Daniel Bouton lived in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, between at least 1772 and 1820. He had a number of children, including Aaron, Augustus, Jared (b. ca. 1780), and Peter M. Bouton.

Jared Bouton later married Polly Webb, who was born on June 3, 1782. They had at least three children: A. M., Mary, and Ralph Leonard Bouton. Polly Webb Bouton lived for a time in Port Chester, New York, but she died in Stamford on December 21, 1856.

Ralph Leonard Bouton was born in Westchester County, New York, on January 30, 1810. He married Anny (or Annie) Jane Gibson, who was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, on July 2, 1821. They had at least five children: Elizabeth J. (born in Arkansas), James (1855-1856), L. G., Nathaniel Webb, and William P. Bouton. The Bouton family lived in Arkansas and Tennessee before Ralph L. Bouton purchased land in Canaan, Tippah County (now Benton County), Mississippi, in December of 1845. Ralph L. Bouton was a practicing physician in Tippah County by 1850. Dr. Bouton owned real estate worth about thirteen hundred dollars and personal property worth twenty thousand dollars in 1860. He was still a practicing physician with real estate and personal property worth over five thousand dollars in 1870. His son, William P. Bouton, was also a practicing physician in 1870. Ralph Leonard Bouton died on December 15, 1900, and Anny Jane Gibson Bouton died on October 24, 1901. They are buried in Ashland Cemetery in Benton County.

Nathaniel Webb Bouton was born on April 9, 1847. He married Annie Eliza Cox (b. 1851) on December 16, 1869. She was the daughter of John A. and Martha Cox. Nathaniel Webb Bouton was apparently a practicing physician in Benton County. He died on April 30, 1908, and Annie Eliza Cox Bouton died on January 2, 1933. They are also buried in Ashland Cemetery in Benton County.

Moses Gibson, perhaps an uncle of Dr. Ralph L. Bouton, was born in North Carolina around 1788. He was living in Tippah County, Mississippi, by 1845. Moses Gibson was farming in Tippah County and the owner of real estate worth five hundred dollars in 1850. He had at least six children: Elizabeth, Henry, John, John P., Robert, and Susan A. Gibson. Moses Gibson was deceased by 1858, as his Tippah County estate was sold by executors Dr. Ralph L. Bouton and John P. Gibson on February 6, 1858.

This collection consists of two groups of family papers: one concerning the Bouton family, and the other concerning the Gibson family. The Bouton family papers contain correspondence, a number of land deeds, and miscellaneous papers; the Gibson family papers contain only correspondence.

The Bouton family correspondence covers the years 1841 to 1857. The principal correspondents were Jared, Polly, and Dr. Ralph L. Bouton. Jared Bouton wrote to an unspecified son on October 20, 1857, discussing the ill health of his wife. Polly Bouton wrote to her sons from Port Chester, New York, in 1852, discussing her poor health and the financial troubles of a relative named Nathaniel Bouton. Dr. Ralph L. Bouton wrote the majority of the letters in the collection, primarily to his sister, Mary Bouton. He wrote to her from Tennessee on March 8, 1854, regarding their brother, A. M. Bouton, who was living in New Jersey and writing a book on spiritualism. Dr. Bouton wrote to Mary Bouton in August and October of 1854, discussing the financial and personal problems of her husband. Other correspondents include A. M. Bouton of Stamford, Connecticut, who wrote Dr. Bouton on June 15, 1851, regarding his declining finances. He also wrote Dr. Bouton in February of 1852, discussing the problems of N. A. Bouton with former business partner Rufus Weed.

There are a number of land deeds spanning the years 1718 to 1847, and they primarily concern property in Connecticut. A 1718 deed records that Ephraim Stephens sold land in Stamford to John and Nathaniel Bouton. A 1728 deed records that John Botts, Jr., sold land in Stamford to Nathaniel Bouton. A 1761 indenture records that Colonel John Henry Lydius of Albany, New York, conveyed land there to James Avory of Norwich, Connecticut. A 1772 deed records that Nathaniel Bouton sold land in Fairfield County to Daniel, Jehiel, Nathaniel, and Samuel Bouton. An 1847 deed records that Isaac Weed, Jr., sold land in Fairfield County to Nathaniel A. Bouton.

The miscellaneous papers include an 1820 will of Daniel Bouton of Fairfield County, and it names several of his sons. There is an 1840 Manual of the Congregational Church in the First Ecclesiastical Society in Stamford, Connecticut. Dr. Ralph L. Bouton wrote a brief endorsement on the medical effectiveness of calomel around 1845. There is also a cloth sample from retailer D. W. and L. Bouton of Cleveland, Ohio.

The Gibson family correspondence spans the years 1839 to 1856, but many of the letters are undated. Joseph W. Gibson and Dr. Ralph L. Bouton were the principal correspondents, although most of the letters concern members of the Gibson family. Joseph W. Gibson wrote to nephew-by-marriage Dr. Ralph L. Bouton in Arkansas in December of 1844, and he mentioned buying a slave. Moses Gibson of Tippah County, Mississippi, wrote to Dr. Ralph L. Bouton in November of 1844 and March of 1845, regarding the health of family members. G. B. Richardson of Caddo Parish, Louisiana, also wrote several times to Dr. Bouton in Tennessee, discussing the health of family members and the status of the crops. Several letters to the Gibsons were written by members of the Paisley family, including an 1840 letter from Frances and Mary Ann Paisley to their cousin, Anna Jane Gibson, in Madison, North Carolina, in which they mention a number of genealogical facts about the family. Cynthia Paisley of Edgefield, North Carolina, wrote to Elizabeth Gibson of Hardeman County, Tennessee, in March of 1846, announcing the death of John Paisley. Other correspondents include and A. F. Gibson, Nelly Paisley, and Hannah C. Wharton.

1. Bouton-Gibson Family Papers. 1718-1856; n.d. 4 folders.

   Box 1, folders 1-2 (reference photocopies)
   Box 2, folders 1-2 (restricted originals)

• Box 1, folder 1: Bouton family papers (reference photocopies)

  folder 2: Gibson family papers (reference photocopies)

• Box 2, folder 1: Bouton family papers (restricted originals)

  folder 2: Gibson family papers (restricted originals)