No Tibbs in Tibbstown
Exploring the origin and collective memory of Tibbstown in Barboursville, Virginia
Introduction
Pastor Robert Anthony, the current pastor of Blue Run Baptist Church, leans back in his chair to think. Photographs of ordinances from recent years hang on the wall behind him in his office at Blue Run Baptist Church in Barboursville, Virginia.
I ask him about the historic Black settlement of Tibbstown, his childhood home and one of the Black communities the church has long served. How did it get its name? He tells me about the Reverend Frank Tibbs, who according to church history helped Blue Run get off the ground in 1885 and led the congregation for nine years before dying at the age of 90. "But," he says, "I've never known any Tibbs in Tibbstown."
Pastor Anthony stands in front of Blue Run Baptist Church in 2019, its 250th year anniversary. Photo credit: Orange County Review, by Hilary Holladay
Was Tibbstown, one of the many Black "freetowns" in Orange County, named after the Reverend Frank Tibbs? Who was Frank Tibbs, and where did he come from?
Why are there no Tibbs in Tibbstown today?
Tibbstown History
At 1.7 miles on Rt. 20 north in Barboursville is Tibbstown Road, where a cluster of African Americans settled after emancipation. However, unlike the nearby freetowns of Jacksontown or Careytown , there are no families with the last name “Tibbs” known to have lived here. When Tibbstown formally began and where the emancipated families who first settled here came from before are still questions to be answered.
The cultural landscape in the area surrounding Tibbstown, including the neighboring communities of Careytown and Jacksontown.
Places
Where in Orange County is Tibbstown?
Tibbstown is located in the Western part of Orange County. It is one of eight freetowns in Orange County that we have found historical information about so far.
Blue Run Baptist
Prior to the Civil War, both Black and white churchgoers worshiped at Blue Run Baptist. Most, if not all, of the Black congregants were enslaved by the white church members.
After emancipation, the church split in two along racial lines.
In 1884, the African American congregation paid $650 for the acre of land that Blue Run sits on. The white congregation built a new church, also called Blue Run Baptist, three miles away in Somerset.
The church allowed slaves to become members, but they had no voice. They were able to come and be baptized and become members of the church. - Pastor Anthony
In front of the church is also an isolated grave from 1873 belonging to Jane Webb. The Webb family helped acquired the land for the church. Her crypt, constructed by enslaved laborers, still sits in the shadow of Blue Run Baptist today.
The cypt of Jane Webb.
Two Blue Runs, One History
Though they might be separate, these two churches share their early history. Two times a year both Blue Runs come together to hold a joint service. According to Pastor Anthony, the history of Old Blue Run will never be complete until both churches put their histories together.
As of July 2022, Mr. Garland Tyree of Somerset is set to publish a book about the history of Blue Run titled Old Blue Run Baptist Church, Constituted Dec. 4, 1769, the First 100 Years.
1885 Stevens Map
In this 1885 map of the Mageristerial Districts in Orange County by Fred N. Stevens, both Old Blue Run and Blue Run in Somerset appear. This map was created the year after the Black congregation purchased Old Blue Run.
Remembering the No. 7 School
Next to Blue Run Baptist was the Tibbstown school, remembered collectively as the No. 7 School.
Photograph of the interior of the No. 7 School.
The No. 7 School was two room school house on Rt. 20 that served students in grades one through seven. One room taught students grades one through three, while the other room taught students grades five to seven.
Bill Spieden recalls in the article below how his father and his friend pooled their resources together to provide the school with electricity after the Orange County school board denied their request.
The opening of Prospect Heights School in December 1956 combined three upper elementary schools in the western part of the county, including the Number 7 School. However, by the 1960s, the Tibbstown School had been abandoned.
Newspaper article from the Orange Review, Volume 33, Number 22, 1 August 1963.
The opening of Prospect Heights and the persisting memory of the Tibbstown School are part of a broader story about the resilience, interconnection, and dedication of Black educators, families, and community members in Orange County.
In 1885, there were at least twelve African American schools across Orange County. Some of these schools are still standing today.
Photographs from the area surrounding Tibbstown today: Blue Run Baptist Church, the view from Blue Run, Chestnut Grove Baptist Church, and Scuffletown Rd.
People
What we do know about the people who lived in Tibbstown?
Right: Julia Jones White and Daniel Jones of Tibbstown, the parents of Deacon Prince Jones.
The Jones Family of Tibbstown
Deacon Prince Jones grew up in Tibbstown and was the oldest congregational member at Blue Run Baptist Church when he died in
Deacon Jones' parents met while walking to the schoolhouse in Tibbstown. He also attended the No. 7 School:
The number 7 school at Tibbstown is where I attended primary school and graduated from the 8th grade. This school, located beside Route 20, replaced an earlier one-room school house that was located further in the Tibbstown community. - Deacon Prince Jones
Click here to learn more about the Jones family and more African American family histories at the Orange County African American Historical Society.
As an intern for the "Finding Virginia's Freetowns" project at the University of Virginia, I had the opportunity to visit what remains of the original Tibbstown settlement: the foundation stones of 10 or so homes and several small family cemeteries deep in the woods off of Route 20 (named the "Constitution Highway" for its proximity to Montpelier, the home of Pres. James Madison). Walking through the woods in the middle of a July heat wave grounded me in what it must have been like to live here at the end of the 19th century.
Today a conservation easement protects the property that Mr. Jones and his family settled. Though I could not meet him, the land keeps his memory alive today.
Tibbstown: what's in a name?
Though there may not be any Tibbs living in Tibbstown now, there were in the 19th century.
Right: Frank Tibbs (likely from a younger generation) poses for his portait in Rufus Holsinger's studio on October 10, 1915.
The Mystery of Frank Tibbs
After meeting with Pastor Anthony, I wanted to find out more about Reverend Frank Tibbs. But ater doing an initial search, locating a Reverend Frank Tibbs in time and space was not as easy as I thought.
In the 1880 census, Reverend Frank Tibbs is living with his wife Rodie in the Madison district. His occupation is listed as "minister."
He is listed as being 60 years old, meaning his birth date would have been approximately 1820. However, birth years in the 1880 census for African Americans can be off be up to 10 years.
1880 Census listing Frank Tibbs and his wife Rodie Tibbs.
Below is a timeline of the Reverend Frank Tibbs and his son Wanzer Tibbs, who also became a prominent traveling minister in Central Virginia.
~1800-1820
Reverend Frank Tibbs is born in Orange County, VA.
~1848
Reverend Frank Tibbs' son Wanzer is born. Reverend Wanzer Tibbs would go on to established churches acorss Greene, Madison, Orange, and Culpeper counties.
1869
Earliest record of a marriage officiated by Frank Tibbs. No church is listed. The participants’ names are Pounce Allen and Betsy Taylor.
1871
Wanzer Tibbs becomes an important spiritual leader of a Prayer Band in Locust Grove, VA. He names the sanctuary Mt. Zion Baptist.
March 18, 1875
Reverend Tibbs speaks at a Civil Rights Meeting at a church in Gordonsville attended by "colored people of both sexes and by a good many white people."
April 17, 1875
Reverend Frank Tibbs is arrested for marrying a Black man and a white woman.
1879
Reverend Wanzer Tibbs travels and establishes churches across Central Virginia. Among them is his final congregation, Free Union Baptist Church .
1880
Reverend Frank Tibbs is listed in the Census as living in the Madison district of Western Orange County with his wife Rodie.
1880
Reverend Wanzer Tibbs and his family are listed in the Census as living in Culpeper, VA.
1892
Death of Reverend Frank Tibbs. His occupation is listed as minister.
1919
Death of Reverend Wanzer Tibbs. Frank Tibbs and Rodie Tibbs are named as his parents.
2019
The Virginia Senate passes a joint resolution commending Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Locust Grove and the Freetown communities it has served, including Peter Bottom, Lewistown, Fox Neck, and Flat Run.
While there are still questions to be answered, it is clear that Reverend Frank Tibbs and Reverend Wazner Tibbs were energetic, respected leaders in their congregations and communities. They are still remembered by the churches they founded today.
Finding Frank Tibbs
The origin of Reverend Frank Tibbs is perplexing: where was he between his birth and when he appears in public records as a minister in 1869?
One answer is that he was supposed to be in Ohio.
In a series of articles published in the Orange Review, journalist Zann Nelson investigated the history of a woman named Matlida Tibbs. Matlida was enslaved at Bloomsbury Plantation outside of Orange.
In 1842 the will of Lucy Quarles emancipated Matlida Tibbs and her nine children, and they relocated to Fairfield County, Ohio. In the same year, a man named Frank Tibbs is emancipated by the Reuben Conway Estate:
….in consideration of faithful service of our slave Frank Tibbs, a mulatto man about forty eight years of age and to enable him to move with his wife and children who were Emancipated by the will of Mrs. Lucy Quarle….and in further consideration of the sum of one dollar paid in hand by said Frank Tibbs. Emancipate and set free the said Frank Tibbs to enjoy his freedom henceforth, fully and completely as if he had been born free. - Excerpted from Deed Book 38 in the Orange County Courthouse and signed by the heirs of the Reuben Conway Estate, September, 1842.
What is most perplexing is that a Virginia law mandated that once emancipated, any former slave was required to leave the state. If they did not relocate, they remained enslaved.
If Frank Tibbs did not go to Ohio, how did he avoid this law?
Ohio records support that he never made it there. In the 1850 Census, Matlida is reported living without a spouse.
Matlida Tibbs reported living without a husband. Her children are William F. (29), Garrett M (17), Qualls (14), Conoway (11), and Lafayette (6). Note that one of her son's names is Conoway - the same surname as Reuban Conway.
Interestingly, in the 1880 Census, a Frank Tibbs is living with his wife Jane in Pickaway, Ohio. This is likely Matlida's eldest child, William Francis. In the 1850 census, he is 29 years old. This puts his birthdate at 1821. William Francis sometimes comes up in records, such as on Ancestry.com, as Frank Tibbs.
If you are confused too, so was I. But this is part of the challenge and the serendipity of tracing African American lineage.
Multi-state Legacies
Though the connection between Matlida Tibbs and Reverend Frank Tibbs is hazy, it is true that the Tibbs family left a strong legacy across counties and states.
Matlida's son Qualls, one of her children emancipated by Lucy Quarles, enlisted in the Union army in 1864. By this time, he had been living as a free man in Ohio for about 40 years.
William Francis Tibbs and Lafayette also enlisted in the Union army.
Qualls Tibbs joined Co. E, 27th USCT (Ohio) Infantry for three-years. He was promoted to sergeant and was discharged after being wounded in battle.
Though Matlida may have never reunited with Frank, both of their lives, in Hocking and near Tibbstown, should be remembered. The families and communities they built put the Tibbs in Tibbstown. The Jones family, their neighbors, and the children who attended the No. 7 school put the Tibbs in Tibbstown. All of their descendents do too.
Tibbstown Today
What we do know
After the Civil War, the residents of Tibbstown adjusted to a completely new social order that left them with very little. They built their own houses, cleared the land to farm it, went to church, started their own businesses, socialized with their friends, attended school. They built communities, families, friendships, and a trusted network to protect themselves from the world around them.
However, there is still much we don't know. There are still buried truths in the land, public records, and the collective memory to be uncovered.
Why does this matter?
African American communities such as Tibbstown are at risk of being destroyed and forgotten.
In 2003, General Shale planned to build a new brick plant 25 feet next to Careytown. Neighbors of Careytown, including residents living in Tibbstown, rallied together and started the non-profit Friends of Gordonsville . Protesting General Shale's plan, they focused on educating the public on the tremendous historic and environmental value of Barboursville, which includes Careytown. Friends of Gordonsville defeated General Shale in court in 2003 and plans for the mine were halted.
These communities are still alive today.
Each year African American families travel back to Orange County for Homecoming celebrations. Churches in Orange County host well-attended services, families cook in preparations for feasts, and cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents reunite. Stories about ancestors and where they went to school, who they were friends with, and how they lived are remembered, a beloved ritual which keeps their memory alive and celebrates a shared rural heritage.
Resources
About
A special thank you to Pastor Anthony, Professor Tamika Carey, Kai Dozier, Kristie Kendall, and Zann Nelson for sharing their knowledge and stories about Tibbstown with me.
