Hibrus, George
George Hivers (c.1729-1807)
aka George Hivers, George Hivus, George Hybus
Fitzwilliam, NH
Fitzwilliam’s town history retells the story of “Old Hivers” whose ragged clothes and fox-skin muff were stolen by a local student, John Miles, in school district 11. "John Miles appeared in "Old Hiver's" ragged clothes" and "John walked with the teacher to dinner, with his fox-skin muff for a hat."
The first primary source document associated with George Hibrus, aka George Hybrus, is his marriage record. On December 10, 1763, George Hybrus of Acton, MA, married Durah “Sarah” Williams of Littleton, MA. They had a daughter, Durah, in that town two years later on April 30, 1765. But by the time their son Jabez was born on November 14, 1768, the Hibrus family had relocated to Lancaster, MA.
Details about Hibrus’ life in Massachusetts are difficult to ascertain because of the variety of spelling variations with their name. Documentation on Revolutionary War soldiers indicates that a man named George Hibrus of Lancaster, MA, served in the American Revolution. The soldier, George Hibrus, aka Hibrush, answered the initial alarm on April 15, 1775 and served 11 days at Cambridge under Captain Daniel Robbins Co, Col. Asa Whitcomb’s regiment.
Hibrus later re-enlisted as a private on September 3, 1777, serving in Captain William Greenleaf’s Company. He was discharged on October 20, 1777 but his name appears in Revolutionary War rolls again in 1781.
During the 1780s, a man named George Hibrus appeared as a customer at a tavern in Sterling, MA. The tavern’s account book is now held in the archives of Michigan State University. One can assume that George Hibrus moved into New Hampshire in the 1780s-1790s. His wife and child were not with him.
George Hibrus/Hivers died in Fitzwilliam, NH, at the age of 78 on December 21, 1807 and is buried in the Village Cemetery in town. When he died, local selectman Benjamin Eddy was made executor of his estate by Judge Abel Parker. An inventory was taken of his personal and real estate (worth about $85) and his belongings were sold to cover his debts and funeral expenses. The documents note that Hibrus had no known relations at the time.
SOURCE MATERIALS
Cheshire County Registry of Deeds, NH—- Keene, NH
Find-a-Grave, New Hampshire, Fitzwilliam, Village Cemetery- Findagrave.com
Fitzwilliam, NH, Town Cemetery Records— Fitzwilliam Town Hall
Fitzwilliam Church Records, 1807, p.52
Keene Sentinel. "George Hybrus.” February 13, 1808, p.4.- https://keene.advantage-preservation.com/
Massachusetts Birth Records, 1765, 1768- Ancestry.com
Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1763- Ancestry.com
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution- Ancestry.com
New Hampshire Wills and Probate, Cheshire County, Fitzwilliam, 1807
Tavern Account Book, Sterling, MA. Michigan State University, MSS 491
U.S., Compiled Revolutionary War Military Service Records, 1775-1783— Ancestry.com
Whittemore, B.B. History of the Town of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, 1752-1887, p.271- Archives.org
GENEALOGICAL SUMMARY
GEORGE HIBRUS was born around 1729. He married in Littleton, MA, on December 10, 1763 to DURAH “SARAH” WILLIAMS. They had Durah Hibrus on April 30, 1765 in Littleton, MA. George Hibrus died in Fitzwilliam, NH, in 1807 at the age of 78.