Dr. John Sibley - American Cemetery - Natchitoches, LA
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member QuarrellaDeVil
N 31° 45.265 W 093° 05.458
15R E 491385 N 3513218
Dr. John Sibley served the U.S. Army as a surgeon's assistant during the American Revolution. He is buried in historic American Cemetery, Natchitoches, LA.
Waymark Code: WMN95T
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 01/22/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
Views: 3

Dr. Sibley's grave is marked by a marble faux crypt, and a 1954 sign placed here by his descendants serves as a headstone. There is also a plate here, placed by the Loyalty Chapter of the D.A.R., noting him as a Revolutionary Soldier (1775-1783). Dr. Sibley also played a role in the development of Texas, and the Handbook of Texas Online has some background: (visit link)

John Sibley, physician and member of the Long Expedition whose correspondence to various figures in the United States helped to shape the image of Texas there in the early nineteenth century, was born on May 19, 1757, at Sutton, Massachusetts, the son of Timothy and Anne (Waite) Sibley. He studied medicine, served in the American Revolution as a surgeon's mate, and later opened a practice at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where he married Elizabeth Hopkins in 1780. He moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and established the Fayetteville Gazette. After his first wife's death in 1790, he married Mrs. Mary White Winslow in November 1791. In September 1802 Sibley moved without his family to Natchitoches, Louisiana. In March 1803 he made a journey up Red River and from that date became an authority on Indians of the Red River region and Spanish Texas. In March 1804 Sibley opened a correspondence with President Thomas Jefferson, who appointed him contract surgeon to the United States Army at Natchitoches. Late in 1804 he was appointed to the council of Governor W.C.C. Claiborne. From 1805 to 1814 Sibley was Indian agent for the Orleans Territory and succeeded in keeping the Indians as far west as Matagorda Bay friendly to the United States, a fact that aroused Spanish authorities against him. His correspondence with the president and with the War Department reported on Aaron Burr, Gen. James Wilkinson, the Neutral Ground, and the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition. He contributed articles containing a wealth of information on Spanish Texas to various United States newspapers. After his dismissal as Indian agent in 1814, he entered local politics and became a captain of militia, a parish judge, and a member of the Louisiana Senate. His second wife died in North Carolina in 1811, and in 1813 Sibley married Eudalie Malique of Louisiana. He accompanied James Long to Texas in 1819 but soon returned to his home near Natchitoches, where he died on April 8, 1837.
Location type: Single Grave

Date of Birth: 5/19/1757

Date of Death: 4/8/1837

Cause of death: Died Later

Grave Marker Text:
Dr. John Sibley

Born - May 19, 1757 Sutton, Mass.
Died - April 8, 1837 Natchitoches, LA.

Revolutionary War soldier; appointed by Thos. Jefferson 1805 Indian Agent Natchitoches; Influential in U.S. Spanish boundary dispute settlement; N.W. LA. frontier development; first senator, judge, militia colonel, historian, Natchitoches parish. Owner plantations N.S.C. site; Army post physician; operated Drake Salt Mines.

Donated by Sibley Descendants of Shreveport. April 24, 1954
Sponsored by the North LA. Historical Assn.



Ranks:
Surgeon's Assistant; later Contract Surgeon


Visit Instructions:

PLEASE NOTE: This category is for American Revolutionary War Veterans only. Veterans of other revolutions are not part of this category.

I have allowed one entry for a grave of British solders, but it was an exception. Please only list graves for Colonial soldiers.

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