James Gibbon (ca. 1759–1835), customs collector at Richmond from 1800 until his death, rose from ensign to lieutenant in Pennsylvania regiments of the Continental army, 1776–81. He was awarded the brevet rank of captain and the thanks of the Continental Congress for bravery at the attack on Stony Point, 16 July 1779. Gibbon received federal appointments as surveyor for Petersburg in 1789 and inspector of a survey in 1792. When his fitness for office was called into question, TJ determined that neither his alleged involvement in Aaron Burr’s conspiracy nor his Federalist tendencies justified his removal from office. Gibbon maintained an official and cordial correspondence with TJ throughout the latter’s retirement years (Heitman, Continental Army description begins Francis B. Heitman, comp., Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April, 1775, to December, 1783, rev. ed., 1914 description ends , 246; JEP description begins Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States description ends , 1:11, 14, 125, 126, 356 [3, 4 Aug. 1789, 20, 21 Nov. 1792, 4, 5 Dec. 1800]; TJ to John Page, 17 July 1807 [DLC]; Richmond Whig & Public Advertiser, 3 July 1835; Norfolk American Beacon and Virginia and North-Carolina Gazette, 4 July 1835).