Governor Thomas Bibb

THOMAS BIBB was born in Amelia County, Virginia, and later moved to Georgia with his family. He became a merchant and planter in 1811 when he migrated to the Tennessee River area of the Mississippi Territory. Bibb moved to Huntsville, Alabama, in 1816. He became a member of the Constitutional Convention (1819), and a member of the Alabama State Senate (1819). He was president of the Alabama Senate, when his brother, Governor William Wyatt Bibb died in office on July 10, 1820. Thomas assumed the office of governor on July 15, 1820, as specified by the new state constitution. During his term, the state government was formally moved to Cahaba, and the general assembly convened for the first time in Cahaba on November 6, 1820. Numerous acts were passed concerning the local municipal government, a state bank was authorized, the University of Alabama was chartered, and a patrol system was implemented to help prevent the escape of slaves. Bibb did not run for reelection, but he urged the general assembly to begin setting up the state bank, and he stayed active in politics serving in the general assembly. He died on September 20, 1839, and is buried at the Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.