Throwback Thursday: Union Soldier Gipson Brown

Continuing Black History Month stories, we honor the lives and legacies of local heroes whose stories helped shape our region, including one remarkable man from Edmonson County whose journey spanned slavery, war, family and community service. Gibson Brown was born into slavery in 1842, then emancipated as a teenager in 1856 and would go on to live a life defined by resilience, hard work and generosity.

During the Civil War in 1864, Brown enlisted in the U.S. Colored Troops, joining Company K of the 107th Infantry Regiment, first gathering in Louisville. Then fighting for the Union, he served in major engagement campaigns including Fort Fisher, Wilmington, Raleigh, and Petersburg, battles that helped bring the war to its final chapter. But the cost was high as his service left him with severe rheumatism that would affect him for the rest of his life.

After returning home in 1866, Brown built a new future in Edmonson County. He became a farmer, working the land alongside his brother James, and despite hardships remained known for feeding others, sharing crops and provisions with neighbors and those in need. Seasonally, he even worked at the Mammoth Cave Hotel dining room, serving visitors from around the world at one of Kentucky’s most famous destinations.

Then in 1878, Gibson Brown married Emma Sett Whitney. Together, Uncle Gip and Aunt Sett, as they were affectionately known, raised eight children and built a legacy grounded in faith, family and community. But we found it very hard to track down photos of Uncle Gip or his family as it’s getting more difficult to track down visuals from nearly 200 years ago.

Today, Gibson Brown rests at Pleasant Union Cemetery. The site is a historic African-American cemetery, believed to hold the graves of as many as 3000 people, a sacred place preserving generations of black history in south central Kentucky. He passed away in 1908, but his story continues to echo throughout the land he farmed, the community he nourished, and the family he helped grow. This Black History Month, remembering figures like Uncle Gip, reminds us that history is not only written by famous names, but also by everyday people whose courage, labor and compassion built the foundations of our communities.