Francis Blower Gibbes

A privately printed history of the Irving family sheds some light on Francis Blower Gibbes (1782-1844).  He was the son of Francis Blower Gibbes of Millennium Hall and Aemilia Irving (died May 1809), and father of Francis Blower Gibbes (31/08/1815-1904). The history described the family as fleeing a negro insurrection and taking the first boat (i.e., the New York boat). Presumably this refers to the Baptist War, and hence does not work given the arrival date in New York of 26/04/1833 below. From New York the family went to England and then about 1840 Francis Blower Gibbes left for Australia, where he bought land on the Paterson River in the Hunter Valley, and then left for Jamaica in 1843 just as his family arrived in Sydney, dying in Jamaica in 1844.

A Francis Blower Gibbes, born about 1816 died Fitzroy Victoria 1904; equally a Francis Blower Gibbes (male) born abt 1816 origin England left Jamaica and arrived New York 26/04/1833. Francis Blower Gibbes Esq., shown as slave-owner in slave-registers e.g. St James 1817.

Sir Aemilius Irving (edited by L. Homfray Irving), James Irving of Ironshore and his descendants 1713-1918 (Toronto, College Press Limited, 1918) pp. 13-17.

Ancestry.com, Australian Death Index 1787-1985 [database online]; Ancestry.com, New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957 [database online]. Ancestry.com, Slave Registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834 [database on-line], St James, Jamaica, 1817.