William Bibb

William Bibb.

William Wyatt Bibb (1781 - ?) was a leading member of the Liberty Party in the state of Jefferson and in the early years of the United States of Mexico.

Bibb was born on 2 October 1781 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Captain William Bibb, a former officer in the Continental Army, and his wife Sally Wyatt Bibb. The Bibbs were taking part in the Wilderness Walk from their native Virginia, and had stopped in Baton Rouge with the rest of the expedition. The family resumed the Walk in the spring of 1782 and settled in Jefferson City the following fall.

Bibb was one of the leaders of the Liberty Party caucus in the Chamber of Representatives in 1818 and was nominated by the caucus for Governor of Jefferson along with John Gaillard and Eligius Fromentin. The Liberty Party ticket was defeated by the Continentalist Party ticket of James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Josephus Carter.

Bibb continued to serve in the Chamber of Representatives and served as a delegate to the Mexico City Convention in September 1820. Bibb opposed Jackson's proposed constitution, calling instead for a stronger and more representative Assembly. However, Jackson's support proved too great to overcome and the Convention voted to adopt his proposed constitution.

Although Sobel does not specifically say so, Bibb presumably remained a leading figure in the Liberty Party, and may have served in either the Mexican Congress or in the administration of Governor Leslie Folger.

IOW Bibb was born in Virginia before moving with his family to Georgia. He was appointed Governor of the Alabama Territory by President Monroe and was elected Alabama's first governor in 1819. He died the following year after being thrown from a horse.