George Gibbs (1815–1873) was an American ethnologist, naturalist and geologist who contributed to the study of the languages of indigenous peoples in Washington Territory. Known for his expertise in Native American customs and languages, Gibbs participated in numerous treaty negotiations between the U.S. government and the native tribes.
Early life
Gibbs was born 1815 in Ravenswood (now part of Astoria, Queens, New York City) to mineralogist George Gibbs and Laura Wolcott Gibbs, daughter of Oliver Wolcott Jr. His younger brothers were Oliver Wolcott Gibbs and Alfred Gibbs. He attended the Round Hill School until the age of seventeen, when, after not gaining an appointment to West Point he took an extended tour of Europe.
Early professional life
Gibbs graduated Harvard in 1838 with a law degree and returned to New York City to practice law with (Jonathan) Prescott Hall. In 1840, he was instrumental in reviving the New-York Historical Society where he worked as the librarian from 1842 through 1848. He was a supporter of the Whig Party, which led to a later appointment by President Millard Fillmore.
Early western travels – Oregon and California
In the spring of 1849, weary of practicing law, Gibbs was drawn to the West by the California Gold Rush. His brother Alfred being attached to the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen, he traveled to Fort Leavenworth, arriving on May 8, 1849, and attached himself to the Regiment which was then under the command of Colonel William W. Loring, its previous commander, Brigadier General Persifor F. Smith, having been given command of the Pacific Division of the Army. The Regiment had been dispatched to the Oregon Territory, and both Gibbs and Major Osbourne Cross documented its overland travel along the Oregon Trail to Fort Vancouver to which they arrived on October 4 of that year. In addition to a diary, Gibbs recorded the journey on a copy of John Charles Frémont's map Map of an Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, Oregon and North California in the Years 1843–44.
