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Below is a family biography from the book, History of Kentucky, Edition 1 by J. H. Battle, W. H. Perrin and G. C. Kniffin and published by F. A. Battey Publishing Company in 1885.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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HON. JESSE C. GILBERT. In 1818, Joel Gilbert removed from North Carolina, his native State, to the State of Kentucky, settling near the present site of Benton, Marshall Co., Ky. He was married to Miss Tempa Grace, having a family of ten children as a result of their union. They were pioneers in the full sense of that term, and spent the remainder of their lives in the vicinity of their original settlement. Mrs. Gilbert died in 1834, and Joel Gilbert in 1852. The subject of these lines is the seventh of their family, and was born at their homestead, near Benton, in 1831. His boyhood and early manhood were spent on his father’s farm, presenting no material contrast with the experiences of other boys of similar pioneer surroundings. Besides the common schools of that early day, he attended the Wadesboro Academy, after which he decided to become a lawyer. He accordingly entered the office of Philander Palmer, one of the best lawyers in the State, where he pursued his studies until his admission to practice, in 1855. At the age of twenty-two, he was elected clerk of the Marshall County courts; next became county attorney, and in 1861, was elected to represent that county in the lower house of the General Assembly. He served in this capacity with credit during the exciting sessions of 1861-62, and in the year 1871 his public service was again demanded, and he was elected to the State senate from the Second Senatorial District, serving as a worthy member of that body until 1875. As a member of the senate he introduced and secured the passage of a resolution requiring the governor and commissioners of the sinking fund to invest in United States six per cent bonds to be registered, the $1,500,000 belonging to the sinking fund which had been collected and deposited in the banks at Frankfort during a period of thirty years for the purpose of paying the State bonds, when they became due and interest on the school funds. Holders of the bonds had refused to accept payment before maturity, and this large sum had accumulated and had never been invested or loaned out. Most of it was invested as required by the resolution, yielding to the State annually upward of $40,000. He removed to Paducah in 1874, where he still lives, and with the exception of his public service, he has been in active practice since his admission to the bar. In 1858, in the town of Benton, Mr. Gilbert married Miss Azelia Barry, and has a family of seven children. He is a Democrat in politics and a member in the Masonic fraternity.

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This family biography is one of 165 biographies included in the McCracken County, Kentucky section of the book, The History of Kentucky, Edition 1 published in 1885 by F. A. Battey Publishing Company.  For the complete description, click here: History of Kentucky, Edition 1

View additional McCracken County, Kentucky family biographies here: McCracken County, Kentucky Biographies

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