Tibbitt Family
Paternal Line:
William Henry Tibbitt was born
in Cecil County, Maryland, to a line of illiterate
farmers. In his lifetime he was a professional jockey, a
professional
boxer, a racehorse trainer a vaudeville performer, a restrateur, and a
farmer. He was my great-grandfather.
His parents were William James Tibbitt and Mary Virginia Withe. His father died on Thanksgiving Day, 1898. He was a trackwalker for the railroad and was hit by a train. According to family lore, he had been drinking and passed out on the tracks.
William James Tibbit was third son born to Samuel Tibbitt and Sarah Moore in 1845. The 1850 census indicates that he works as a laborer, and that neither he nor Sarah can read or write. Samuel does not appear in the 1860 census, so I presume he died after 1850 but before 1860.
So far, I haven't been able to take it farther back.
Mary Virginia Withe
married William J. in 1877.
She was born around 1851 to John and Mary Withe of Cecilton; she and William and their infant daughter Sara were living on her father's farm in 1880. In 1888 William bought a house in Elkton from the estate of his brother, Joseph.
John's death appears in the Tibbit family bible. She had at least one brother, John With, Jr, born around 1870.
Records show the name interchangeably as 'With', 'Withe', and 'Weith'. Family lore has it that her family came from Caroline county, MD. I haven't conclusively documented this: while there are John Withs living there at the right times, those Withes were merchants who could read, where John was illiterate and a farmer.
He is pictured here
with Ezra Hogan, his best friend. It seems that around this time
they took a whole bunch of pictures; I have the two of them boxing, and
the two of them in a field with their mules.
He had done some jockeying, but the money always went to the owner of the horse. So next he tried his hand at boxing.
He boxed profesionally under the name "Billy
Burke". I actually found his record
on line - or parts of it. While he was not a great boxer or a
real contender, he boxed some title holders. This particular site
lists a total of 21 fights.
He fought Jack Blackburn, William "Matty" Matthews, and a Camden native called Young Starr, better known as Harry Stahl who lived on Marlton Pike.
While training as welterweight boxer, he worked on the farms across the river in New Jersey. He knew the work, and he was making money while he got the rigorous workout he needed.
One day, he saw the beautiful daughter of a wealthy farmer and fell in love. He told a buddy of his that he was going to marry that girl, and the buddy laughed. "She's the daughter of one of the wealthiest farmers in the state; you don't have a chance!"
His last fight was in 1912, a year after this photo was taken. They were married in 1914.
Here they are in 1954 at Philadelpia International Airport. They were flying to germany to visit their son, Winfield.
His parents were William James Tibbitt and Mary Virginia Withe. His father died on Thanksgiving Day, 1898. He was a trackwalker for the railroad and was hit by a train. According to family lore, he had been drinking and passed out on the tracks.
William James Tibbit was third son born to Samuel Tibbitt and Sarah Moore in 1845. The 1850 census indicates that he works as a laborer, and that neither he nor Sarah can read or write. Samuel does not appear in the 1860 census, so I presume he died after 1850 but before 1860.
So far, I haven't been able to take it farther back.
Mary Virginia Withe
married William J. in 1877. She was born around 1851 to John and Mary Withe of Cecilton; she and William and their infant daughter Sara were living on her father's farm in 1880. In 1888 William bought a house in Elkton from the estate of his brother, Joseph.
John's death appears in the Tibbit family bible. She had at least one brother, John With, Jr, born around 1870.
Records show the name interchangeably as 'With', 'Withe', and 'Weith'. Family lore has it that her family came from Caroline county, MD. I haven't conclusively documented this: while there are John Withs living there at the right times, those Withes were merchants who could read, where John was illiterate and a farmer.
He is pictured here
with Ezra Hogan, his best friend. It seems that around this time
they took a whole bunch of pictures; I have the two of them boxing, and
the two of them in a field with their mules.He had done some jockeying, but the money always went to the owner of the horse. So next he tried his hand at boxing.
He boxed profesionally under the name "Billy
Burke". I actually found his record
on line - or parts of it. While he was not a great boxer or a
real contender, he boxed some title holders. This particular site
lists a total of 21 fights.He fought Jack Blackburn, William "Matty" Matthews, and a Camden native called Young Starr, better known as Harry Stahl who lived on Marlton Pike.
While training as welterweight boxer, he worked on the farms across the river in New Jersey. He knew the work, and he was making money while he got the rigorous workout he needed.
One day, he saw the beautiful daughter of a wealthy farmer and fell in love. He told a buddy of his that he was going to marry that girl, and the buddy laughed. "She's the daughter of one of the wealthiest farmers in the state; you don't have a chance!"
His last fight was in 1912, a year after this photo was taken. They were married in 1914.
Here they are in 1954 at Philadelpia International Airport. They were flying to germany to visit their son, Winfield.
Tibbit Family Bible pages