Mr. John Gibson and five sons settled in Clarke during the third and fourth decades of the century. Several sons came first to this country, and, growing strangely enamoured of it, induced their father to follow them. The only son left in England, Francis by name, who was settled to the south of the old town of Darlington on the banks of the Tees, followed with his wife and young family in 1843. He was married to Mary Luck, of Cleasby, Yorks, and was in such easy circumstances as to be the holder of an eighteen-year hunting license for his part of the country.

The Gibsons are a Durham family, and hail from Low Coniscliffe, where Mr. John Gibson owned a couple of farms, besides renting a thousand acres of land in addition. He was a noted stock-raiser, and had large dealings in the markets of London, Carlisle, and other centres. His wife was a relative of the Pease family, the famous bankers and philanthropists, and like them, came of Quaker lineage. On coming to this country he brought not only nine thousand pounds in cash, but some of his own well bred sheep, and a quantity of machinery, - which, however, it seems proved to be of little use here.

Life in Canada's county of Durham presented a strange contrast to that in Durham, England. The third concession of Clarke, where the Gibsons bought their land, was still largely bush, and the haunt of both the beaver and the deer; while the Indians still hunted and camped there. Chopping and logging were new tasks to these old country yeomen and what they had regarded as the ordinary comforts of life were not obtainable. Still Mr. Gibson lived to the good old age of ninety-six we are told, and the younger generation, who grew up with the country, and managed to adapt themselves to their surroundings. They are still among us and some of them are among our best respected citizens.

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