The first of the Dibrell family to emigrate to America was Christoffe du Breuil, a physician and a French Huguenot, who emigrated to Manakintown Virginia sometime before 1725. Christoffe and his wife Marianne had a son Jean Antoine du Breuil, who later changed his name to Anthony Dibrell. Anthony's father died soon after he was born and Anthony was raised by his godfather Antoine Benning. According to family tradition, Anthony had a difficult childhood, but he persevered to rise above his circumstances. He married into the Lee family of Virginia and had four children. He served in the Revolution, although not as a combatant and, as luck would have it, he and his sons were all at Yorktown when the British surrendered.
There have been many interesting Dibrell descendants. They have played an important role in American history which is far out of proportion to their meager numbers. They played significant roles in the early history of the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Arizona. They were soldiers, statesmen, judges, attorneys, physicians, pioneers, explorers, entrepreneurs and conservationists. Charles Lee Dibrell was one of the first Kentucky colonels, appointed to command the Wayne County militia (the "Cornstalk Militia"). Charles Debrille Poston is known as the "Father of Arizona", was Arizona's first representative to Congress, and was an early conservationist. Brigadier General George Gibbs Dibrell, CSA served with Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry and later represented Tennessee in Congress. The family of Louis Nelson Dibrell founded the Dibrell Brothers Tobacco Company, which is still in business today.
This is a memorial to Christoffe du Breuil and his Dibrell descendants. In the interest of space and privacy, this covers only descendants born (roughly) prior to 1900. So if your name is not Dibrell (like me), you are going to have to figure out who your grandparents were to take advantage of this history. On the other hand, if your name is Dibrell, you should automatically qualify. The name Dibrell was invented by Anthony Dibrell and, as far as is known, everyone with that name is descended from Anthony Dibrell. If you are a Dibrell of African-American descent, then you should be able to trace your ancestry back to one of the Dibrell plantations.
Any contributions to this memorial, including family anecdotes, and copies of old pictures or source materials, would be greatly appreciated. Conversely, let me know if any of the information presented herein is incorrect.
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