Gibbs returned to the United States and settled in Little Rock. He read the law to become an attorney and passed the bar examination in 1870. Becoming active in the Republican Party, he was appointed to a number of judicial and government positions, including county attorney of Pulaski County. In 1872, he was a delegate to the National Convention of Colored men in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1873, Gibbs was elected city judge as a Republican, the first black judge elected in the United States. In 1876, he was elected president of the National Convention of Colored Men at Nashville, Tennessee, and in June of that year he was appointed register of the United States Land Office at Little Rock. He was a delegate to the 1876, 1880 Republican National Convention, and 1884 Republican National Conventions, and was a member of the "immortal 306" who supported Ulysses S. Grant's failed candidacy for a third nomination at the 1880 convention in Chicago, Illinois. In 1882, Gibbs was elected to the Little Rock Bar Association. He became wealthy through his law practice and real estate investments. In 1897, Gibbs was appointed American consul to Madagascar. As an aide, he hired a friend of his daughter Ida, William Henry Hunt, whom he mentored. Hunt became the first African American to have a full career as a diplomat for the United States. Gibbs returned to the United States in 1901. He was selected as president of a largely African-American bank in Little Rock. Personal life Gibbs was married and had two daughters with his wife, the former Maria Ann Alexander, during the decade they lived in British Columbia. The family relocated to Oberlin, Ohio, in 1869 where both daughters later attended college. Mary Ann had attended Oberlin College from 1852 to 1854. Daughter Ida Alexander Gibbs (1862–1957) earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in English. Her sister, Harriet Gibbs Marshall went to the Oberlin Music Conservatory, where she completed the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in music in 1889. She became an accomplished concert pianist, author, and educator. Ida met and became friends with William Henry Hunt, whom Mifflin Gibbs hired as his aide in Tamatave, Madagascar. Hunt was appointed to succeed Gibbs as American consul in Madagascar and had numerous assignments after that. He served until 1932. In 1902, Gibbs purchased a property at 902 T Street, NW in Washington, D.C., at which