William Wyatt Bibb, Alabama's First Governor
Posted by: 
OHail
N 32° 30.041 W 086° 20.313
16S E 562136 N 3596127
Final resting place of William Wyatt Bibb who was the first Governor of Alabama and the only Governor of Alabama Territory.
Waymark Code: WMDEGF
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 01/03/2012
Views: 5
William Wyatt Bibb was born in Amelia City, Virginia, though his family soon moved to Georgia. Bibb attended William and Mary College and the University of Pennsylvania, obtaining an M.D. degree in 1801. Bibb returned to Georgia and began practicing medicine in Petersburg.
He quickly entered politics. Bibb's first office was as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1803 to 1805. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Ninth United States Congress to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Thomas Spalding, and was reelected four times, serving until November 6, 1813. He was then elected to the United States Senate to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of William H. Crawford and served until November 9, 1816.
Alabama became a state on December 14, 1819. Bibb was elected governor, defeating Marmaduke Williams. One of the major issues of the campaign was the location of the state capital.
Bibb's primary duties were establishing the state government. Huntsville was the first capital. In 1820, the capital was moved to Cahawba (near Selma) followed by moves to Tuscaloosa in 1826, and Montgomery in 1846.
Bibb was actively involved in the preparations to make Cahaba the seat of government and oversaw the laying of streets and the construction of buildings.
Bibb did not live to see Cahaba installed as the state capital.
Sources: Alabama Department of Archives and History and Wikipedia
Description:
William Wyatt Bibb was the only governor of the Alabama Territory and the first governor of Alabama.
Date of birth: 10/02/1781
Date of death: 07/10/1820
Area of notoriety: Politics
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: N/A
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.
We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.