THE HISTORICAL MELUNGEONS: August 2025

Morris Evans and Jane Gibson had several children but it appears that only daughter Francis Evans and her descendants were held in slavery, the rest are listed as 'mulatto' but appear to be free. Some interesting notes on these two families are found below.

Lynchburg City, Superior Court of Law and Chancery, Case #1821-033 (file #236), Charles Evans etc. vs. Lewis B. Allen. These two cases are representative of several in Virginia, in which slaves sued and won to regain their freedom, based on their ability to show descent from an Indian woman, which condition legally turned their enslavement into assault, battery, and unlawful detainment:

1805

0002 (Accession # 21680501). Richmond, Virginia. The petitioners claim they are being “holden in slavery by Lewis Allen.” They cite four generations of free ancestors: their mother, “a free woman of colour, named Amey”; their grandmother, Sarah Colley; their great grandmother, Frances Evans; and their great great grandmother, Jane Gibson. Fearful that Allen “will sell them, as slaves without the limits of this commonwealth; as he hath already sold several of the family aforesaid in North Carolina,” the petitioners seek “a prohibition ... against Allen and all other persons.” They note that “the complainant Charles Evan is now tied and confined to be sent from Richmond, and probably out of the country by the order of Lewis Allen.” They include court documents from the freedom suit of their cousin, “Thomas Gibson, alias Mingo Jackson,” who “recovered his freedom” from a certain David Ross. Depositions from Richard Wills and John Meriweather provide a vivid oral history of the petitioners’ ancestors; a genealogical chart traces the family back to the petitioners’ great great great great grandmother, adding two more generations that are not referenced by the petitioners in their petition.
To the honorable, the judge of the Richmond chancery-district-courtThe petition of Charles Evans Amy Evans, Sukey Evans, Sinar Evans, Solomon Evans, Frankey Evans, Sally Evans, Milly Evans, Adam Evans, and Hannah Evans holden in slavery by Lewis Allen, of the county of Halifax humbly sheweth: that your petitioners are descendants from Jane Gibson, a free Indian woman, who and most of whose posterity have obtained their freedom by judgments of different courts: that there is a great danger of their beingremoved out of the commonwealth by the said Allen; as some of the same blood have been sold by the said Allen in the state of North Carolina.

Your petitioners therefore pray that they may be permitted to sue in forma pauperum* &c March 5. 1804I beg leave to certify it to be my opinion, that the above allegationsare supported by documents in my possession, and that the petitioners are intitled to freedom.

EDM: RANDOLF, a counsel in the said court.

Docketed:
Evans &c } PetitionvsAllen* in forma pauperum: a plural form of the legal term in forma pauperis or a designation given to a person without the money to peruse a lawsuit for whom the court waives some of the normal court fees.Citation: Genealogical chart and Petition, Lynchburg City (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1807–1945.Charles Evans and others vs. Lewis B. Allen. 1821-033 Local Government Records Collection,City of Lynchburg Court Records. Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

The records of this Gibson-Evans family show they were probably Indian Americans.

DESCENDANTS OF JANE GIBSON
Details for
GIBSON, Jane ([the elder]) in Petition 21680501
Name: GIBSON, Jane ([the elder])
Petition: 21680501 filed in Virginia, 1805
Role in Petition:
Color and Gender: mulatto female
Status: FPOC
Identified Immediate Family: EVANS, Charles - great great great great-grandson
EVANS, Amey - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Sukey - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Sinar - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Solomon - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Frankey - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Sally - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Milly - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Adam - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Hannah - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
GIBSON, George ([the elder]) - brother of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Jane Gibson ([the younger]) - daughter of EVANS, Charles
GIBSON, George ([the younger]) - son of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Morris - son-in-law of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Frances - granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Jane - granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Tom - great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Frances ([Frank]) - great-grandaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Tom - great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Tompson ([Tomson] [Thompson]) - great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
COLLEY, Sarah Evans ([Colly]) - great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
Hannah ([Hanah]) - great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
Beck - great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
Amey - great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
Kate - great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
David - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
Toby - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Milley - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Sally - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Harry - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Nancy - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Nelly - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Rachel - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Benjamin ([Ben]) - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Archy - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Mary - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, James ([Jim]) - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Robin ([Robert]) - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles
EVANS, Milah - great great great great-granddaughter of EVANS, Charles
GIBSON, Thomas ([Mingo Jackson]) - great great great great-grandson of EVANS, Charles

Lynchburg City, Superior Court of Law and Chancery, Case #1821-033 (file #236), Charles Evans etc. vs. Lewis B. Allen. These two cases are representative of several in Virginia, in which slaves sued and won to regain their freedom, based on their ability to show descent from an Indian woman, which condition legally turned their enslavement into assault, battery, and unlawful detainment:

1805

0002 (Accession # 21680501). Richmond, Virginia. The petitioners claim they are being “holden in slavery by Lewis Allen.” They cite four generations of free ancestors: their mother, “a free woman of colour, named Amey”; their grandmother, Sarah Colley; their great grandmother, Frances Evans; and their great great grandmother, Jane Gibson. Fearful that Allen “will sell them, as slaves without the limits of this commonwealth; as he hath already sold several of the family aforesaid in North Carolina,” the petitioners seek “a prohibition ... against Allen and all other persons.” They note that “the complainant Charles Evan is now tied and confined to be sent from Richmond, and probably out of the country by the order of Lewis Allen.” They include court documents from the freedom suit of their cousin, “Thomas Gibson, alias Mingo Jackson,” who “recovered his freedom” from a certain David Ross. Depositions from Richard Wills and John Meriweather provide a vivid oral history of the petitioners’ ancestors; a genealogical chart traces the family back to the petitioners’ great great great great grandmother, adding two more generations that are not referenced by the petitioners in their petition.
To the honorable, the judge of the Richmond chancery-district-courtThe petition of Charles Evans Amy Evans, Sukey Evans, Sinar Evans, Solomon Evans, Frankey Evans, Sally Evans, Milly Evans, Adam Evans, and Hannah Evans holden in slavery by Lewis Allen, of the county of Halifax humbly sheweth: that your petitioners are descendants from Jane Gibson, a free Indian woman, who and most of whose posterity have obtained their freedom by judgments of different courts: that there is a great danger of their beingremoved out of the commonwealth by the said Allen; as some of the same blood have been sold by the said Allen in the state of North Carolina.

Your petitioners therefore pray that they may be permitted to sue in forma pauperum* &c March 5. 1804I beg leave to certify it to be my opinion, that the above allegationsare supported by documents in my possession, and that the petitioners are intitled to freedom.

EDM: RANDOLF, a counsel in the said court.

Docketed:
Evans &c } PetitionvsAllen* in forma pauperum: a plural form of the legal term in forma pauperis or a designation given to a person without the money to peruse a lawsuit for whom the court waives some of the normal court fees.Citation: Genealogical chart and Petition, Lynchburg City (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1807–1945.Charles Evans and others vs. Lewis B. Allen. 1821-033 Local Government Records Collection,City of Lynchburg Court Records. Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

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The complainant Charles Evan is now tied and confined to be sent from Richmond, and probably out of the country by the order of Lewis Allen.” They include court documents from the freedom suit of their cousin, “Thomas Gibson, alias Mingo Jackson,” who “recovered his freedom” from a certain David Ross. Depositions from Richard Wills and John Meriweather provide a vivid oral history of the petitioners’ ancestors;

David Ross is listed in the estate sale of Gilbert Gibson in Louisa County, Viriginia in 1763 and in Pittsylvania County during the Revolution David Ross was accused of instigating the Indians in the area to attack the white settlers but was later proved to be not guilty. (3)

In 1791 Thomas Gibson aka Mingo Jackson won his freedom from this same David Ross in Richmond, proving he descended from an Indian woman of Charles City County, Jane Gibson. Other members of this family belonging to George and Jane Gibson [brother and sister] of Charles City County, some living in Louisa County, also won their freedom. (4)

Questions by the defendant. How old were you when you were first acquainted with the elder Jane Gibson and George her brother?

Answer I believe I was ten or eleven years old or thereabouts.

Quest. How old do you suppose they were and how long did they live afterwards?

Answer. Jane Gibson the elder was very old, I apprehend she was eighty years of age, [born about 1640] being past all labour - Mr. Carter my Master took her to live with him at Shirley where I then lived to brew a diet drink, he being afflicted with a dropsy - The old Jane Gibson I suppose might live two or three years.

SHIRLEY PLANTATION
NUMBER 4---SHIRLEY PLANTATION Jane Gibson died about 1720
NUMBER 5 --- WESTOVER Gibby Gibson died at Westover

THE HISTORICAL MELUNGEONS

Monday, August 18, 2025

Native American Gibson Ancestors

Native American Gibson Ancestors

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