Alexander Severus Gibbons was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia on September 9, 1822, the sixth child of twelve and third son born to John and Jane Elizabeth Keffer Gibbons. Known to his family and friends as "Sandy," he attended the Dickinson Grammar School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania before enrolling in Dickinson College proper in 1842 with the class of 1846. While at the College he was a solid student and was elected as a member of Union Philosophical Society. He graduated with his class in 1846 and went on to medical school at the University of Maryland, receiving his degree in 1849. He had been developing his faith since college days, however, and soon after completing his medical studies became a minister in the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
After three years of work in the area the Conference served, he was accepted in 1852 to serve as a missionary in burgeoning, post--goldrush northern California. After two years in that work, he took a position as professor of mathematics at the University of the Pacific, a new Methodist College located near San Jose, California, chartered in 1851. Gibbons' old College president John Price Durbin was actually involved in the establishment of the college in his new role as the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1857, Gibbons was unanimously elected president of Pacific and was president when the first regular college class graduated in 1858. Following disagreements with the board of trustees over financial matters and a denied leave of absence to attend to his wife's ill mother, Gibbons resigned in 1859 and returned to Virginia. He taught at the Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio from 1864 until 1872 when the University of the Pacific asked him to resume the office of president. His second term lasted for five years before he declined re-election to return briefly to his less burdensome role as a professor at the college in 1878. Returning to the pulpit under the direction of the California Conference working mostly in northern California in places like Contra Costa County. In 1902 he took a position as superintendent of Arizona missions but retired in 1904, living in Pacific Grove in Monterey County.
Gibbons had married Sarah E. Cloud of Front Royal, Virginia on March 28, 1852 and the couple had seven children, three boys and four girls. His sister Fanny had married fellow Dickinsonian, Methodist minister, and Virginian Benjamin Abrogast of the class of 1854. Alexander Severus Gibbons died in northern California on March 28, 1912 and was buried in Oakland. He was eighty-nine years old.
Monterey Daily Cypress, March 29, 1912, page 4
Death of Dr. Gibbons Was Organizer of Methodist Conference-President of College
Dr. A. S. Gibbons who have been ill at his home on Fifteenth street for some time passed away last evening, about eight o’clock, surrounded by his loved ones who have been by his bedside constantly for some days.
The passing of Dr. Gibbons will cast a shadow upon the hearts of all who knew him. Seldom does one meet one with one who has the beautiful childlike faith and love in his heart as had, Dr. Gibbons. He was a familiar figure at all meetings in the Methodist church of which. he had been a member for many years, and often his still beautiful voice was heard in songs of praise. His favorite song and one which with his beloved friend Dr. Sheldon has been sung by request on many occasions was “Then I Shall See Him Face to Face. And as we think of the dear old soul now passed to that beautiful land, we can almost hear him as we-listen with tear dimmed eyes as he lifts his voice in gladness and sings once more in glory then I shall see him face to face.
Dr. Gibbons was a man of remarkable education and ability, being born almost 90 years ago in Virginia. While yet a very young man he was graduated with a degree of D. D. from Dickinson College Pennsylvania, two years after graduating from Baltimore Medical College with a degree of M. D.
He came to California in 1852 and in 1853 helped to organize the California Methodist Conference. Shortly after this, when the first college west of the Rocky Mountains, the University of the Pacific was established. He was elected its President, holding the double position of president and professor from 1854 to 1857. Late in the fifties he graduated from Coopers Medical School then connected with the University of the Pacific, its first
Medical class.
Dr. Gibbons went east for a much-needed rest. In 1864 he was acting President and professor of Ohio University, then the State University which position he held until 1872, when he was again called to the Presidency of the University of the Pacific, where he remained until 1879, He then retired -from this-arduous work going back to his ministerial work, filling numerous charges in the California Conference, being highly respected and greatly loved wherever he was located. His last charge was at Byron, where he remained for seven years.
Retiring from active service Dr. Gibbons came to the Grove with his family seven years ago, where he bought his present beautiful home, and has spent peacefully and happily the last few years of his life. Dr. Gibbons had been a widower for a number of years, but he leaver to mourn his loss, four daughters and son, being Mrs. Mary V. Cooper of San Francisco; Miss Annie C. Gibbons, Miss Mabel M. Gibbons of Pacific Grove; Mrs. A. B. Carey of San Leandro and Edward C. Gibbons of St. Helena.
The funeral services will be held in the Methodist Church Saturday at 2 P.M. The interment will be in Oakland. Dr. Guth, President of the College of the Pacific as well as a number of prominent ministers are expected in the Grove to attend the services.
San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 121, 30 March 1912, page 7
GIBBONS —In Pacific Grove, March 28, 1912, Rev. A. S. Gibbons, beloved father of Mrs. M. G. Cooper, and Ed C., Annie C., Mabel R. and Arthur S. Gibbons and Mrs. A. B. Cary, a native of Virginia, aged 89 years and 6 months.
http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/g/ed_gibbonsAS.htm
Event Type Census
Event Date 1880
Event Place Castroville, Monterey, California
Alexander Gibbons Self M 57 Virginia
Sarah Gibbons Wife F 55 Virginia
May V Gibbons Daughter F 23 California
Edward Gibbons Son M 22 California
Anna Gibbons Daughter F 20 California
Birdie Gibbons Daughter F 18 Virginia
Arthur Gibbons Son M 17 Ohio
Bessie Gibbons Daughter F 15 Ohio
Elizabeth Edith Cary
California Death Index
Name Elizabeth Edith Cary
Event Type Death
Event Date 03 Oct 1946
Event Place Alameda, California, United States
Birth Date 29 Jun 1865
Birthplace Ohio
Gender Female
Father's Name Gibbons
After three years of work in the area the Conference served, he was accepted in 1852 to serve as a missionary in burgeoning, post--goldrush northern California. After two years in that work, he took a position as professor of mathematics at the University of the Pacific, a new Methodist College located near San Jose, California, chartered in 1851. Gibbons' old College president John Price Durbin was actually involved in the establishment of the college in his new role as the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1857, Gibbons was unanimously elected president of Pacific and was president when the first regular college class graduated in 1858. Following disagreements with the board of trustees over financial matters and a denied leave of absence to attend to his wife's ill mother, Gibbons resigned in 1859 and returned to Virginia. He taught at the Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio from 1864 until 1872 when the University of the Pacific asked him to resume the office of president. His second term lasted for five years before he declined re-election to return briefly to his less burdensome role as a professor at the college in 1878. Returning to the pulpit under the direction of the California Conference working mostly in northern California in places like Contra Costa County. In 1902 he took a position as superintendent of Arizona missions but retired in 1904, living in Pacific Grove in Monterey County.
Gibbons had married Sarah E. Cloud of Front Royal, Virginia on March 28, 1852 and the couple had seven children, three boys and four girls. His sister Fanny had married fellow Dickinsonian, Methodist minister, and Virginian Benjamin Abrogast of the class of 1854. Alexander Severus Gibbons died in northern California on March 28, 1912 and was buried in Oakland. He was eighty-nine years old.
Monterey Daily Cypress, March 29, 1912, page 4
Death of Dr. Gibbons Was Organizer of Methodist Conference-President of College
Dr. A. S. Gibbons who have been ill at his home on Fifteenth street for some time passed away last evening, about eight o’clock, surrounded by his loved ones who have been by his bedside constantly for some days.
The passing of Dr. Gibbons will cast a shadow upon the hearts of all who knew him. Seldom does one meet one with one who has the beautiful childlike faith and love in his heart as had, Dr. Gibbons. He was a familiar figure at all meetings in the Methodist church of which. he had been a member for many years, and often his still beautiful voice was heard in songs of praise. His favorite song and one which with his beloved friend Dr. Sheldon has been sung by request on many occasions was “Then I Shall See Him Face to Face. And as we think of the dear old soul now passed to that beautiful land, we can almost hear him as we-listen with tear dimmed eyes as he lifts his voice in gladness and sings once more in glory then I shall see him face to face.
Dr. Gibbons was a man of remarkable education and ability, being born almost 90 years ago in Virginia. While yet a very young man he was graduated with a degree of D. D. from Dickinson College Pennsylvania, two years after graduating from Baltimore Medical College with a degree of M. D.
He came to California in 1852 and in 1853 helped to organize the California Methodist Conference. Shortly after this, when the first college west of the Rocky Mountains, the University of the Pacific was established. He was elected its President, holding the double position of president and professor from 1854 to 1857. Late in the fifties he graduated from Coopers Medical School then connected with the University of the Pacific, its first
Medical class.
Dr. Gibbons went east for a much-needed rest. In 1864 he was acting President and professor of Ohio University, then the State University which position he held until 1872, when he was again called to the Presidency of the University of the Pacific, where he remained until 1879, He then retired -from this-arduous work going back to his ministerial work, filling numerous charges in the California Conference, being highly respected and greatly loved wherever he was located. His last charge was at Byron, where he remained for seven years.
Retiring from active service Dr. Gibbons came to the Grove with his family seven years ago, where he bought his present beautiful home, and has spent peacefully and happily the last few years of his life. Dr. Gibbons had been a widower for a number of years, but he leaver to mourn his loss, four daughters and son, being Mrs. Mary V. Cooper of San Francisco; Miss Annie C. Gibbons, Miss Mabel M. Gibbons of Pacific Grove; Mrs. A. B. Carey of San Leandro and Edward C. Gibbons of St. Helena.
The funeral services will be held in the Methodist Church Saturday at 2 P.M. The interment will be in Oakland. Dr. Guth, President of the College of the Pacific as well as a number of prominent ministers are expected in the Grove to attend the services.
San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 121, 30 March 1912, page 7
GIBBONS —In Pacific Grove, March 28, 1912, Rev. A. S. Gibbons, beloved father of Mrs. M. G. Cooper, and Ed C., Annie C., Mabel R. and Arthur S. Gibbons and Mrs. A. B. Cary, a native of Virginia, aged 89 years and 6 months.
http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/g/ed_gibbonsAS.htm
Event Type Census
Event Date 1880
Event Place Castroville, Monterey, California
Alexander Gibbons Self M 57 Virginia
Sarah Gibbons Wife F 55 Virginia
May V Gibbons Daughter F 23 California
Edward Gibbons Son M 22 California
Anna Gibbons Daughter F 20 California
Birdie Gibbons Daughter F 18 Virginia
Arthur Gibbons Son M 17 Ohio
Bessie Gibbons Daughter F 15 Ohio
Elizabeth Edith Cary
California Death Index
Name Elizabeth Edith Cary
Event Type Death
Event Date 03 Oct 1946
Event Place Alameda, California, United States
Birth Date 29 Jun 1865
Birthplace Ohio
Gender Female
Father's Name Gibbons
Alexander Severus Gibbons was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia on September 9, 1822, the sixth child of twelve and third son born to John and Jane Elizabeth Keffer Gibbons. Known to his family and friends as "Sandy," he attended the Dickinson Grammar School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania before enrolling in Dickinson College proper in 1842 with the class of 1846. While at the College he was a solid student and was elected as a member of Union Philosophical Society. He graduated with his class in 1846 and went on to medical school at the University of Maryland, receiving his degree in 1849. He had been developing his faith since college days, however, and soon after completing his medical studies became a minister in the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
After three years of work in the area the Conference served, he was accepted in 1852 to serve as a missionary in burgeoning, post--goldrush northern California. After two years in that work, he took a position as professor of mathematics at the University of the Pacific, a new Methodist College located near San Jose, California, chartered in 1851. Gibbons' old College president John Price Durbin was actually involved in the establishment of the college in his new role as the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1857, Gibbons was unanimously elected president of Pacific and was president when the first regular college class graduated in 1858. Following disagreements with the board of trustees over financial matters and a denied leave of absence to attend to his wife's ill mother, Gibbons resigned in 1859 and returned to Virginia. He taught at the Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio from 1864 until 1872 when the University of the Pacific asked him to resume the office of president. His second term lasted for five years before he declined re-election to return briefly to his less burdensome role as a professor at the college in 1878. Returning to the pulpit under the direction of the California Conference working mostly in northern California in places like Contra Costa County. In 1902 he took a position as superintendent of Arizona missions but retired in 1904, living in Pacific Grove in Monterey County.
Gibbons had married Sarah E. Cloud of Front Royal, Virginia on March 28, 1852 and the couple had seven children, three boys and four girls. His sister Fanny had married fellow Dickinsonian, Methodist minister, and Virginian Benjamin Abrogast of the class of 1854. Alexander Severus Gibbons died in northern California on March 28, 1912 and was buried in Oakland. He was eighty-nine years old.
Monterey Daily Cypress, March 29, 1912, page 4
Death of Dr. Gibbons Was Organizer of Methodist Conference-President of College
Dr. A. S. Gibbons who have been ill at his home on Fifteenth street for some time passed away last evening, about eight o’clock, surrounded by his loved ones who have been by his bedside constantly for some days.
The passing of Dr. Gibbons will cast a shadow upon the hearts of all who knew him. Seldom does one meet one with one who has the beautiful childlike faith and love in his heart as had, Dr. Gibbons. He was a familiar figure at all meetings in the Methodist church of which. he had been a member for many years, and often his still beautiful voice was heard in songs of praise. His favorite song and one which with his beloved friend Dr. Sheldon has been sung by request on many occasions was “Then I Shall See Him Face to Face. And as we think of the dear old soul now passed to that beautiful land, we can almost hear him as we-listen with tear dimmed eyes as he lifts his voice in gladness and sings once more in glory then I shall see him face to face.
Dr. Gibbons was a man of remarkable education and ability, being born almost 90 years ago in Virginia. While yet a very young man he was graduated with a degree of D. D. from Dickinson College Pennsylvania, two years after graduating from Baltimore Medical College with a degree of M. D.
He came to California in 1852 and in 1853 helped to organize the California Methodist Conference. Shortly after this, when the first college west of the Rocky Mountains, the University of the Pacific was established. He was elected its President, holding the double position of president and professor from 1854 to 1857. Late in the fifties he graduated from Coopers Medical School then connected with the University of the Pacific, its first
Medical class.
Dr. Gibbons went east for a much-needed rest. In 1864 he was acting President and professor of Ohio University, then the State University which position he held until 1872, when he was again called to the Presidency of the University of the Pacific, where he remained until 1879, He then retired -from this-arduous work going back to his ministerial work, filling numerous charges in the California Conference, being highly respected and greatly loved wherever he was located. His last charge was at Byron, where he remained for seven years.
Retiring from active service Dr. Gibbons came to the Grove with his family seven years ago, where he bought his present beautiful home, and has spent peacefully and happily the last few years of his life. Dr. Gibbons had been a widower for a number of years, but he leaver to mourn his loss, four daughters and son, being Mrs. Mary V. Cooper of San Francisco; Miss Annie C. Gibbons, Miss Mabel M. Gibbons of Pacific Grove; Mrs. A. B. Carey of San Leandro and Edward C. Gibbons of St. Helena.
The funeral services will be held in the Methodist Church Saturday at 2 P.M. The interment will be in Oakland. Dr. Guth, President of the College of the Pacific as well as a number of prominent ministers are expected in the Grove to attend the services.
San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 121, 30 March 1912, page 7
GIBBONS —In Pacific Grove, March 28, 1912, Rev. A. S. Gibbons, beloved father of Mrs. M. G. Cooper, and Ed C., Annie C., Mabel R. and Arthur S. Gibbons and Mrs. A. B. Cary, a native of Virginia, aged 89 years and 6 months.
http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/g/ed_gibbonsAS.htm
Event Type Census
Event Date 1880
Event Place Castroville, Monterey, California
Alexander Gibbons Self M 57 Virginia
Sarah Gibbons Wife F 55 Virginia
May V Gibbons Daughter F 23 California
Edward Gibbons Son M 22 California
Anna Gibbons Daughter F 20 California
Birdie Gibbons Daughter F 18 Virginia
Arthur Gibbons Son M 17 Ohio
Bessie Gibbons Daughter F 15 Ohio
Elizabeth Edith Cary
California Death Index
Name Elizabeth Edith Cary
Event Type Death
Event Date 03 Oct 1946
Event Place Alameda, California, United States
Birth Date 29 Jun 1865
Birthplace Ohio
Gender Female
Father's Name Gibbons
After three years of work in the area the Conference served, he was accepted in 1852 to serve as a missionary in burgeoning, post--goldrush northern California. After two years in that work, he took a position as professor of mathematics at the University of the Pacific, a new Methodist College located near San Jose, California, chartered in 1851. Gibbons' old College president John Price Durbin was actually involved in the establishment of the college in his new role as the Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1857, Gibbons was unanimously elected president of Pacific and was president when the first regular college class graduated in 1858. Following disagreements with the board of trustees over financial matters and a denied leave of absence to attend to his wife's ill mother, Gibbons resigned in 1859 and returned to Virginia. He taught at the Ohio State University in Athens, Ohio from 1864 until 1872 when the University of the Pacific asked him to resume the office of president. His second term lasted for five years before he declined re-election to return briefly to his less burdensome role as a professor at the college in 1878. Returning to the pulpit under the direction of the California Conference working mostly in northern California in places like Contra Costa County. In 1902 he took a position as superintendent of Arizona missions but retired in 1904, living in Pacific Grove in Monterey County.
Gibbons had married Sarah E. Cloud of Front Royal, Virginia on March 28, 1852 and the couple had seven children, three boys and four girls. His sister Fanny had married fellow Dickinsonian, Methodist minister, and Virginian Benjamin Abrogast of the class of 1854. Alexander Severus Gibbons died in northern California on March 28, 1912 and was buried in Oakland. He was eighty-nine years old.
Monterey Daily Cypress, March 29, 1912, page 4
Death of Dr. Gibbons Was Organizer of Methodist Conference-President of College
Dr. A. S. Gibbons who have been ill at his home on Fifteenth street for some time passed away last evening, about eight o’clock, surrounded by his loved ones who have been by his bedside constantly for some days.
The passing of Dr. Gibbons will cast a shadow upon the hearts of all who knew him. Seldom does one meet one with one who has the beautiful childlike faith and love in his heart as had, Dr. Gibbons. He was a familiar figure at all meetings in the Methodist church of which. he had been a member for many years, and often his still beautiful voice was heard in songs of praise. His favorite song and one which with his beloved friend Dr. Sheldon has been sung by request on many occasions was “Then I Shall See Him Face to Face. And as we think of the dear old soul now passed to that beautiful land, we can almost hear him as we-listen with tear dimmed eyes as he lifts his voice in gladness and sings once more in glory then I shall see him face to face.
Dr. Gibbons was a man of remarkable education and ability, being born almost 90 years ago in Virginia. While yet a very young man he was graduated with a degree of D. D. from Dickinson College Pennsylvania, two years after graduating from Baltimore Medical College with a degree of M. D.
He came to California in 1852 and in 1853 helped to organize the California Methodist Conference. Shortly after this, when the first college west of the Rocky Mountains, the University of the Pacific was established. He was elected its President, holding the double position of president and professor from 1854 to 1857. Late in the fifties he graduated from Coopers Medical School then connected with the University of the Pacific, its first
Medical class.
Dr. Gibbons went east for a much-needed rest. In 1864 he was acting President and professor of Ohio University, then the State University which position he held until 1872, when he was again called to the Presidency of the University of the Pacific, where he remained until 1879, He then retired -from this-arduous work going back to his ministerial work, filling numerous charges in the California Conference, being highly respected and greatly loved wherever he was located. His last charge was at Byron, where he remained for seven years.
Retiring from active service Dr. Gibbons came to the Grove with his family seven years ago, where he bought his present beautiful home, and has spent peacefully and happily the last few years of his life. Dr. Gibbons had been a widower for a number of years, but he leaver to mourn his loss, four daughters and son, being Mrs. Mary V. Cooper of San Francisco; Miss Annie C. Gibbons, Miss Mabel M. Gibbons of Pacific Grove; Mrs. A. B. Carey of San Leandro and Edward C. Gibbons of St. Helena.
The funeral services will be held in the Methodist Church Saturday at 2 P.M. The interment will be in Oakland. Dr. Guth, President of the College of the Pacific as well as a number of prominent ministers are expected in the Grove to attend the services.
San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 121, 30 March 1912, page 7
GIBBONS —In Pacific Grove, March 28, 1912, Rev. A. S. Gibbons, beloved father of Mrs. M. G. Cooper, and Ed C., Annie C., Mabel R. and Arthur S. Gibbons and Mrs. A. B. Cary, a native of Virginia, aged 89 years and 6 months.
http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/g/ed_gibbonsAS.htm
Event Type Census
Event Date 1880
Event Place Castroville, Monterey, California
Alexander Gibbons Self M 57 Virginia
Sarah Gibbons Wife F 55 Virginia
May V Gibbons Daughter F 23 California
Edward Gibbons Son M 22 California
Anna Gibbons Daughter F 20 California
Birdie Gibbons Daughter F 18 Virginia
Arthur Gibbons Son M 17 Ohio
Bessie Gibbons Daughter F 15 Ohio
Elizabeth Edith Cary
California Death Index
Name Elizabeth Edith Cary
Event Type Death
Event Date 03 Oct 1946
Event Place Alameda, California, United States
Birth Date 29 Jun 1865
Birthplace Ohio
Gender Female
Father's Name Gibbons
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