 were unsuccessful. Afterward, he returned to the practice of law.

Death and legacy

Gibson died in Clifton Forge, Allegheny County, Virginia on December 10, 1900. His remains were returned to Huntington, West Virginia and buried at its historic Spring Hill Cemetery.[7][8]

See also
  • United States Congressional Delegations from West Virginia

Sources
  1.  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.
  3. http://culpepertimes.com/2013/05/16/culpeper-currents-mrs-gibsons-boys/147786/
  4. http://culpepertimes.com/2013/05/16/culpeper-currents-mrs-gibsons-boys/147786/
  5. Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 504
  6. Dean W. Moore, Washington's Woods: a history of Ravenswood and Jackson County, W.Va. (McClain Publishing, 1971) pp. 160-161
  7. Eustace Gibson at Find a Grave
  8. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2444
Political offices
Preceded by
Alexander W. Monroe		 Speaker of the WV House of Delegates
1877–1879		 Succeeded by
George H. Moffett
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
n/a		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from West Virginia's 4th congressional district
1883–1887		 Succeeded by
Charles E. Hogg
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