In 1877, George Gibson bought 120 acres of railroad land southeast of Oakdale. That same year he moved his family from Beloit, Wisconsin to the new area.
George and his wife, Isabelle Wheatly,
were born in Durham County, England, he in Wreckonton in 1829 and she in
1833. They were married in Durham
County on January 3, 1854. The first
six of their nine children were born in England Jane An was born in 1854 but
died in 1862. Robert in 1856, Samuel
in 1858, Isabelle in 1860, Jane An in1863 and George in1864. Manchester is given as the birthplace for
Isabelle. About 1864, the family
moved to Beloit. Three sons were born
in Beloit: John Stevenson on May 10,
1867; Gowan in 1870, and William in 1872. The second Jane An died in 1869 and William in 1891. Robert died in 1908 and Samuel in the mid
1930’s, Isabelle married Byron Mann in 1880 and their two sons were born in
North Dakota. Later they moved to
Oregon. Isabelle died in 1938 while
staying with her son, Harry, in Eureka, California. It was at her home in North Yamhill, Oregon that her father,
George, died in 1899. Harry died in
1945 in Eureka. John Earl and his
wife, Alice Foote, were married in North Dakota in 1914. They were parents of
two children. Both Harry and John
Earl were barbers by trade. John Earl
made his home near Everett, Washington and both he and his wife died
there: he in 1964 and she in 1977. George Gibson, the son, went to Hot
Springs, South Dakota in 1855. He and
his wife, Mary Mueller, born in1870 in Germany. He died in1920 and Mary in 1950. Gowan never married and worked in Iowa but returned frequently
to Oakdale. He passed away in 1913.
Source Unknown: Originally submitted for this website in July 2007