The Hibbard Surname

The HIBBARD surname appears to be both patronymic and characteristic in origin, and is believed to be associated with the English meaning, "descendant of Herbert" (army, bright). Different spelling variations of HIBBARD include Hebbard, Hebard, Hibard, Hibbert, Hibberts, Hibberd, Hibberds, Hibert, Hiberts, Herbert, Herberts and Hibbards. The surname Hubbard is not associated with HIBBARD except in the case that the transcription is incorrect.

Most of the Hibbard's in America are probably descended from Robert Hibbard and his wife Joanna Luff (Luffe) who immigrated in 1635 from Salisbury, Wiltshire, England to Salem, Massachusetts, USA. The Hibbard Association, a non-profit organization established in 1993, has been organized for the purpose of distributing information relevant to all the descendants of Robert Hibbard and to help those still unable to establish their lineage back to their immigrant ancestor. The Hibbard Association publishes a quarterly newsletter.

My Hibbard ancestors were from New York and moved to Ohio where the two oldest boys, Lovell and Lucius were recruited by Sam Houston to join the Texas Army, one being the fifer and the other the drummer. The rest of the family followed, but were held up in New Orleans due to the fighting. The family arrived at the mouth of the Brazos River (Brazoria County, Texas) in February 1837. The third son is my line, Loran Hibbard, who married four times and had three sets of children, for a total of 15. Loran's father was Elmer (Elmore?) and wife Lydia (maiden name unknown). Elmer died shortly after their arrival in Texas and Loran drove a freight wagon to support his mother and siblings.

I have been researching this family for many years and am always eager to exchange information with anyone with Texas Hibbard roots. I have not been able to determine who Elmer's parents were.