Pius Alfred Gibbar

and Mary Ambrosia Kline

Maternal Great Grandparents

PIUS ALFRED GIBBAR was born on January 23, 1861, in Perry County, Missouri, the child of Henry R. Gibbar and his first wife, Elizabeth Ellen Burns. 

Pius' father, Henry R. Gibbar, was a veteran of the Civil War, as well as the first member of the Gieber/Gibbar family to be born in America. Henry R. Gibbar was probably born in New Orleans, Louisiana, soon after the family arrived on the ship from Schorbach, France and before they traveled up the Mississippi River to Missouri.

His mother, Elizabeth Ellen Burns, was born in 1836, possibly in Bois Brule Township, Perry County, Missouri. She was the daughter of William Burns (from Scotland) and Martha Mulvine Taylor from Missouri. 

Pius, the second child and first son of Henry and Ellen Gibbar, was baptized in the Church of the Assumption Catholic Church in Perryville, Perry County, Missouri on January 23, 1861.

Pius Alfred Gibbar (standing)

James H. Gibbar (son)

Jerome J. Gibbar (grandson)

Pius Alfred Gibbar Baptismal Record

Church of the Assumption, Perryville, Perry County, Missouri

In addition to his parents, Henry and Elizabeth, Pius' siblings (including himself) were comprised of the following: 

Children of Henry Gieber

and Elizabeth Ellen Burns

Mary M. Gibbar

   • b. August 28, 1860

   • married Louis Joseph McLain 

   • d. August 27, 1923 at 62 years of age

   • buried in Silver Lake, Perry Co. MO 

Pius Alfred Gibbar

   • b. January 23, 1861

   • married Mary Ambrosia Kline

   • married Mary Clotilda Layton

   • d. December 18, 1919 

   • died at 83 years of age

Henry Rosemore Gibbar

   • b. March 15, 1864

   • married Emma Easter

   • d. November 20, 1912 

   • died at 48 years of age

Elizabeth Catherine Gibbar

   • b. July 11, 1867

   • married Joseph Vincent Duvall

   • d. November 29, 1944 

   • died at 77 years of age

Sofia Emily Gibbar

   • b. July 19, 1869

   • married Mark Doll

   • d. January 28 1900

   • died at 30 years of age

Laura A. Gibbar

   • b. January 26, 1871

   • married Frank H. Layton

   • d. August 28, 1943

   • died at 72 years of age

Lydia Belle Gibbar

   • b. August 12, 1873

   • married John Simon Miles

   • d. June 16, 1932

   • died at 58 years of age

When Pius and his sister, Mary, were very young, his father, Henry Gibbar, enrolled in "Simpson's 6 Month Militia" and then later in the Missouri State Militia Infantry, finally mustering out in 1864. 

By the 1870 Federal Census, Pius' father, Henry, had returned from the Civil War. The family was living in Saline Township, Perry County, Missouri, and Henry Gibbar was making his living as a blacksmith. In addition to Pius, children in the house included his older sister, Mary, younger brother, Henry, and younger sisters, Catherine and Sofia.

Pius left his parents house between 1876, when he was 15 years old, and 1880, when he was 19 years old. At that time he lived with the family of James W. Hart and his wife Elizabeth and their seven children in the Cinque Hommes Township.

Pius is listed on the census as "works on farm" and the name given to the census enumerator is "Alfred."

Mary Ambrosia Kline was born on November 17, 1864, in Saline Township, Perry County, Missouri. Ambrosia was the second child and only daughter of James Peter Kline and Catharine Tucker.  She was baptized in the Church of the Assumption Catholic Church in Perryville, Perry County, Missouri.

Mary Ambrosia Kline Baptismal Record

Church of the Assumption, Perryville, Perry County, Missouri

In addition to her parents, James and Catherine, Mary Ambrosia's siblings (including herself) consisted of the following: 

Children of James P. Kline

and Catherine Tucker

Full Siblings of Mary Ambrosia Kline

Felix Valentine Kline

   • b. January 3, 1862

   • married Mary Isabella Brewer 

   • d. April 21, 1935

   • died at 73 years of age

Mary Ambrosia Kline

   • b. January 23, 1861

   • married Mary Ambrosia Kline

   • married Mary Clotilda Layton

   • d. December 18, 1919 

   • died at 83 years of age

William Peter Kline

   • b. October 18, 1867

   • d. August 21, 1868

   • died at 10 months of age

Joseph Lewis Kline

   • b. September 20, 1869

   • married Mary Minettie "Minnie" Moore

   • married Mary Elizabeth Winfield Layton

   • died at 78 years of age

In the 1870 Federal Census for Saline Township, Perry County, Missouri, Mary Ambrosia was 4 years old and living with her father, James P. Kline and mother, Catherine (Tucker) Kline. Also in the house were her brothers, Felix (8) and Joseph (9 months). There were two additional children, Sarah (14) and John Manning (9), living with the Klines at that time. There is nothing on the census document to indicate the relationship of these children to the Kline family.

The 1880 Federal Census documents that the family were still living in Saline Township. Mary Ambrosia was 15 years old and listed as "at home." Neither she nor her brother, Joseph, attended school and Joseph, at 10 years old, was listed as "works on farm." There was an addition of another child, James, who was one year old. The census listed his middle initials as "H."

On August 20, 1868, Mary Ambrosia's younger brother, William Peter, died. He was less than one year old. Sometime after the birth of William and 1857, when her father remarried, Ambrosia's mother, Catherine, also died.

On June 6, 1875, Ambrosia's father, James P. Kline married Matilda (Emmeline "Emma") Drury. Together they had a son, James H. Kline, who was listed on the 1880 census as one year old. 

On June 5, 1889, the couple had another male child. Emma would have been approximately 40 years old at this time. The child was not given a first name and is presumed to have died in infancy as no additional record have been found.

Children of James P. Kline

and Emmeline "Emma" Drury

Half Siblings of Mary Ambrosia Kline

James H. Kline

   • b. 1879

   • d. Unknown

Male Infant Kline

   • b. June 5, 1879

   • d. Unknown

   • presumed to have died in infancy

On April 13, 1885, Pius married Mary Ambrosia Kline, daughter of James P. Kline and Catharina Tucker, in St. Mary's (Assumption) Catholic Church in Perryville, Missouri. The Reverend Ch. M. Remillion, C.M. performed the ceremony.

Marriage of Pius Gibbar and Mary Ambrosia Kline

Assumption Marriages, 1822-1885

Marriage of Pius Gibbar and Mary Ambrosia Kline

Missouri County Marriage and Naturalization Records, 1800-1991

Children of Pius Alfred Gibbar

and Mary Ambrosia Kline

Catherine Ellenor Gibbar

   • b. January 21, 1886

   • d. Feruary 26, 1890

   • death from spasmodic Croupe

   • died at 4 years of age

James Henry Gibbar

   • b. February 14, 1888

   • married Mary Eleanora Belsha

   • died at 72 years of age

William (Allie) Alfred Gibbar

   • b. July 25, 1890

   • married Mary Gertrude Riepe

   • married Ameilia (Mel) Hansen

   • named after his father, Pius Alfred

   • d. August 2, 1961

   • died at 71 years of age

Mary Viola (Ollie) Gibbar

   • b. October 20, 1892

   • married Joe Chauvex

   • married Albert Anton Bockhold

   • d. 1969

   • died at 77 years of age

Louise (Lou) E. Gibbar

   • b. February 26, 1894

   • married married Joseph Julius Litteken

   • d. July 14, 1968

   • died at 74 years of age

The U.S. Federal Census for 1890 was destroyed by water damage so there is no census record of where the couple made their first home. However, there is documentary evidence that Pius and Mary Ambrosia were living in Saline Township, Perry County, Missouri.

In 1890, according to Missouri Death Records, Catherine Ellenor Gibbar (of Saline Township), daughter of James P. and Mary Ambrosia Kline, developed the croup and died at the age of four years, one month and five days.

Mary Ambrosia Kline Gibbar died on Saturday, February 26, 1898.  The record was made on Sunday, February 27, 1898. The priest who blessed her body for burial was the Reverend James V. Devine, C. M. Where she is buried is currently unknown.​​

Mary Ambrosia Kline Gibbar

Death Registry - February 26, 1898

On November 7, 1899, approximately four years after Mary Ambrosia's death, Pius married Mary Clotilda Layton. Mary Clotilde was born on October 15, 1857, the daughter of Vincent D. Layton and Elizabeth Brewer. At the time of their marriage, Pius was 38 and Mary Clotilde was 42 years of age. The wedding took place at St. Mary's (Assumption) Catholic Church in Perryville, Perry County, Missouri, and was officiated by the Reverend James V. Devine. C. M., the same priest that blessed his first wife, Mary Ambrosia, upon her death.

Marriage of Pius Gibbar and Mary Clotilde Layton

Assumption Marriages, 1886-1925

At the time of their marriage, there were four children in the household: James Henry (12), William Alfred (9), Mary Viola (7), and Louisa E (5). The 1900 Federal Census records that Pius and Mary Clotilde had been married "0" years and that Mary C. had "0" children. The couple had no additional children.

Pius and Mary Clotilde still lived in Saline Township, Perry County, Missouri in 1910. The census shows Pius, age 49, was working as a farmer. Although the census shows that all four children were still living at home, the same census that year places sons James and William living and working in St. Louis, Missouri, Missouri, and boarding with a family named Miles. 

Family history suggests that James found his step-mother a "difficult woman to get along with," spurring he and his brother, William, to leave home. By the time of the 1910 census, both boys had been to the Dakotas to work and had returned to Missouri.

Pius died of pneumonia on December 18, 1919, in Perry County, Missouri, at the age of 58. Mary Clotilde died on February 3, 1925 from pericarditis and chronic nephritis. She was 67 years old. They are buried together in Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville, Missouri. 

Links to Additional James Ruben Hager and Mary Elizabeth Sadler