My Genealogy Hound

Hon. John K. Gibson, attorney, and real estate dealer, Powhatan. This man, whose name is synonymous of success in his profession, was born in Richmond County, N. C., August 15, 1845. His parents were John K. and Elizabeth (Watson) Gibson, natives of the same State. Early in life Mr. Gibson began to show traces of what his future course would be through the world, and the occupation he would follow. He obtained a knowledge of men and things beyond his years, and even when a boy at school, often surprised his elders at the correctness of his ideas regarding different events and his knowledge of human nature. This talent he has fostered up to the present time, and it has stood him well in many a hard-fought battle before the bar. Mr. Gibson attained his maturity in North Carolina, and attended the common schools of his county. Subsequently, he went to the higher schools and academies of North and South Carolina, and for a period of three years later taught school himself. In 1867 he became a freshman in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, and in the fall of 1868 commenced reading law at that place under a well-known and prominent jurist of that State. He was admitted to the bar in I860, and shortly afterward departed for Arkansas, where he first located at Jacksonport, unknown and unheralded. On the 15th of December, 1869, he left Jacksonport, and came to Powhatan, where he soon won the confidence of his fellow-citizens, and built up a fair practice. He has brought several cases to a successful issue in the Superior Court, and always given his personal attention to his clients’ grievances, not trusting them in the hands of subordinates. In connection with his law practice he is engaged in the real estate business, and has been highly successful in the latter, owning about 4,000 acres of land, besides holding the agency for an immense amount. Mr. Gibson has been elected to several local positions, and for a number of years was county superintendent of schools. He also held the office of county examiner for several years, and it is not only said, but is an established fact, that he has done more toward advancing the public school interests, and aiding the cause of education, than any other man in the county. In 1876 he was a candidate for and elected representative of his county, and served with distinction for two years. In 1873 Mr. Gibson was married to Miss Fannie Peebles, and after a short period of happy wedded life his wife died. He was again married in 1881, his second wife being Miss Lizzie M. Moore, a relative of J. M. Moore, the prominent Little Rock attorney. This union has given them three bright children: George M., Maggie M. and John K. Gibson, Jr., besides an infant, which the parents had the misfortune to lose. Mr. Gibson and his wife are members of the Old School Presbyterian Church, in which the former is a deacon. In summing up Mr. Gibson’s career, it would not be inappropriate to touch upon the causes of his success in life. As shown in this sketch, he began life with comparatively nothing, but has, by untiring energy and the strict application of business principles, coupled with the brilliancy of his mind, won for himself the eminent success he has achieved.