JOHN C. KIBBY Although the records show that a marriage license was issued to John and Sarah at the Courthouse, which was actually in Centerville at that time and NOT in Richmond... and that a report was filed in the court docket after the marriage ceremony by the Justice of the peace, Mr. Kibbey, it is not certain where the actual vows were read and/or the ceremony took place. CLICK HERE to see the court document again.
Wayne County Indiana Justice of the Peace who solemnized the
MARRIAGE OF JOHN RYAN & SARAH MOORE
August 21, 1838For the sake of general interest and curiosity, cousin Andy Sauer undertook some research on Mr. Kibbey and found that he and his family were quite interesting characters. Andy had a hunch that the name John C. Kibbey was a prominent one, and somehow envisioned him as a "wise old man" of sound judgment and good repute. As you will read below, Andy's hunch was right! Also, as you will read, Mr. Kibbey, some 30 years older than John Ryan, owned a tavern in Richmond during John Ryan's bachelor days there. My hunch is that John Ryan might have known Mr. Kibbey through this connection also. Just a hunch!
Nonetheless, the recitation below is the written report from Doris Ashbrook of the the Wayne County Library Reference Section. It was sent to Andy 8/27/01 in response to a formal query by Andy:
August 27, 2001 ~~ Dear Andy,The Justice of the Peace John Crane Kibbey was an early resident of the county and a prominent one. His father, Ephraim Kibbey was a surveyor and served in the Revolutionary War and rose to the rank of major in command of a company under General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Ephraim Kibbey's wife was born a Crane which explains why their son John was given her maiden name as his middle name. John C. Kibbey was born in New Jersey on March 17, 1783.
His family moved to Colombia, Ohio in 1788. There he grew to manhood learning the tanner's and currier's trades from a maternal uncle. In 1812, he purchased 700 acres near Salisbury in Wayne County and 160 acres two miles west of this now non-existent town. Salisbury at the time was the county seat. He moved here with his wife in 1813. He open an tan yard and in 1814 was appointed a justice of the peace. Early in the 1820s, he moved to Richmond. There he operated a tavern for a time while still maintaining his other business interests and serving as justice of the peace. It would have been at this time that he married your ancestors. He was an avid Democrat until after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill in 1854. In 1850, he moved to Illinois where he died in 1856. He lived long enough to see and endorse the birth of the Republican Party.
He married a Mary Espy. They had nine daughters and one son. This son, John F. Kibbey, was born May 4, 1826 in Richmond. He lived in Wayne County all of his life. He became an attorney and a judge and was highly respected and widely know throughout the state. He was politically very active and like his father was a democrat until 1854 when he became a Republican. A protege of Oliver P. Morton, he was active in state affairs during the Civil War.
Most of the county histories devote considerable space to Judge John F. Kibbey. These entries usually mention his father as they recount Judge Kibbey's antecedents and early life. I can send you copies of these entries for ten cents per page plus our postage. The most complete are to be found in the following sources:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union, and Franklin Counties, Indiana.
Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1899, Volume I, 133-136.Fox, Henry Clay. Memoirs of Wayne County and the City of Richmond, Indiana.
Madison, WI: Western Historical Association, 1912, Volume I, 83, 141, 423; Volume II, 96-98.History of Wayne County.
Chicago: Interstate, 1884, Volume I, 491, 554; Volume II, 24, 111, 315.Spahr, Walter E. History of Centerville.
Richmond, IN: Richmond Wayne County Historical Society, 1966, 9, 10, 45, 49.Young, Andrew W. History of Wayne County.
Cincinnati, OH: Robert Clarke, 1872, 84, 100, 164, 194, 368, 441.You should be able to borrow most of these titles though your local library's Interlibrary Loan Service either from us or some other holding library.
I hope this is helpful. Sincerely, Doris Ashbrook, Reference Services
Email: refdept@mrl.lib.in.us
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