Thomas Gibson - @Thomas Gibson - Nelson Is Son and not Brother

I see both a brother named Nelson and a son named Nelson connected to Thomas. It's not uncommon for someone to have named a child after one of their siblings. I checked to see if there is conflicting info on the brother and the son. The brother has two wives listed. No wife is listed for Thomas' son Nelson, so at a glance I don't see any conflict between the two. I haven't researched the siblings and all the children on this connection though. I usually stick to my direct line.

It's clear from Thomas' will that he did have a son named Nelson, but that doesn't mean he didn't also have a brother by that name.

On the Find-a-Grave listing for Thomas' son Nelson, it states:

Children
1.Nelson Gibson his will was made in April, 1823, Richmond County, North Carolina, identifies his children: William, Nelson, Nathan, Duke, Samuel, Sally, Nancy & Agnes.
NOTE: Find a grave marker tombstone picture is that of his uncle and bio is a mixture of uncle and nephew information.

So, it even indicates that there is a mixing of info between Thomas' brother Nelson and his nephew named for him. To complicate things, Thomas' son Nelson also named a son Nelson. These same-name people in families definitely can cause confusion

I just saw where someone had connected Thomas as the father of his brother Nelson. It's easy to keep that straight. Thomas and his brother Nelson married Williams sisters. Their father was Ziba. So I disconnected Thomas as the father of his brother. As mentioned, he did have a son named Nelson but that son wasn't married to one of the Williams sisters the two brothers married.

I am the one who connected Nelson and his progeny to his father Thomas. The remaining problem is that the other Nelson who is listed as Thomas’ brother appears to share the same children as Nelson the son. Is there a source supporting Thomas having a brother named Nelson? If not, it is apparent that someone originally mistakenly added Nelson as a brother instead of a son. As you say, these confusions happen.

Thomas definitely had both a brother and a son named Nelson. I already shared with you the comment from Find-a-Grave that info on Thomas' brother Nelson and that Nelson's nephew, Thomas' son, have gotten confused. But just because their info is confusing doesn't mean they both didn't exist. Thomas son Nelson, as I already stated, is mentioned in his will. And again, as already stated, it's a known fact that Thomas and his brother Nelson married Williams sisters. Thomas and his son certainly didn't marry sisters!

All that said, I have not researched all the children of either Thomas' brother or his son Nelson as none of them are my direct ancestors. Some of their descendants who can better document those descendant lines should assist with that.

As for documentation on Thomas having a brother named Nelson, it has already been posted on their profiles. For example, on their father Ziba's profile it states:

Old histories of Richmond County, NC and Marlboro County, SC by Gregg, Hamer, Honeycutt, and others tell the story of the lst Gibsons to this area, but offer no concrete proof. They state that Ziba and Mary (Bennett) Gibson came to Charlotte County, Virginia from Scotland about 1750. They came with their children, Thomas, Nelson and Mary and spoke the Scotch dialect fluently. A legend exists that Ziba fled Scotland and changed his surname from McDougal or McGregor. Ziba died in Virginia and Mary came with the children to Anson County, NC. Their land was located on Rocky Ford Branch, a tributary of Hitchcock Creek about three miles north of Rockingham. It is not known if there were relatives of the Gibsons or Bennetts already living there. There is no proof of any of this early history. It is stated here as information only. Their children: 1. Thomas Gibson.+ 2. Nelson Gibson 3. Mary Gibson married "Wildcat" Billy Smith.

You'll notice it definitely states that Ziba had sons named Thomas and Nelson. So once again, Ziba had a son named Nelson who was Thomas' brother and then Thomas named one of his sons Nelson after his brother. All that is very clear and documented. As for who the children were for the two Nelsons, I leave that to their descendants to work on. I'm just trying to clear up that there were multiple Nelsons, not just one.

So maybe only the children were confused. I do not have a dog in that fight either.