Eustace Gibson (October 4, 1842 – December 10, 1900) was a Democratic

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and lawyer in the Commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, who served in the Confederate Army and in the

Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868 The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, was an assembly of delegates elected by the voters to establish the fundamental law of Virginia following the American Civil War and the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Convention, w ...

. He moved to the State of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, where he served as a delegate and Speaker of the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

, and then as representative from the now-defunct Fourth Congressional District of West Virginia for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Early and family life

Eustace Gibson was born in

Culpeper County, Virginia Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Culp ...

on October 4, 1842, to lawyer Jonathan C. Gibson, Sr. and his second wife Mary Shackleford. He and his brothers received a private education, although their father died in 1849 when Eustace was a boy. He studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. He opened his law practice in 1861.

Virginia career

Gibson entered the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

in June 1861 as first lieutenant of the Sperryville Rifles, serving under his brother Jonathan C. Gibson who would rise to the rank of colonel of the 49th Virginia Infantry. Eustace was promoted to captain in 1863 and retired as a result of his severe abdominal wound at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. After the war, Gibson decided to practice in the mountains of southwest Virginia, rather than the north-central Piedmont region where his father had practiced and later his brother J.C. Gibson was practicing. Voters from Pulaski and Giles Counties elected this Gibson to represent them at the

, and voters from his native Culpeper County elected his brother J.C. Gibson as one of their representatives.

West Virginia career

Gibson moved to

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

in 1871. Voters elected him to the

in 1876 and he was re-elected in 1878 after fellow delegates elected him their speaker in 1877. In 1882, voters elected Gibson as a Democrat to the

48th United States Congress The 48th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1883, ...

. He defeated local Judge Robert S. Brown, who ran in part on a temperance platform. Gibson was re-elected in 1884 to the

49th United States Congress The 49th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1885, ...

, serving from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1887. While a member of the Forty-ninth Congress, he served as a chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Justice. His candidacies for renomination in 1886 and for nomination in 1888 were unsuccessful. Afterward, he returned to the practice of law.

Death and legacy

Gibson died in

Clifton Forge Clifton Forge is a town in Alleghany County, Virginia, United States which is part of the greater Roanoke Region. The population was 3,555 at the 2020 census. The Jackson River flows through the town, which as a result was once known as Jac ...

Allegheny County, Virginia Alleghany County is an county (United States), American county located on the far western edge of Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is bordered by the Allegheny Mountains, from which the county derives its name, and it is t ...

on December 10, 1900. His remains were returned to

and buried at its historic Spring Hill Cemetery.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Eustace 1842 births 1900 deaths 19th-century American lawyers Confederate States Army officers Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Culpeper County, Virginia Politicians from Huntington, West Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War Speakers of the West Virginia House of Delegates Virginia lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 19th-century American politicians Burials at Spring Hill Cemetery (Huntington, West Virginia) Lawyers from Huntington, West Virginia

Early and family life

Virginia career

West Virginia career

Death and legacy

See also

Sources