Thomas Gibson was born on October 1, 1843, in Albemarle County, Virginia. He worked as a farmer before the Civil War and enlisted in the Union army as a free man. He enlisted with his cousin, Nimrod Goins. He enlisted as a private at the age of 21 on August 13, 1864, and he mustered in on August 16, both in Marietta, Ohio. His service record describes him as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion. He served in Company G of the 5th USCT Infantry Regiment. Gibson served during the Siege of Petersburg, including the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864. He also witnessed the surrender of Confederate General Joseph Johnston at Bennett Place on April 26, 1865. Gibson mustered out on August 22 in New Bern, North Carolina.

Following the war, Gibson lived in Zanesville, Ohio. He married Tabitha Barber in 1867 in Washington County. Together, they had five children: Kilbs, born in 1868; Lucy, born in 1870; Charley, whose birth year is unknown; William, born in 1874; and Emma, born in 1877. Gibson continued to suffer from malarial poisoning, an ailment he contracted during his service in North Carolina in 1865. Gibson first filed for a pension in 1887 and received $10 per month commencing that same year. By the time of his death, his pension had increased to $35 per month. Tabitha died of typhoid fever on July 30, 1909, in Wesley, Washington County, Ohio. He subsequently married Lucy A. Guy Goins Gibson on October 5, 1916. Gibson died January 31, 1920, of heart disease in Bern, Athens County, Ohio. Following his death, his widow Lucy immediately applied for a pension, which she later received. A pension filed for one of his children was never accepted.