Joseph and James Gibbs were on their way to America when they became victims of a shipwreck. They were rescued, but Joseph was taken to New England while James went to Virginia.

It was in New England that Benjamin Gibbs was born in 1783. He married Pedee Thayer and they traveled from there to North Royalton in 1821. They had seven children: Clarinda, Clark, Charlie, Hiram, Leonard, Farnum and Alexander.

Farnum, born in 1835, is first mentioned in Brunswick history as the minister of the Disciple Church and head of the Ladies Aid in 1873. Reverend Gibbs traveled in his ministry as an evangelist going from home to home and holding services at Hamilton Corners. He helped to establish the Disciple Christian Church in Strongsville and the bell from that tower was brought to the Christian Church when it was located at the corner of Routes 303 and 42 and now rings in the church on Route 303 next to Towslee school.

Farnum married Calista Garlock and they had five children: Josephine, Will, Farnum H., Lillian and Earle, who later became a state representative. Lillian would act as a singing evangelist with her father on his mission work. One yearly meeting in Stearns Grove hereabouts found 2,000 people in attendance.

It is about Farnum H. and his family to whom we first turn our attention.

Farnum was a farmer who hauled hay and potatoes to Cleveland by wagon and raised dairy cattle. He vied with the Chidseys for honors between their Holstein and Jersey breeds. His milk was shipped via the Cleveland Southwestern line. Farnum and his sons also helped haul material by horsedrawn wagon to build up the road bed for the streetcar tracks.

Farnum married Clara Freeman and they had one child, Nellie. Clara died shortly thereafter, and Farnum was remarried to Ellen Blakeslee, mother of Elbridge, Calla, Anna, Earle, Esther and Ellen. Gibbs and his son-in-law, Harry Lincoln (Anna's husband), started the Gibbs & Lincoln Grain and Feed Store in 1914 and the boys all helped. They were in business for about 10 years. Holden's Grocery Store was in the lower part of the building after that and Edward started Gibbs Motors in the big garage at the side before moving to Medina where Earle joined him.

Farnum eventually traded the farm for commercial property in the city and he looked after it and had an egg route up until two years before his death.

Ellen's side of the family were all teachers. She taught at Medina Center, boarding around town with various families of her pupils in light of the meager wages paid. All five of her daughters, three granddaughters and two great-granddaughters taught school.

Nellie was in the first Brunswick graduating class in 1900.

Nellie married G.R. Moxley, who was stationmaster at the Southwestern as long as it existed. He also collected the electric bills because the Southwestern owned the electric company and ran the baggage room. She taught school four years before the marriage and they lived on part of the Gibbs' family farm. They went to Medina after he retired and he worked as a salesman for a time at the Gibbs Motor Co. At one time, all three men of her family worked at the company and she had 21 white shirts to iron each week. Their children were Clara (Porter), Geraldine (McNeal), John and Elbridge.

Calla always lived in Brunswick, marrying Harry Vaughn who was one of the early mail carriers here. She taught for three years before marriage. Her daughter, Kathryn Buschow still lives in Brunswick as does Kathryn's son, Bob, and his family. Kathryn is an active volunteer in the community.

Her relatives say that Calla was probably the most even-tempered person they ever met, along with mother Ellen. "She never had a bad word about anyone," they relate.

Elbridge married a Brunswick girl, Edna Woodward. Her family lived in what was later called the Riddell House on Pearl Road. They were both born on the same day in Brunswick and have twin sons, Jim and Joe. Elbridge worked for a while in the store here, went to Wooster Business College and worked at the courthouse. He then went to work for Old Phoenix National Bank and was there for many years, eventually working his way up to president. He was president when the first branch was built in Brunswick.

Anna taught school for two years and then married Henry Lincoln, who was a Bostonian. He was a musician in Cleveland with the early Cleveland Orchestra and played cello and clarinet. He actually made cellos and violins and after the store closed, moved to Medina where he worked for Permold and was later self-employed.

Eddie married Mabel Deuble and founded Gibbs Motor Co which was in business for 37 years. He was a graduate of Balwin-Wallace College. He suffered a tragic death at the age of 37. His boat overturned in Lake Erie and he drowned saving two others.

Earle married Winifred Barnes, a schoolteacher, after he graduated from Hiram and went into business with Eddie selling Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets in Medina. He still lives there.

Esther taught six years in Hinckley, married Russell Kinton and taught for one more year. Kinton worked at Midland Ross for 38 years and farmed in between. They lived in Brunswick all their lives and part of their land was sold for Brunswick Hills Golf Course. Their two children are living in Iowa where son, Phillip, is a minister.

Ellen, the "baby" of the family was 22 years younger than Calla, so often suffered jokes at the hands of her nephews who were her own age and attended school at the same time. She is a graduate of Hiram College with master's work at Columbia. She taught for 39 years at Fairview Park High School (and never missed a day in all that time). She developed the home economics department in the junior and senior high schools there and retired in 1973, turning her job over to one of her own students. Miss Gibbs co-authored a book, Your Home and You, for junior high school use in 1960 and it was revised in 1965 and is still in use in the United States and Canada. She is extremely active in church affairs, following the pattern of her famous ancestor, the Reverend Farnum Gibbs. She is historian of the First Christian Church, the descendant of the disciple congregation. The church was first located at Brunswick Westview Cemetery and then moved to the corner of Routes 303 and 42 in 1916. The new church was built in 1962.

The Gibbs family held reunions for many years until there were just too many to house in one place. There used to be 65 members within 65 miles. Many of their mother's family came to Weymouth from Connecticut and were part of the festivities. Cousins of Ellen's father still meet though there are now hundreds of them. They decided 98 years ago that unless they met yearly, no one would ever know their relatives...and so it continues.