Nicholas Gibbs

John Nicholas Gibbs II (1733–1817) was a German settler in Eastern Tennessee. He was born Johann Nickel Gibbs on September 29, 1733 in the Village of Wallruth in the Duchy of Baden, Germany.

Nicholas Gibbs is believed to be descended from English refugees who fled to Germany to escape political and religious persecution in England. According to a book published by the Nicholas Gibbs Historical Society entitled "Nicholas Gibbs and His Descendants", the "grandfather of Nicholas Gibbs left England because of religious and political reasons to save his head when his King, Charles I, lost his in 1649. He married a woman in Amsterdam and never went back to London, but sought refuge along the Rhine River in Germany."

Nicholas, named for his father, became offended with his father in some way and left home for America at age of 14 in 1747. He left home with 30 guineas ($150.00 in American money), which the captain of the ship told him was just half enough to pay for his fare across the ocean, so Nicholas sold his time to pay for the other half. After working his time out for the other half of his fare, he joined the English army and served five years in the French and Indian Wars. While he was a soldier his brother, Abraham, heard of him and sought an appointment with him. Nicholas had no recollections of ever having seen his brother, so he applied the criterion his mother had given him by which to identity Abraham. should ever they meet, which was a spot or scar on Abraham's head. Finding the spot on Abraham's head, he at once claimed him as his brother. After serving his tour of five years, Nicholas went to Frederickstown, Maryland, to live with his brother, Abraham. However, his brother's wife and he did not harmonize, so Nicholas went to North Carolina and settled in Orange County, where he married Miss Mary Ephland, and where part of his family was grown and some married before he came to East Tennessee to settle 12 miles northeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, near House Mountain."

Nicholas served in the French and Indian War, and then in the American Revolution, including seeing combat in the Battle of Kings Mountain under the command of General George Washington. His DAR Ancestor Number is A044667.

Nicholas Gibbs was one of the first settlers of Eastern Tennessee. In 1792, he built a homestead on 450 acres, along Emery Road (today spelled Emory Road) which is currently a national landmark and under the custody of the Nicholas Gibbs Historical Society. An archaeological survey of the property was conducted by the University of Tennessee and has helped academics understand the life of early settlers in the region.

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