History of Birmingham, (Huntingdon County) Pennsylvania United States of America

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Biographies:

A Biography of James Gibbons

James Gibbons, educator, was born in Westtown, Pa., May 18, 1736; son of James and Jane (Sheward); grandson of James Gibbons; and great grandson of John and Margery Gibbons. From his parents, who were well educated, he received his early instruction. He was an accomplished linguist and mathematician and, although not a lawyer, when disputes arose among his neighbors, they were generally referred to him for settlement. In 1773 he became treasurer of Chester county and also a member of the general assembly of Pennsylvania. Being a member of the Society of Friends and thus debarred from taking part in war, in 1776 he gave up his public office and retired to his borne at Westtown, where he afterward opened a private school. Subsequently he removed his school to Philadelphia, but after a few years returned it to his ancestral home. In 1795 he sold his Westtown farm of six hundred acres, which had been in the family for three generations, to the Society of Friends, on condition that it should always be used for educational purposes, and there the Westtown boarding school was established. He was married to Eleanor Peters. He died in Birmingham, Pa., Oct. 17, 1823.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor