On the Trail Again with Sophie

Thinking that I moved Sophie ahead too quickly, I'll backtrack a little and cover her husband.  He deserves an intro. In his handwritten words from a paper in my collection:

"My father, William Bibb, married Sallie Wyatt, his second wife, in 1779 and resided in Prince Edward Co. Va. a number of years and removed to Ga. about 1790. They left the following named children to-wit:
William Wyatt Bibb, who represented the State of Ga. in both Houses of Congress from 1800 to 1817. After the organization of the State government in 1819, he was appointed Gov. of the Territory of Ala. by Pres. Monroe in 1817. After the organization of the State government in 1819, he was elected Gov. of the State. He died before the expiration of the term and was succeeded by his brother, Thomas, who was at that time Pres. Of the State Senate. My remaining brothers are Peyton, John Dandridge, Joseph Wyatt, and myself, Benajah S. Bibb, born in Elbert Co. Ga. on the 3rd of Sept., 1796. Their daughters, Dorethea and Martha. Their descendents are living in Ala., Ga., Tenn., Arkansas, Miss., and N. Y. I am 83 years of age."

From my book on the Bibb's role in Montgomery:

"In the early days of Montgomery, the pleasant duty of entertaining most distinguished visitors devolved on Judge and Mrs. Bibb, among whom were Henry Clay, President Millard Fillmore, Secretary John P. Kennedy, Thomas R. R. Cobb, Robert Toombs, William Lowndes Yancey, Judah P. Benjamin, Alexander H. Stephens, and Jefferson Davis, and many others, including Rev. A. A. Lipscomb and other eminent divines. One significant fact was that Judge and Mrs. Bibb were prevailed upon by Montgomery citizens to house General Swayne,  in charge of Federal affairs, immediately after the war so that he might have a real understanding of conditions in this section of the country. A lasting friendship was established and General Swayne did all in his power to ameliorate the condition of our people during the frightful days of Reconstruction."

Among the most interesting documents I found in "the box" were letters between General Swayne and Sophie's daughter, Martha Dandridge Bibb. They were written thirty years after the war when Swayne revisited the Bibbs and wrote to thank them for their friendship and hospitality through the years. I'll quote those in part in a future post. Back to Sophie.

Sophie Bibb was a devoted wife as well as mother to the five children born to her who reached maturity. However, it was not as the wise wife, mother, friend and altruist that Sophie was best known to the world. Her love of the Confederacy and its soldiers was so outstanding that it dwarfed her other activities in the public mind, and she became known to the Confederate soldiers as “Aunt Sophie”.

More on Sophie and her relationship with Jefferson Davis and the Ladies' Memorial Association tomorrow.