Image 1: Grave of Reverend D.C. Sibley as it appeared in 2020 (left) and 2022 (right). Images courtesy of They Walked Among Us.
David Carroll Sibley, a thirty-seven-year Arlington resident, was born to William Carroll Sibley and Susan Manuel Hammock on August 26, 1867. In his early twenties, he married Susanna Kennedy on December 7, 1887, and to their union eight children were born.[1] In his late twenties, he moved his wife and children from Quitman, Arkansas, to Arlington in 1894, coming to the area in an ox cart. When the family first settled, he began working as a schoolteacher in Johnson Station.[2] About one year later, he left teaching to pursue a new calling, preaching.
He obtained his license and ordination over the following couple of years. From then on, he served congregations near and far to the Arlington community for nearly forty years.[3] Aside from ministerial work, Sibley worked hard to provide for his family and serve the community. For twenty-three years, he managed the Fort Worth Cotton and Oil Company’s gin. For forty years, he served the Arlington Masonic Lodge in many capacities.[4] Sibley continued his life’s work to his fullest extent until 1937 when paralysis struck at age seventy-one. He then retired for the remainder of his life and met his demise two years later, on February 26, 1939.[5] Sibley’s grave lies in the Sibley family plot alongside his wife and four of their children.
Sibley had many fond memories of Arlington and the growth and change that came throughout his lifetime. He rode the first interurban in operation from Arlington to Fort Worth.[6] In an article from the Arlington Citizen dated September 11, 1931, Sibley recalled his early beginnings in Arlington. When he and his family arrived, they became some of the few hundred residents. At the time, four churches, three saloons, one brick-housed business, a newly completed mineral well, and Saturday street brawls and fighting had been present. He felt “this was the best town to live in, once of turmoil and strife, later of peace and quiet.”[7] Sibley’s impact on the community never went unnoticed. He was integral in building Arlington up during his nearly forty years in the town.
[1] “Rev David Carroll Sibley (1867-1939),” Find a Grave, accessed June 24, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29044435/david-carroll-sibley. [2] “Old Timer Tells Interesting Story,” Arlington Citizen, September 11, 1931. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29044435/david-carroll-sibley. [3] “Reverend D.C. Sibley Dies Sunday After Long Illness,” Arlington Citizen Journal, March 2, 1939. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29044435/david-carroll-sibley. [4] “Old Timer Tells Interesting Story,” Arlington Citizen, September 11, 1931; “Reverend D.C. Sibley Dies Sunday After Long Illness,” Arlington Citizen Journal, March 2, 1939. [5] “U.S., Texas Death Certificates, 1903-1982,” Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2013. [6] “Old Timer Tells Interesting Story,” Arlington Citizen, September 11, 1931. [7]“Old Timer Tells Interesting Story,” Arlington Citizen, September 11, 1931. Sibley recalled several businesses, businessmen, and doctors in the area during his time. During his interview, he provided the Arlington Citizen with a few names: “Rogers-McKnight general merchandise, Rankin hardware, Ditto dry goods, McKinley hardware and grocery, J.I. Carter drug store, Ben Mathers postmaster, A.W. Collins general merchandise, and Thomas Spruance, senior lumberman” among others. The local doctors Sibley recalled at the time included Dr. W.H. Davis, Dr. B.F. Brittain, and Dr. M.H. Cravens.