When John S Gifford was born in 1827, in Lick Creek, Orange, Indiana, United States, his father, Levi Gifford II, was 28 and his mother, Sarah Baker, was 27. He married Ruth Ann McLane on 11 January 1849, in Orange, Indiana, United States. He lived in Paoli, Paoli Township, Orange, Indiana, United States in 1850. He died on 7 April 1864, in Orange, Indiana, United States, at the age of 37, and was buried in Paoli Township, Orange, Indiana, United States.
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Being a second spiritual and religious awakening, like the First Great Awakening, many Churches began to spring up from other denominations. Many people began to rapidly join the Baptist and Methodist congregations. Many converts to these religions believed that the Awakening was the precursor of a new millennial age.
The Massive Internal Improvements Act of 1836 loaned Indiana $10,000,000 to create infrastructure such as canals, railroads, and roads across the state. The act was signed by Whig Governor Noah Noble and passed by the Indiana General Assembly. However, the financial crisis known as the Panic of 1837 thwarted these plans as costs ballooned. Construction on the infrastructure was not completed and the state debt rapidly increased.
The State of Indiana was near bankruptcy in 1841 due to the inability to repay interest incurred for the Massive Internal Improvement Act. The state liquidated much of its public works. Many of the projects were handed over to the state’s creditors as a way to reduce debt. Only two of the eight proposed infrastructure projects were completed by the creditors.
English (of Norman origin): variant of Giffard, either from the Middle English personal name Gifard, derived from an Old French name of this form deriving from ancient Germanic geb- ‘give, gift’ + hard- ‘hardy, brave’, or perhaps sometimes a nickname from Old French gif(f)ard ‘chubby-cheeked, bloated’.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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