Charles Gibson Family

GIBSON, FORBES

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 3/6/2007 at 21:31:10

Charles Gibson Family

Charles H. Gibson was born at Rockford, Illinois, in 1880. His Irish parents had migrated through Canada, and down through Wisconsin, or on Lake Michigan. They then migrated through Iowa and South Dakota by covered wagon in 1884 and 1885.

In 1900, Charles Gibson went to Des Moines, Iowa, to work and go to school. While there he worked for a produce house. While working he was riding an elevator loaded with butter and the elevator fell two floors. Charley was knocked cold. His partner thought him dead.

Whether that decided him to travel north I do not know, but shortly thereafter he headed out on a bicycle. He always called it a wheel. It had no brakes. To slow down, he put the toe of his shoe between the front wheel and the frame. Quite a maneuver I would say. Anyway he came up through the Iowa lakes area and Arnolds Park was operating. I think it was about 1902.

He ended up at the new town of Harris, Iowa, and worked for various farmers. He evidently liked the area, and one gal by the name of Mary Forbes especially. In 1906 he married her.

The George Forbes family, who were Scotch-Irish, had migrated to the Harris, Iowa, area on about the same path as Charles Gibson family as far as Iowa. They first settled at Rembrant, Iowa. In about 1891, George Forbes homesteaded one mile southwest of Harris. Mary Forbes was the oldest of nine children. At nine years of age she drove a team on a sod breaking plow.

Mary Gibson was the valedictorian of the first graduating class of Harris High School, which at that time had two grades only. It was a big two story building that stood on the east side of the present City Park. I came along much later but I remember when that building was torn down.
After graduation Mary began teaching country school. I don’t know where or really how long. I do know that grandfather gave her a beautiful driving and riding horse to use. I remember the same horse as my playmate as a child which is entirely another story. Old Nelly died at age 25 and almost broke my heart.

In 1906, the Gibson-Forbes courtship reached agreement and Charley and Mary were married. I have an office chair that my mother gave dad on his 25th birthday. I have a beautiful pendulum striking clock that was given to Mary and Charles on their wedding day by a Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton. I just read the above off the gift card that has always been in that clock, located in the southwest corner of every dining room I remember.

The Gibson family started in a home in Harris, but soon moved to a rented farm five miles northwest of Harris, where son Chelsea was born. Another move took the family to three miles straight north of town where son Lawrence was born. Another move was to a farm two miles northwest of town where son Lyle was born.