Hybart Family History

 
                                Compiled by


                         William C. Stapleton, Jr.


                 Copyright©  by William C. Stapleton, Jr.
  A copy may be made on a not-for-profit basis for use by an individual.
                         ALL OTHER RIGHTS RESERVED

This history of the Hybart family is the culmination of efforts to determine the origins of the Hybart family and to
record the members of the various branches as far as is known. Credit must be given to the many family members who have
supplied information and particularly those who have collected information in the past. Without the contributions of Nettie
Oakley, Jeannette Smith, Lucille Newsom, Rebecca Welch, Mildred Watts, Maxine Hoff, Mark Emery, and Dorothy Witt,
this work would not have been possible. Most especially, we thank John R. Boots, Jr., author of The Mat(t)ews Family, from
which we abstracted both information and ideas.

     Miss Helen Leary of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Mrs. Elizabeth Hancocks of Agincourt, Ontario, Certified
Genealogists, were most helpful in supplying information about the Hybart family. The Hybart Family Reunion which meets
yearly in Monroe County, Alabama, supplied some of the funds for their services.

     Many schemes have been used to record genealogy. All have defects and the one used here is no exception. Each
generation is grouped together. Because of the duplication of names among the various branches of the family, a numbering
system is used to distinguish the various family members. Each descendant is assigned a number. The oldest child in a family
receives his parent's number with a "1" appended. The second oldest child receives his parent's number with a "2" appended.
The earliest known family member is assigned number 1. Thus, his or her oldest child is 11, next oldest child is 12, third
oldest child is 13, etc. A similar scheme is used for succeeding generations. By eliminating the last digit in a person's
number, the number of his parent may be found.

     After each three digits in a family member's number a raised period " " is used to separate the digits to make them
easier to read, much as a comma is used with ordinary numbers. Note that the number of digits in a person's number is the
same as the number of his generation. Thus, number 111 257 1 belongs to the seventh generation.

     The relationship between two descendants may be determined fairly easily be examining the numbers assigned to them.
The common ancestor of the two descendants is determined by finding the sequence of numbers at the beginning of their
numbers which is the same. For example, number 156 3 and number 154 1 have a common ancestor whose number is 15..
Numbers 156 and 154 are siblings, so that numbers 156 3 and 154 1 are first cousins.

     The method used here for numbering is sometimes known as the Henry system. Hopefully, the main objections to this
system have been partially eliminated.

     Braces { } are used to enclose the former surname of a wife in the main body of the text but are omitted in the Personal
Name Index. Compiler's notes are enclosed in brackets [ ]. Superscript numbers refer to items in the Reference Section.

    

William C. Stapleton, Jr.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

The names Hubert and Ibbot appear in the records of the British Isles as early as 1150 A.D. According to one
authority, the meaning is derived from "high-bright". However, a second authority indicates that the name is derived from
"Ibb", the nickname for the popular Queen Elizabeth who ruled England from 1558 to 1603. A third authority states that
the name means son of Hubert. Still another believes the name to mean "courageous, bright". Still another states that the
name "is from one of those ancient Old German roots, hildeberht, which means 'battle glorious'", and was originally a
Christian name and became a surname. A professional genealogist has located English church records which show that there
were Hybarts and Hybbartes living in Wiltshire, Nottingham, and Lancastershire Counties during the 16th, 17th, and early
18th centuries. There is a record of a Henry Hybbert who received the Bachelor of Divinity degree from Oxford University
in 1558 after 20 years of reading. Hugh Hybbart (also spelled Hibbarde in some records), age 20, son of a commoner, from
Brecknock, Wales, registered on 22 May 1601 in Jesus College, Oxford University, and received the B.A. degree in 1603
and the M.A. in 1609. Henry Hibbert (or Hibberd), age 18, son of a commoner, from Cheshire entered Brasenose College,
Oxford University, in January 1619/1620, and received from St. John's College, Cambridge University, the B. D. in 1664
and the D. D. in 1665.

     The families listed below appear to be the only ones, however, who have consistently used the spelling "Hybart" in
this country. Curiously, the Alabama families of Monroe and Pike Counties usually pronounce the name differently, even
though the families are closely related. Those from Monroe County pronounce the "y" like the short "i" in "hill", while most
of the Pike County family pronounce the "y" as in "sky".

     Indisputable proof of the early origins of the Hybart family is not available. The history given here is, however, the
result of an effort to fit recently found records with family tradition. In a biographical sketch of Charles Louis Hybart
(111 22), of the Monroe County, Alabama, family it is stated that the family had its origins in America in North Carolina.
Letters written to Margie Hybart (157) show some relationships between the Monroe and Pike County families. Letters
written by George G. Mathews (115 2) also indicate a relationship between the Monroe and Pike County families as well
as stating that land (or land rights) in Canada had been inherited. Various census records indicate Canadian birth for at least
one member of each of the Hybart families in North Carolina, Monroe County, and Pike County, Alabama. Appearance of
the same given names in the different branches of the family serves also to connect them.

     One tradition in the Monroe County family states that the family were English and had lived about twelve miles outside
Paris. Another tradition states that both Henry Hugh Hybart (11) of Monroe County, Alabama, and John Hugh Hybart (15)
were honor graduates of Oxford. It has generally been assumed that these references were to Paris, France, and Oxford
University in England. However, it may be that they attended school in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada, and lived near
Paris, Ontario, Canada. At the time the family came to North Carolina in 1807, feelings were running high in the United
States against the British and particularly against those former Americans who had been loyal to the British during the
American Revolution. The family may well have answered the question, "Where did you come from?" with the reply "about
twelve miles outside Paris". Their neighbors and possibly younger family members would naturally assume Paris was in
France.

     Members of the Monroe County family have indicated that the family once lived on the Black River. While there is
a Black River in North Carolina, no record of the family having lived there has been found. There was a Black River in the
township of Marysburgh, Upper Canada(Ontario), which emptied into to Sacket's Harbor during the time that the loyalists
were settling there. Today, a river having this name empties into Lake Ontario near Watertown, New York.

     A tradition in the Pike County family states that the family came from Ireland and settled on Sun Bend on the Yellow
River in Canada. Efforts to locate a Yellow River in Canada around the year 1800 have not been successful.

Dr Stapleton's Research

HYBART FAMILY HISTORY

The Hybart Letters