August 2015 Newsletter #21

The Siege of Savannah

The Siege of Savannah

The Siege of Savannah
American forces attack the British ramparts.
The Virginia Continental Line and
William “Fightin’ Billy” Tipton
are in the vanguard of the attack!

Join the Tipton Family Association of America in Savannah, Georgia on October 9th, 2015 to commemorate the 236th anniversary of the battle in which William “Fightin’ Billy” Tipton was courageously at the forefront of the attack and received wounds he would endure for his lifetime.

During the commemoration ceremonies, a memorial will be placed on the battlefield to honor “Fightin’ Billy” Tipton (1761-1849).

The commemoration ceremonies are held by the Coastal Heritage Society of Georgia. Scott Smith, CHS Director informs me that on Friday morning, those wishing to attend can gather at 6:30am in the History Center Visitors Center at 303 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in preparation for the event. The commemoration begins at 7am which is in keeping with the dawn attack which started hostilities. The ceremony includes a walk along the battlefield approximating the footsteps of the American forces approaching the British ramparts. Scott states that anyone not wishing to make the walk can comfortably wait inside the Visitors Center. The battlefield walk ends at the ceremonial location where commemorations will begin. The ceremony will take about one hour.


TFAA Events for Friday, 9th October & Saturday, 10th October

6:30am on the 9th: Meet at History Center Visitors Center for William’s Ceremony.

6: 30pm on the 9th: Dinner at Toni Steakhouse, 110 Eisenhower Drive. Toni is in proximity to the Quality Inn Midtown. Gather with other TFAA members to dine and socialize. Toni is reasonably priced and has a menu which includes hamburgers, steaks and other items. Each person pays for their own meal.

8:30am on the 10th: Registration for The Tipton Family Association 2015 meeting at the Quality Inn Midtown, 7100 Abercorn, Savannah. The program will begin at 9am.

More details will be sent out in September.


 

One part of our meeting program is especially purposeful. Before the lunch break, each participant will be asked to take a minute or two and introduce him/herself and state any particular Tipton family history or genealogical questions they might have. After lunch and the programs conclude, we will break into focus groups and this information gives each person some sense of who they would like to visit with and which group to join.

Please refer to Newsletter # 20 for more information regarding meeting in Savannah.

Programs include:

  • TFAA President’s Report on Association Activities
  • John Parrish will present the research results from his trip to England
  • John C. Tipton will inform us about the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution

 

Private Lattie Tipton

Private Lattie Tipton

Private Lattie Tipton continued the long tradition of Tiptons serving in battle to achieve American independence and then defend it in the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish American War, WW I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and wherever the government called men to arms.


 

In August, 1944; Lattie was fighting alongside his best friend, Audie Murphy, in Southern France. Their battalion was tasked with taking out a well-defended artillery position high on a hill. Lattie, Audie and their fellows charged and knocked out the first enemy position. After which Lattie saw an enemy soldier waving a white flag of surrender. He stood to take the man prisoner and was shot dead.

The enraged Audie Murphy went on to heroically defeat this fortified position and win the Distingushed Service Cross.

Lattie was awarded the Bronze Star.

Audie Murphy could only mourn the loss of his best friend, Lattie Tipton. He said of Lattie

he was the bravest man I ever knew, and he was the one man who kept me from being afraid.

Audie Murphy lived to be a hero and win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Lattie Tipton was from Erwin in East Tennessee. He is buried in France.


John Parrish and Members Of the Tipton Family Association
Friends and relatives! Like so many of you, I am caretaker for letters, photos and ephemera passed down from my Tipton ancestors who were in Virginia and Mount Sterling, Kentucky as far back as the 1850’s and 1860’s.

I am hoping to locate distant relatives also holding Tipton family letters and journals, some perhaps written in response to letters I hold. I have my great grandfathers correspondence from his journey to the California gold fields, the names of all their plantation “darkies,” his journal as a muleskinner in Northern California, letters from family remaining in Mount Sterling…even a letter written by my great grandfather’s father instructing him on how to conduct himself on his first big journey away from home.

My dream is to reunite with and thru digital scanning be able to share at least some of the most significant correspondence that we jointly hold and to eventually find a suitable institution to digitally archive and preserve our amazing family history found in these letters. If you have documents to share and would be interested in participating in such a project, please contact me at 406-457-8474.


David W. Tipton is seeking information on Wiley Tipton, Sr. born 1785 in Washington County, Tennessee (then North Carolina) and died in 1850 in Yancey County, North Carolina and Wiley’s son Joseph who was born about 1820 in Yancey County and is believed to have died 19th April 1864.

If you have information, please contact DAVIDTIPTON@SULLIVANCOUNTYTN.GOV


Kermit Tipton Stadium

Kermit Tipton Stadium

Pictured from left to right are Steve Spurrier, Coach Kermit Tipton and former player Carlton Jones.

Kermit Tipton coached the Johnson City, Tennessee Science Hill High School varsity football team for 11 years from 1956 to 1966. He coached a team he had quarterbacked in 1939 and 40 to a 20-1-1 record. So, Kermit knew his school and he knew excellence. He coached Science Hill teams that never had a losing season, went undefeated in 1965 and lost once in 1966.

He played college football at Milligan College and was inducted into the Milligan College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 2011, Science Hill High School opened a new stadium and named it Kermit Tipton Stadium.
Coach Tipton’s most famous player was High School All American quarterback Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier went on to become a Heisman Trophy winner and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The field at the Kermit Tipton Stadium is named for Spurrier.

 


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Please share this newsletter with everyone you know that could be interested in our family’s history and association. If you are receiving this newsletter by snail mail, please let me know your email address so you can get the newsletter electronically and in color.  My email is parrrish968@aol.com.

Previous newsletters are archived on the TFAA website.

The TFAA and President thank the many TFAA members and friends who support our Association financially.  That support makes our family’s association prosper and achieve its goal to preserve Tipton family history in the present!

Please support the Tipton Family Association by making your membership donation to the Tipton Family Association of America on the TFAA website: www.tiptonfamilyassociationofamerica.com

Many Thanks to All Who Make Their Membership Donations to
The Tipton Family Association of America

Tipton Family Membership donations make the TFAA able to accomplish the goals of the membership. In recent years, the TFAA has re-established meetings and newsletters, made the book We Tipton and Our Kin available on CD, provided a plaque in honor of William “Fightin’ Billy” Tipton in Savannah, assisted research in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia on the farmland of Colonel John Tipton and the successful quest to find the burial place of Major Jonathan Tipton. With your financial support, we can continue to succeed and do more!

Visit Us at www.tiptonfamilyassociationofamerica.com

 

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About TFAA President

John Parrish served as president for many years and stepped down at the October 2018 meeting. We thank John for the fine work he has done and thank you all for the opportunity to serve as your TFAA president. I’m Kathryn (Kathy) Hoffmann, I was born in Savannah Ga and raised by my Tipton grandparents in North Florida and around my teenage years I moved to Naples and Fort Myers Florida where I raised my family and worked for the State of Florida Division of Forestry as their public information and education specialist until budget cuts and I was laid off, but God blessed me with a career at Fort Myers Police Department where I became a Crime Prevention Practitioner thru the Florida Attorney General’s office. During my career I’ve served on many boards: President of Southwest Florida fire prevention association, Fire Marshals association, Regional Director of Fire Prevention, SW Florida Crime Prevention Association, Crime Stoppers board member, State of Florida Crime Prevention Regional Director. I am looking forward to serving as your TFAA president/coordinator. Please feel free to call, text or email me. peachyrose56@gmail.com Let’s move forward! Tipton Teamwork