Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/671

Rh from Pope Leo XIII. He was appointed to preside over the third plenary council of Baltimore, which assembled in that city in November, 1884 The success of the council was due in a great measure to the zeal, energy, and executive ability of Arch- bishop Gibbons. When the acts and decrees of the council were transmitted to Rome, they were after mature deliberation approved by the ecclesiastical authorities. Leo XIII. at the same time expressed his appreciation of Archbishop Gibbons's services, and, shortly afterward, at a special consistory, nom- inated him for promotion to the high dignity of cardinal, and he was immediately confirmed. Upon this occasion the pope said : " The flourishing state of Catholicity in the United States, which develops daily more and more, and the condition and form according to which the ecclesiastical canons of that country are formulated, advise us, or rather de- mand, that some of their prelates be received into the sacred college." When the bearers of the oifi- cial insignia called at the Vatican to take leave of the pope before departing on their mission, he charged them to present his affectionate paternal benediction to Archbishop Gibbons, adding, " We remember him with sentiments of the most cordial esteem, and believe we could not confer the hat upon a more worthy prelate." Archbishop Gibbons selected 30 June, 1886, the day of his " silver jubi- lee" as a priest, as the occasion on which he would be invested with the insignia of his rank as a prince of the church. The ceremony was surrounded by all the pomp and magnificence prescribed for such occasions in the Catholic ritual. Cardinal Gibbons has endeared himself to all, Protestants as well as Catholics, the poor as well as the rich, by his simple and unostentatious life. He visited Rome in 1887, and asked the pope to give him a coadjutor on the ground of impaired health. He has published " The Faith of Our Fathers," which has been translated into many modern languages (Baltimore, 1871).

GIBBONS, Joseph, philanthropist, b. near Lan- caster, Pa., 14 Aug., 1818 ; d. there, 9 Dec, 1888. He was of a family of English Quakers who came from Wiltshire about the time of Penn's settlement of the colony. He was graduated at Jefferson medical college in 1845, and in the same year mar- ried Phebe, eldest daughter of Thomas Earle, who was the first candidate of the Liberty party for vice-president of the United States in 1840, the presidential candidate being James G. Birney. Dr. Gibbons's life was chiefiy identified with the prac- tical side of the anti-slavery movement. He was instrumental with his father' in aiding over 1,000 runaway slaves to freedom by the system quaintly known as the " Underground railroad." Some ac- count of this peculiar institution may be found in William Still's " Underground Railroad" (Philadel- phia, 1872), and Dr. Smedley's "History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the Neigh- boring Counties of Pennsylvania " (Lancaster, 1883). Dr. Gibbons was also an earnest temperance advocate, and did much to i)opularize the public- school system of Pennsylvania in its infancy. He was regarded as one of the founders of the Repub- lican party in his native state, and enjoyed the friendship and esteem of Charles Sumner. Thad- deus Stevens, Joshua R. Giddings, David Wilmot, and Henry Wilson. He established the " Friends' Journal " in 1873, and, though partially deprived of speech by apoplexy soon afterward, conducted it until his death.

GIBBONS, William, member of the Continental congress. He was one of the Sons of liberty appointed to draft resolutions, in 1774, expressive Oi. sympathy with the northern colonies, also a member of the Provincial congress that met in Savannah, Ga., on 4 July, 1775, and in December of the same year was appointed a member of the council of safety. Mr. Gibbons was made a member of the executive council in July. 1779, and was presiding olficer of the convention held in May, 1787, for the final revision of the constitution of Georgia. He also sat in the Continental congress during HS^J^'G. (xIBBS, Greorg-e, mineralogist, b. in Newport, R. I., 7 Jan., 1776 ; d. on his estate of Sunswick, L. I., 6 Aug., 1833. He spent several years while a young man in travel abroad, and devoted much of his time and wealth to the collection of minerals. On his return to Rhode Island he brought with him the most extensive and valuable collection ever seen in the United States up to that time. It con- sisted of the collection of Gigot d'Orcy, containing 4,000 specimens, and that of Count Gregoire de Razamowsky, containing 6,000 specimens. These, with the results of his own gathering, formed a cabi- net of more than 20,000 minerals. The collection was first exhibited in Newport. R. I., and among the many visitors was Prof. Benjamin Silliman the elder, who spent several weeks in studying and ex- amining it. He formed a warm personal friendship with Mr. Gibbs, who offered to deposit his collec- tion at Yale, provided that rooms should be fitted up for its reception. In 1825 he offered it for sale at $20,000, giving the preference to Yale. The funds were raised through the influence of Prof. Silliman, and the largest and finest collection of minerals then in the United States became the property of that university. It is still unequalled by any col- lege collection in the country. Mr. Gibbs contin- ued his interest in this science, making extensive journeys and developing new mineral localities. As an incentive to students he offered prizes at Yale for superiority in mineralogy, and for services rendered to the science by useful discoveries and observations. In 1822 he was elected vice-president of the New York lyceum of natural history. He published valuable papers both in the " American Mineralogical Journal " and the " American Jour- nal of Science," and did much by his counsel and co-operation to support these publications. He married Laura, daughter of Oliver Wolcott, secre- tary of the treasury during the administrations of Washington and John Adams. — Their son, George, antiquarian, b. in Sunswick, now Astoria, L. 1.. 17 July, 1815 ; d. in New Haven, Conn., 9 April, 1873, received his early education at Round Hill school in Northampton, Mass., under George Bancroft and Joseph G. Cogswell. He spent two years in foreign travel, and then was graduated at Harvard law-school in 1838. Subsequently he practised in New York city with Prescott Hall, and devoted himself to the historical branch of conveyancing, making valuable collections of titles and abstracts. He also at this time occupied himself with the prep- aration of the " Memoirs of the Administrations of Washington and John Adams," edited from the papers of his grandfather, Oliver Wolcott (New York, 1846). His early fondness for outdoor life continued as long as he lived, and soon after the discovery of gold in California he marched with the mounted rifles overland from St. Louis to the Paciflc coast, establishing himself in Columbia, Ore- gon. In 1854 he received the appointment of col- lector of Astoria, which he lield for several years, and on the expiration of his term of otfice remained in the west, devoting his attention to the study of Indian dialects and to geology and natural his- tory. Later he was attached to the U. S. govern- ment boundary commission, where his knowledge of natural history made his services of great value.