WESLEY W. HIBBS was born in Pennsylvania on June 27, 1866. He was the son of Isaac J. Hibbs and his wife, the former Margaret Malseed. When the census was taken in 1880, Isaac Hibbs was living in Langhorne PA with his wife Margaret and five children, Wesley, Mary, Katie, Harry, and Herbert, ranging in ages from 14 years to 8 months. Although Isaac Hibbs, like his father, often worked as a carpenter, in 1880 he was employed as a cigar maker. Wesley Hibbs married Emma Pearce on November 25, 1885. One son, Eldred Isaac Hibbs, was born of this marriage in Langhorne, Pennsylvania in 1891. Wesley and Emma Hibbs also raised a nephew, Charles M. Hibbs. Not long after the birth of Eldred, Wesley Hibbs, his parents and surviving siblings moved to Camden during the 1890s. The entire family worked for the most part in the cigar business. They first appear in City Directories in 1894. In Howe's City Directories for 1894-1895 Isaac Hibbs is in the cigar business at 806 Walnut Street, along with his son Harry. With a good mind for business, Wesley Hibbs had gone into the cigar business at 453 Kaighn Avenue. The 1895-1896 Director shows Wesley and young brother Herbert at 1144 Broadway. Isaac Hibbs and his wife, son Harry and daughter Kate were still at 806 Walnut Street when this Directory was compiled. The 1896 City Director shows Wesley Hibbs at 441 Kaighn Avenue, where he had established a cigar store, selling the cigars his family manufactured, among them the "Hibbs Special". Wesley Hibbs remained at this address through 1898. The 1896 Directory shows that Isaac Hibbs hat gone into the saloon business at 1057 Kaighn Avenue, a venture that did not last, as he had moved the following year. The 1896 Directory shows children Katie, Harry, and Herbert, also known as Burt, living at 1057 Kaighn Avenue and working as cigarmakers, presumably for their older brother. The 1897 Camden City Directory lists Isaac, Harry, and Herbert Hibbs at 1162 Mt. Vernon Street, making cigars. 1898 shows Herbert living with his brother Wesley at 441 Kaighn Avenue, while Isaac and Harry Hibbs had moved to 1419 South 10th Street. Sadly, Harry V. Hibbs died on December 12, 1898, aged 22 years and 8 months. The 1899 edition states that Isaac Hibbs and Herbert Hibbs were once again together, this time at 1419 South 10th Street, while Wesley had moved his home and business to 1144 Broadway, where he had been a few years before. Wesley Hibbs remained there for a number of years thereafter. By 1906 he had moved to 1146 Broadway and had gone into the stationary business. Wesley Hibbs would remain in the stationary trade on Broadway through at least 1914. When the census was taken in 1900 Isaac Hibbs was living at 913 South 8th Street with his wife Maggie and youngest son Herbert. He was working as a carpenter, Herbert was still making cigars. This would be Isaac Hibbs' address through at least 1913. The Census indicates that the Margaret Hibbs had bore seven children, only three of whom were living at the time, Katie Hibbs, who had married Benjamin Terry, Wesley Hibbs, and Herbert Hibbs. Herbert Hibbs married sometime after the 1900 Census. He was living at 759 Chestnut Street and working as a bartender in 1905. On November 27, 1907 Herbert Hibbs was appointed to the Camden Fire Department, along with Newton Ash, John H. Lennox, Ephraim Hires, Gardner Corson, and Charles Schultz. Herbert Hibbs lived at 738 Mt. Vernon Street when the Census was taken in 1910. He was murdered in December of 1910. Most sources record the date as December 24th. One account, however, records his slaying as having occurred after midnight, thus the date would be the December 25th, Christmas Day. A few years after the death of Herbert Hibbs, Isaac Hibbs secured a position as a guard at the Camden County Jail. He was killed in the line of duty during a jailbreak, on July 17, 1916. His killer, Wilson Ashbridge, already awaiting execution for a previous murder, was soon recaptured, tried and executed. Wesley Hibbs was active in the business and civic life of Camden. He was a member of the Camden Business Improvement Association, and served on the local Public Safety Committee during the First World War. By January of 1920 Wesley Hibbs and his wife Emma had moved to 344 LeCato Avenue in Audubon New Jersey. Son Eldred and his wife then lived but a few doors away. Unfortunately, Eldred Hibbs passed away in late September, 1921. During the 1920s Wesley Hibbs opened a real estate business at 426 Market Street in Camden, which was operating as late as 1930. The 1930 Census reveals that he and his wife had moved to 22 East Pine Street in Audubon. The 1947 Camden City Directory, which also covers Audubon and other surrounding towns, shows Wesley Hibbs as the Secretary of the Zoning Board of the Borough of Audubon. He was then living at 252 South Logan Avenue. |
Philadelphia Inquirer - December 24, 1898 |
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Philadelphia Inquirer - November 28, 1907 |
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Newton
Ash - Ephraim Hires -
Gardner Corson - John
H. Lennox - Herbert
Hibbs |
Philadelphia Inquirer - November 20, 1909 |
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Alfred K.
Bennett - David Jester - Charles S. Ackley - Philip
Wilson - Frank Devereaux |
Philadelphia Inquirer - September 15, 1915 |
Charles
G. Garrison |
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