| Sources |
- [S118] History of early Sevier County Doctors , Beulah Linn, (www.sevierlibrary.org/genealogy/doc/doc.htm).
Dr. Gibson, born March 18, 1858, was living at the head of Waldens Creek in the early 1900's. According to Ashley Perryman, Dr. Gibson studied medicine in Knoxville with another Doctor and then practiced in Waldens Creek and Pigeon Forge. His office was in his home. He owned a farm on which he kept fine horses. He was an expert horseman and wore a riding habit and derby when he rode in horse shows.
Dr. Gibson was dark skinned and was thought to be of the Melungeon Culture, probably from the Mediterranean area, who came to America 2000 years before Columbus. The Melungeons were in Hawkins County, Tn. as early as 1802.
His practice included all that the early doctors did - babies, bones, flu, and even surgery on occasion. It is not known who his first wife was, but he had 4 children by her: John; Joe; Margaret; Alice. He married 2nd. Bertha Shular. Dr. Gibson died July 18,1924 and is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery.
Information furnished by Ashley Perryman, Pearl Fox, Jean Parrott, Geneva Fox.
Addition from the gr-grandson Charlie Gibson
My gr-grandfather's (Stephen V. Gibson) practice in her article on early doctors. But I hope the wording can't lead one to assume that his training consisted of working with another doctor. He attended medical school at LMU (Lincoln Memorial University) & Tennessee Medical College in Knoxville. He was licensed to practice by the state in 1901.
Also it stated that the name of his first wife was unknown. She was Sophia "Sophy" Thompson, daughter of David & Nancy Pack Thompson of Polk County, NC. Margaret & John were the only children in the family to marry. Joe died ca 1903 from injuries he received when a horse kicked him. And Alice died on
Apr 5, 1914 at the age of 19.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 18 Oct 2015.
Upland Chronicles: Stephen Gibson was a physician and horseman
CARROLL MCMAHAN
Stephen Vincent Gibson was almost 43 when he graduated from medical school in 1901. A married man with four children ranging in age from 6 to 23, he was an expert equestrian and horse breeder. Although he was considered middle-aged, Gibson decided to pursue a career as a general practitioner at a time in his life when most men his age were content to live out the remainder of their days on their farm.
Born March 18, 1858, he was the oldest of six children of Samuel "Sam" Gibson and Clementine Narcissus Patty. His father was the postmaster at the Hornet Post Office, located on the headwaters of Walden's Creek.
On May 2, 1878 Gibson, married Sophia "Sophie" Thompson, daughter of David and Nancy Pack Thompson of Polk County, North Carolina. He was 20 and she was 19. In the ensuing years they had four children: Margaret (married Nathan Oliver "Ollie" Wilson), John Pleas (married Margaret Ellen England), Joe and Alice. They raised their family on a farm at Walden's Creek.
Due to his olive complexion, Gibson was said to be a Melungeon, a term that is traditionally applied to one of numerous "tri-racial isolate" groups of the southeast. Melungeons have been defined as having multiracial ancestry; they did not exhibit characteristics that could be classified as those of a single racial phenotype.
On his farm he kept fine horses. He was known throughout the county for his skill in training and showing his horses. Gibson wore a fancy riding habit and an expensive derby hat when he rode in horse shows throughout the region. His steeds usually ranked high in riding, driving and jumping competition.
An article in the Maryville Times published Nov. 22, 1893, reported that two Blount County deputies raided a still on property in Blount County near the Sevier County line owned by Steve Gibson. Arriving in darkness they surprised Gibson and his brother-in-law O.M. Thompson. Both men were handcuffed, and then the officers followed a well-worn path to the still, which was hidden in a dense laurel heath. The deputies destroyed the still and some 600 gallons of beer and cut the tubs.
After attending Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate and the University Of Tennessee College Of Medicine, Gibson studied medicine in Knoxville with another physician before establishing his medical career at Walden's Creek.
His practice included all that doctors normally did in the early days of the 20th century. He delivered babies, set broken bones, and treated patients suffering with everything from influenza to tuberculosis. He also performed surgery, often on the kitchen table. Although most of his practice was in the area surrounding Walden's Creek, Wear's Valley, and Pigeon Forge, Dr. Gibson went anywhere he was summoned. He rode horseback or drove a buggy to make house calls, day or night.
One day a group of sawmill workers carried Johnny Fox from McMahan's Sawmill and laid him on the kitchen table at Dr. Gibson's home. Fox had been struck in the side by a thin, sharp piece of wood which projected through him, bulging the skin on the opposite side of his torso. When Dr. Gibson removed the piece, Fox's intestines came out with it. The doctor removed the splinters, re-inserted the intestines and sutured him up. Fox recovered and lived many more years.
Tragedy struck the family in 1903 when Dr. Gibson's son, Joe, died from injuries received when he was thrown from a horse. He was only 17. Two years later, Sophia, his wife and the mother of his children, died on April 20, 1905, at age 46.
Shortly after his wife died, Dr. Gibson purchased a lot in Pigeon Forge where he built a house in which to live and open an office. Although patients often came to his office for treatment, most of his practice remained house calls. At the time the population of Pigeon Forge was about 150, and the unincorporated town was not much more than a mill, a store and a cluster of a few houses along the road beside the river.
On Aug. 17, 1909, he married Bertha Shular. Born Nov. 4, 1891, she was one of seven children of John Alexander and Mary Gibson Shular. The groom was 51 and his bride was only 17. Dr. Gibson trained Bertha to act as his nurse, and she often assisted him in his office and accompanied him on house calls. Together they traveled far and near during the flu epidemic of 1918.
Another tragedy occurred in 1914 when Dr. Gibson's younger daughter, Alice, died at age 19. Alice had moved to Rockford in Blount County to live with her older sister, Margaret, and her husband so she could work in a cotton mill near their home. While working there Alice lost a finger in an accident. According to her death certificate signed by her father, Alice died as a result of "general nervous problems with some spinal or brain disease."
Dr. Gibson died July 18, 1924, at age 66, a victim of pulmonary thrombosis. His widow, Bertha, was only 32. She moved to Knoxville and worked as a nurse at Fort Sanders Hospital. Eventually she married two more times. After her retirement, she and her last husband, Robert Alexander Harrison, maintained residences in Knoxville and Florida as well as a cottage at the foot of Bluff Mountain. She died Dec. 18, 1971, at age 80.
When Dr. Gibson practiced medicine, there were no hospitals or public health department in Sevier County, and communicable diseases raged rampant. Physicians such as Dr. Gibson diagnosed symptoms, dispensed medicine and counseled patients. With his dedicated service to his community, Dr. Stephen Gibson provided health care when called upon and increased the quality of lives for those he treated.
Carroll McMahan is special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the past of Sevier County. Contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S94] Sevier County, Tennessee Census, 384A, 1880.
Census Place: Wears Valley, Sevier, Tennessee
Source: FHL Film 1255277 National Archives Film T9-1277 Page 384A
Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace
Stephen GIBSON Self M M W 21 TN
Occ: Farm Laborer Fa: NC Mo: TN
Sopha GIBSON Wife F M W 21 NC
Occ: Keeping House Fa: NC Mo: NC
Margarett GIBSON Dau F S W 10M TN
Fa: TN Mo: NC
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 349.
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