Spring 2019 Newsletter #34

This is a long newsletter, so we are not entering an introduction to it. 

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New President Introduction

Bumps & Snags

Did You Know?

Memories & Tales

Annual Meeting & Reunion


2019 TFAA Meeting / Reunion Tentative AgendaFriday Night Covered Dish Picnic

Friday Night Tipton Talk and Tales (sharing family stories that we heard as we grew up)

Guest Speaker (History of Tipton’s in NC)

Tipton Talent sharing (Family members will be singing or playing music for us all to enjoy)

Reunion Dinner

Session on how to research your linage

TFAA business meeting and voting

Research sharing (Many of us own boxes of letters, pictures and research notes that we will share)

****Again this agenda is NOT set in stone and is due to change.


MEMORIES AND TALES

Memories and tales was created so that Tipton decedents could share their childhood memories, stories and photos as well as share stories they were told by their grandparents and great grandparents.

Dora TIPTON Vincent
By Donna Winter Pearce

She always wore her hair in a tiny bun on the back of her head. I only saw her with her hair down once, when one of her daughters helped her comb it out. It fell all the way to the floor. She had never had it cut in her entire life.

Dora Angeline Tipton, my great-grandmother, was born March 23, 1883 in Arkansas to George Washington Tipton and Caroline Sharp. The family moved to Oklahoma Territory around 1895. Dora married Dave Vincent (1877/1962) on February 7, 1901 in Washita County, Oklahoma (then still Oklahoma Indian Territory). They raised six sons and two daughters—Ervin Otho (my grandfather), Earl William, Ernest Harvey, Albert Marvin, Arvilla Gertrude, Leslie Homer, Marvin Calvin and Bertha Mae. Grandma Dora and Grandpa Dave Vincent lived in two different houses in Carnegie, Caddo County, Oklahoma that I can recall when growing up. Grandma Dora’s gardening skills were on display every spring with the front yard covered in flowers at their house on the hill. They didn’t have to mow grass at that house.

She was a good seamstress, too. I was the last great-grandchild in the family to receive a quilt top made by her. I never had it quilted because I wanted to keep it original to her.

Like so many people who lived during the Depression, Grandma Dora and Grandpa Dave no longer trusted in banks. When they prepared to move to a house across town, their kids found money tucked away in envelopes hidden in chests and even found money in Calumet baking powder cans buried in the back yard.

A Sunday visit to Grandma Dora and Grandpa Dave’s house happened nearly every weekend after they moved to the little house on the other side of town. A culvert ran along the street in front of the house; and it was covered by a walking bridge, which I loved.

Grandma always told us kids to play outside because grandpa didn’t like the noise we made. I didn’t mind. There was a swing on the front porch where I did a lot of daydreaming. Grandma Dora was quite a character. After grandpa died in 1962, we found out it was grandma who didn’t like the noise made by the kids.

In the late 1960s, Grandma Dora was no longer able to care for herself or to live alone. All of her children except for my grandfather (who was in ill health himself) no longer lived in Oklahoma. Her children decided it would be best to move her to the nursing home.

Early in her nursing home residency, Grandma Dora fell and broke one hip. It never healed and she became bedfast. Ultimately, the nursing home staff had to cut her long hair for the first time in her life. Toward the end of her life, Grandma Dora didn’t recognize any of the family except for her daughter-in- law, my grandmother Blanche, who visited her every day. At nearly every visit she would ask Grandma Blanche where my Grandpa Ervin (her eldest son) was and grandma would tell her again that he had already passed away.

Grandma Dora passed away March 12, 1972. She was buried in the Alfalfa Cemetery at Alfalfa, Caddo County, Oklahoma beside her husband Dave Vincent.

Her parents, George Washington Tipton (1857/1915) and Caroline Sharp (1860/1937) are buried the next row over in the same cemetery. Numerous other relatives, including my grandparents, Ervin Vincent (1902/1968) and Blanche Hudgins (1904/1981), are also buried at Alfalfa Cemetery.

My great-great-grandfather, George Washington Tipton was born June 27, 1857 in Itawamba (now Tishomingo County), Mississippi. He migrated to Arkansas some time before August of 1880 when he married Caroline Sharp. They had at least three children in Arkansas before moving to Oklahoma where their last two sons were born. I only have memories of meeting their last son, Virgil Tipton (Grandma Dora’s brother). He was born in 1900 at Mountain View, Kiowa County, Oklahoma Indian Territory. He passed away October 29, 1995 at Norman, Oklahoma.

The best I can determine is that George Washington Tipton was the son of Shadrack Tipton (1827/1915) and Sarah Ann Patton. I believe Shadrack was the son of John Tipton (1802/1840) and Elizabeth Burton. And I believe John was the son of Shadrack Tipton (1788/1834) and Sarah Robinson. Then, I believe this Shadrack was the son of Mordecai Tipton (1724 or 1721/abt. 1795) and Sarah Tipton (1734/abt. 1790). Mordecai (who is listed in Charles Tipton’s book “Tipton: The First Five American Generations”) was the son of William Tipton (1696/1726) and Hannah Price (1698/1777). Mordecai’s wife, Sarah, was the daughter of Jonathan Tipton (1699/1799) and Elizabeth Edwards (1700/1734). William and Jonathan were sons of Jonathan Tipton and Sarah Pearce, making Mordecai and his wife Sarah first cousins. Between Mordecai and my great-great-grandfather, George Washington Tipton, I have very little in the way of documentation about these ancestors’ lives. I hope the TFAA members will provide me with some clues to solve these mysteries of my family line.

Now, how did I get here? My name is Donna Coetta Winter (biological)/Rhoads (adoptive) Pearce. My mother, Dorothy Colleen Vincent, was the daughter of Ervin Otho Vincent and granddaughter of Dora Angeline TIPTON Vincent.

One last memory of Grandma Dora TIPTON Vincent, she dipped snuff. As a kid, I thought that was so strange and funny. But I caught her one day dipping from a tiny feminine snuff can she kept on her bedroom bureau.

My Great-Grandmother, Dora TIPTON Vincent
By Donna Winter Pearce


Gold Rush Mystery Man
–Caroline Tipton Miller

The California Gold Rush began on 24 January 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered gold at John Sutter’s Mill. Yuba County stood first in the State for gold production for many years, attracting men from all over the United States and around the world, many arriving before 1850. A few prospectors made their way as early as the fall of 1848 along the South and Middle Yuba and Deer Creeks, in California’s gold rush.

Once opened by the miners the occupation of the country was rapid. Crowds of gold seekers in the summer and fall of 1849 worked up along the Middle and South Yuba and Deer Creeks and their principal tributaries. Per George Emmanuel Hanson, writing in Yuba County History, “As the fame of Deer Creek became widely circulated thousands were attracted to it to find the stories of its wonderful richness unexaggerated. Early in 1850 the miners followed what they supposed to be a ravine leading into the hills when they discovered the immense gravel beds which soon yielded millions of dollars.” The region was rich — early reports tell of miners panning a pound of gold a day from the bed of Deer Creek — and the camp grew quickly. Despite the harsh winter, by 1850 nearly one thousand people resided in the area. The ravines were literally thick with miners, and American Hill was covered with a jumble of brush houses, canvas tents, and log cabins.

There is a 21 year old Tipton born in Missouri listed as a miner in the Deer Creek Mines, Yuba County, California in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, enumerated on 23 October 1850. No first name was given. He was living in household 86 with other miners, including Robert and Jonathan W. Walker, 24 and 20, two young men also born in Missouri. Next door were Jonathan Reynolds, 28, and Henry Lee, 24, also born in Missouri.

1850 United States Federal Census
Name: Tipton
Age: 21
Birth Year: Abt 1829
Birthplace: Missouri
Home in 1850: Deer Creek Mines, Yuba County, California, USA
Gender: Male
Family Number: 86

Household Members:
Name Age
Jno W Prentice 23 Miner, born in Illinois
Jno Lee 39 Miner, born in Virginia
Tipton 21 Miner, born in Missouri
Robt Walker 24 Miner, born in Missouri
Jno W Walker 20 Miner, born in Missouri

While not definite by any means, this nameless Tipton could well be my ancestor Lorenzo Dow Tipton. It would explain why he cannot be found on the censuses in Missouri, and why he decided to move to Cooke County, Texas a decade later. Per “History of Cooke County” compiled by Frank Parker and James Smallwood, 1975, “The opening of the California Trail in 1848 sped the process of settlement by luring traders into the area to provide goods and services to those travelers heading for California. … Many ’49ers’ stopped in Cooke and settled when they saw the lush farm land in the Cross Timbers”. This could have been L.D. Tipton’s introduction to his future home.

The identity of this Tipton is pure speculation unless I can establish a connection between my L.D. and the other residents of the household, or between this Tipton and other Tiptons in the area. The Archivist for Yuba County has no record of individual miners in the area.

It is a research project with no definitive answer as yet.

Connection to the Walkers
Looking at original maps of L.D. Tipton’s homestead land in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, in the mid-1850s, I found two plots of land where the original owner was a Walker: William M. Walker, and Amos Walker/Welker were both neighbors. If these Walker families had sons the right age, they could tie L.D. to the household in Deer Creek. However, I have not found either with full family enumerations.

Connection to Tiptons in the Gold Rush Era
As it turns out, there are multiple Tipton men born about 1830 in Missouri living in California in the early 1850s, young men, probably single, who were seeking their fortune in the gold fields. Eleazer Tipton, age 20 born in Missouri, was head of household 893 in Newtown, Yuba County, California in the 1850 census. The other young men living with him were all Miners born in Missouri: Wm Carriel, 24; Chas C Turner, 28; Joseph Martin, 24; Wm Maney, 23; and Wm Lutton, 18.

Robert Tipton, 20, a Miner born in Missouri, lived in Placerville and Vicinity, El Dorado County, California in the 1850 United States Federal Census, along with 11 other men, three of whom were born in Missouri: David Plummerfelt, 26; George Canifax, 21; William Hopper, 22.

Sylvester Tipton, a Miner born in Missouri, was 24 in the California State Census for Placer County, taken 13 April 1852.

John Tipton, 22, a Miner born in Missouri, was a resident of Shasta County in the October 1852 California State Census.

Of these, only John and Sylvester Tipton could reasonably be the Tipton in the Deer Creek 1850 census, since the others were accounted for in that enumeration. In two years, migration from Yuba County to Shasta or Placer counties would be quite possible, as Yuba and Placer counties share a border. Shasta County is quite a bit north.

Lorenzo Dow Tipton (1830-1908) is the person I am interested in pinpointing. L.D. does not appear by name in any Missouri census. He is not with his mother’s family in the 1850 census of Apple Creek Township, Cape Girardeau County, nor is he enumerated as farm labor in another household. The family Bible cites his wedding to Dorothy Huffman/Dorathy L. Hoffman in Missouri on 27 March 1852. This date does not appear in printed indexes.

The only Missouri record I have found for L.D. Tipton is his preemption certificate for homestead land — Lorenzo Dow Tipton patented 160 acres of land in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, on 3 January 1856. In the same township were Amos Walker/Welker, who had multiple parcels between 1849 and 1852, and William M Walker, who patented his parcel in 1841. If these Walker families had sons named Robert and Jonathan, it would solidify the supposition that Lorenzo was the Tipton with them in the 1850 gold mines of California.

Phyllis Engstrom, a great-granddaughter of L.D. and Dorothy Tipton, said that L.D. and his uncle were partners in a store in Missouri, and that he sold out before leaving for Texas in 1859. The speculation is that he had money from the gold fields to buy his land and set up the store. However, there is no evidence to support his financing of property with gold.

Supposition and speculation are just that, and the identity of the 21-year-old Tipton in Yuba County, California in 1850 is still a mystery.


Gold Rush Mystery Man
–Caroline Tipton Miller

This article was found on Wikipedia and was written by Mary Rohrer Dexter
Rebecca Tipton: An 1858 Bridal Portrait

In the winter of 1858 Rebecca Tipton became the first bride of Anderson County, Kansas. Who was she, and what was life like for her? Kansas was a dangerous place at that time. The year 1855 marked the beginning of an era in Kansas history known as “the border struggle,” which is also referred to as “Bleeding Kansas” and lasted until 1861, when Kansas became a state. Becky’s father, Samuel Tipton, and the man who became her husband, 32-year-old Samuel Patton, were part of a group of people called “free soilers” who wanted Kansas to not have slavery. They took up arms to defend their families and property from “border ruffians.” These were individuals who wanted Kansas to be a slave state and were trying to physically run families who opposed slavery, like the Tiptons and the Pattons, out of Kansas by burning farms and killing the animals, the farmers, and their families. The “border ruffians” hoped too few “free soilers” would remain when it came time to vote whether Kansas would be a slave state or a free state. This would ensure that slavery was legal in the new state.

By the time 18-year-old Becky had arrived in Kansas, she had seen a great deal of the rugged young country into which she was born. Her future husband had helped Becky’s father drive his herd of shorthorn cattle from Ohio to Iowa, where they lived for two years, and then on to Kansas Territory where Samuel Tipton had established Mineral Point at Westphalia. The Tipton home served as a post office, stagecoach stop, and general store. Surely on January 17, 1858, it was the site of Becky Tipton and Sam Patton’s wedding. Although the structure that is present at the site today was not erected until the summer following the wedding there would have been some type of building quickly established as soon as the family arrived.

Not quite 16 when she left her birth state of Ohio, Becky must have thought Kansas was a desert-like wilderness. Even the two years spent living in the woods of Iowa would have seemed more hospitable than the Kansas plains. Surely, compared to Franklin County, Ohio, Anderson County, Kansas, was like the end of the earth to her. Sam Patton was 14 years her senior. Was her throat tight with fear as she walked down the aisle? Did she dream of holding many babies in her arms? Did her small hands shake as she grasped her husband’s large rough hand? Perhaps her eyes were full of tears of joy while she said her marriage vows. In order to determine what type of person Rebecca Tipton Patton was, available records must be interpreted.

There is ample known about Becky’s grandfather, her father, and her husband. Her descendants’ lives are also well documented. Examining the lives of these people, along with constructing a social history of that time period and location, provides a window into Becky’s world. What type of woman was the first bride of Anderson County, Kansas? She had two living sons when she died at age 73. Sam Patton outlived her by 11 years, dying when he was 97. The religion of her parents, her grandparents, and her husband was Methodist so Becky was raised Methodist and remained a Methodist throughout her life. Because there was usually very little about everyday life of individual women documented it is often necessary to locate the information available about the men who surrounded her and piece together the type of life a woman experienced from those facts.

Becky’s grandfather, Thomas Tipton, was born in Maryland. He was the son of a schoolteacher from Scots-Irish descent. His parents settled in Ross County, Ohio, when he was a child where he attended school until he was 14. Thomas served in the War of 1812 and achieved the rank of captain. In 1813 he married Becky’s grandmother. They purchased land in Franklin County, Ohio, to which they added over the years until it totaled a thousand acres. Thomas and his wife Elizabeth’s family consisted of 11 children. Their daughter, Mary, died and after her death Thomas worked through his extreme grief by becoming very religious. He affiliated himself with the Methodist church. Politically Thomas was a member of the Republican Party. The family and friends who surrounded Thomas called him “Uncle Tommy” because of his kind demeanor. Malarial fever claimed Thomas’ life in 1864. Elizabeth had died earlier that year. Becky left Ohio when she was 16 in 1855 while both her grandparents were still living. They were surely a substantial influence on her life during her formative years. Both the Methodist church and the Republican party had antislavery platforms so it is likely that Becky grew up with abolitionist views being discussed at the dinner table during family gatherings. Childhood trips to visit her grandparents would have been to the large farm that they owned. She was obviously raised with the strong sense of Christian values that were typical in the Midwest during the early to mid-1800s. An ethic of hard work and looking out for one’s neighbors clearly was embedded into her moral code.

Becky’s father, Samuel S. Tipton, would have cast a large shadow for not only was he a cattle rancher but he was very involved in the formative years of both Anderson County and the state of Kansas. His arrival in Kansas with family and shorthorn came at a time when others were afraid to venture into the cattle industry in Kansas due to raids by the bushwhackers. Such risks did not discourage Samuel Tipton. He brought with him 50 head of purebred shorthorn cattle that were originally from Ohio, although the family spent two years in Iowa before moving on to Kansas. Not only was his daughter Becky the first bride of the county but his cow, Bertha Belle, who was born in March 1859, is recorded as being the first shorthorn bred in Kansas. Until the large home at Mineral Point was built, the family lived in a log cabin. Later, the larger structure he built allowed for his family to live on the second story. On the ground level was the post office, general store, and stagecoach stop with a walk-in cellar to hide in during times of danger. The third story was used by overnight stagecoach guests. There were openings in the sandstone under the porch from which weapons could be fired. The stone for the structure of the home was quarried from the same hillside on which it was built. Samuel expanded his farm during his lifetime to 720 acres. Becky was undoubtedly in a hub of community activity as a young woman. The Tipton home also doubled as a Sunday school location and a place of worship until the Methodist church was built two miles away. After marriage, Becky’s family lived in a home on the southern slope of the Mineral Point mound. Her husband and sons worked with their grandfather’s cattle.

There was more to Samuel Tipton than cattle. He was involved with organizing the Republican Party in Anderson County. He and his son-in-law were the county’s first postmasters. He served as principle in two different schools. Searching the newspapers of the late 1800s from the area shows his interest in horticulture. This is reinforced by the orchards on his land. Apples, peaches and pears from S. S. Tipton are mentioned in old newspaper articles along with the cows in addition to pigs. Becky was raised by a man who had varied interests in the world around him.

Samuel Tipton was not only involved in the Free State Issue when he arrived in Kansas, but in a January 19, 1878, issue of the Garnett, Kansas newspaper, he is quoted as taking sides in the arguments between “gold bugs,” “silver-ites,” and “green backs.” Samuel was of the opinion that silver is fine for currency but that there should be gold to back up the silver. Current events were plainly part of the daily conversations in Becky’s environment growing up and throughout her adulthood.

Becky’s husband, Samuel Southard Patton, was a man of strong conviction. Not only did he move to Kansas to assist in establishing it as a free territory but during the Civil War he enlisted in the Home Guard. He was in Company K of the 10th Regiment of the Kansas State Militia. This regiment was formed to fight for the Union during Price’s raid in October 1864. Price’s raid is considered the largest Confederate cavalry raid of the Civil War. Major General Sterling Price amassed a group of 15,000 guerillas who looted and destroyed what was in their path in Missouri concentrating against Unionists, Germans and African Americans. The raid was unsuccessful and the Union soldiers were victorious. Sam Patton built his house on the southern slope of the mound at Mineral Point where his father in law, Samuel Tipton, had built his home. Sam Patton served as one of the first two postmasters of the county for the post office that was located on the lower level of his father in laws home. Sam donated part of his land for the Patton Cemetery in Reeder Township, Anderson County, Kansas. The cemetery is located one half mile west of the site where the Patton home was located, and one and a half miles west of the Methodist Church. The cemetery’s first burial was Sam Patton’s mother Elizabeth.

Later in life, Sam Patton, made a strong stance in favor of prohibition. He was described as a man who lived with a sense of hope as well as a man who lived by the golden rule. Sam was also portrayed as a man who was kind. Rebecca had a home during her marriage that was full of strong convictions, but that also had the edges softened with caring about others.

Another way to try to paint a picture of Becky Tipton is to examine what the typical way of life was for women in the mid-19th century in eastern Kansas. It was common at that time to have a kitchen garden and to grow vegetables and corn which was used in abundance. Cornbread, fried corn mush, and popcorn were frequently consumed. Game was hunted and wild fruits, nuts and grains were gathered to round out the family table. Becky was lucky, for not only did her father have a cattle ranch, but her uncle had a hog farm and her brother-in-law raised sheep, therefore meat was obviously available to her family in abundance. In the summer time the temperature in that area of Kansas can be as high as 90 degrees and in the winter the average low is 24 degrees so moisture and sun of the four seasons would have allowed a variety of crops and grains to grow well. Becky’s father cultivated fruit trees so her family’s diet would have had a large variety of food. When walking into Becky’s house at dinner time the smell of stew and beans most likely greeted her family. The meal probably was finished off with dry fruits and possibly a piece of freshly baked gingerbread melting against their tongue.

Most women of these times had three sun bonnets. One for every day, one for better occasions and a dress bonnet. Some women wore shorter skirts with bloomers for work days as it was easier to maneuver. Long skirts were also typical. Petticoats were added to dress up clothing for special occasions. Becky’s every day dresses would have been made of homespun material. It was customary for women to spin wool or cotton into thread and then weave it into cloth to create the homespun fabrics. She may have had a dress made out of calico as a good dress. Becky would have taken flour sacks and remade them into many garments and household linens. Needless to say, she wore a cape or shawl for warmth.

Recycling items was a normal way of life in those times. For example, when Sam’s trouser fabric became thin from wear, Becky would have cut out the legs and formed caps that she lined with fur to keep her boys ears warm in winter. When Sam wore out his boots Becky probably softened the leather and created shoes with wooden pegs that were called Brogans. When quilts became old and ragged, women of her time re-made them into petticoats to help keep warm in the frigid cold winter months. Becky would have made knitting yarn from buffalo hair. In fact, women at that time would sew grapevines into their dresses to make hoop skirts. Or they sometimes created horse hair petticoats to add fullness to their dresses.

Doing the laundry also required some improvising. Perhaps Becky saved the ashes from the fireplace into a container and added water. Lye would have drained out of the bottom of the container and grease added to create soap. Women at that time made bluing from the rinse water of their calico dresses. It was common to save the water the potatoes were boiled in and used it as starch.

Becky’s grandparents, parents and husband were all members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, so a look at what types of beliefs that included will help us understand her. The Methodist church had committed itself to an antislavery stance by 1808. In 1844 the church split over slavery and the Methodist church – South was formed in the southern states. In the northern church, there was a strong focus on social problems which developed into a social gospel. Later the Methodists were leaders in the temperance movement.

As far as physical appearance, a photograph of Becky Tipton standing beside her husband Sam has been found. She had dark hair and dark eyes and was small in stature. Her hair was pulled back away from her face. Her eyes expressed a sadness in the photo. Sam is seated in the picture and has white hair and a long white beard. The photo has been estimated to be dated 1902, or 10 years before her death. Samuel is wearing a pocket watch as the chain is visible. A chain is also visible that Becky is wearing. Is it a watch or perhaps a pince-nez? The chain goes into the waistband of her dress.

Becky and Sam’s son Fred’s first wife died in childbirth along with his first baby. But Fred did go on to remarry and have three more grandchildren for Sam and Becky. And their son Charles had a daughter so their family consisted of four grandchildren. But the sadness in Becky’s eyes perhaps was a result of grieving in her life during such times as losing a daughter in law and grandchild. Even though the deaths occurred eight years before the picture was taken, such hurt often lingers in one’s demeanor.

Life as a homemaker on the plains of Kansas in the mid 1800s was not easy. Becky’s first son, Charlie, was born in November 1858 which was 10 months after her January wedding. Charlie would have been almost six when her husband left to fight with the state Militia. Her son Freddie was born in April 1867, eight-and-a-half years after his older brother. Nothing is recorded about children lost in between. Did Becky and Sam decide to wait to have more children until after the Civil War concluded? Or were there physical problems with pregnancies that did not get recorded? A family with only two children was unusually small for that time period. Did Becky experience the heart break so many women did during that time frame of children who did not live? Did her arms ache to hold babies that were not conceived? Many questions such as this about Becky remain unanswered but, we do know some things about her descendants. Becky was the matriarch of a line that provided four teachers in three generations therefore leading scores of this nation’s children to adulthood. Her great granddaughter was a music teacher at the same school for the blind that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s sister, Mary, attended. Her great, great grandson’s hold advanced degrees, one of which is an attorney. Becky’s most recent descendant was born June 2017, a great, great, great, great, granddaughter. No doubt as a mother of two boys she would have been thrilled with all these female offspring.

By looking at the men in her life, discovering information about her descendants and examining the normal activities of women from that era, we have created an idea of the type of woman Rebecca Tipton Patton was. By examining her family environment, we have been able to paint a picture of her values and personality traits. Anderson County’s first bride was smart, capable, creative, skilled, resourceful, hard-working, religious, aware of the political issues of the times, sociable with others, kind and an advocate for human rights. She was a first bride for which today’s citizens of Anderson county and others of the state of Kansas can be proud.

Entry: Tipton: Rebecca: An 1858 Bridal Portrait
Author: Mary Rohrer Dexter

Author information: Mary Rohrer Dexter is a wife, mother, grandmother and registered nurse who lives in southwest Ohio. She enjoys history and has a special interest in the history of American women.

Date Created: September 2017
Date Modified: September 2017

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.


Samuel J. Tipton House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Location: 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Harris, Kansas

Coordinates: 38°17′36″N95°29′26″WCoordinates: 38°17′36″N 95°29′26″W

Area:  2.5 acres (1.0 ha)
Built:  c.1857
NRHP reference # 75000703[1] Added to NRHP:  January 23, 1975

The Samuel J. Tipton House, near Harris, Kansas, dates from 1857. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[1]

The house, also called Mineral Point Mansion, was built for Samuel J. Tipton, who introduced Shorthorn cattle to Kansas. The house served as a post office, as a general store, and as a stage-stop.[2]


Greetings Tipton Family, just a little note to introduce myself and update you on the Tipton Family Association of America activities.

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   239-994-1246

Let’s move forward! Tipton Teamwork


Our association has hit a few bumps and snags over the past few weeks and months but we are working hard to get things on track.

I have spoken with several members over the past several months seeking opinions as to where we should take TFAA. The following feedback is from the majority of the comments.

  • Re-establish an executive board that will meet at least once per year and teleconference when necessary to share ideas, plan, review organizational objectives, establish specific committees and appoint members.
  • Host an annual meeting/reunion.
  • Establish a set amount for annual dues {$25/year} (In 1987 the dues were 5 dollars)
  • Use membership information to identify vendors and talents in the family.
  • Identify ways of utilizing “local” members to publicize, provide support, and assist with meeting arrangements.
  • Reaching out to Tipton Descendants in ALL States
  • Establish email address data base
  • Expand membership
  • Schedule family excursions a couple times a year
  • Reactivate the “Not for Profit” status
  • Update the website to include more of Johnathan Tipton Sr. children and their life stories
  • Renew and re-enact the “Battle of the Lost State of Franklin”.

I believe in TEAMWORK and if all of these goals are to be met, there will need to be a board of directors and or steering committee.

This is where you can get involved. If you are interested in serving on the board please send an email to peachyrose56@gmail.com

Positions: Vice President, Editor, Secretary, Treasure
President, Kathy Hoffmann 239-994-1246


DID YOU KNOW?

Decoration Day 2019 in Cades Cove (TN)
Cades Cove Preservation Association will be hosting “decoration day on June 1, 2019 in Cades Cove and June 2, 2019 at missionary Baptist Church in Cades Cove.

Cades Cove heritage generally respected their departed family members . Early pioneers were often buried at or near their home place or where death occurred otherwise. Life was harsh in this early, primitive, isolated community. Death was often communicated to the Cades Cove community through the tolling of the church bell, each mournful toll signifying one year of life. Cove residents could generally identify the deceased through this method and would respond appropriately to assist the grieving family in preparation of the body for burial, to build the coffin, to assure appropriate dress, to provide food or essential farm labor, and to “sit with the dead”. Oftentimes, dependent on the season of death, paper flowers were lovingly made to decorate the burial plot. These were “neighbors” in the truest sense.

Year after year, family and friends would celebrate the departed loved ones by placing fabricated or picked flowers on individual burial plots. Decoration Day in Cades Cove, and in other communities, was established as a specific date on which the respect and love for departed individuals was displayed through grave decorations. Memorial services at church buildings were conducted as well as “eating on the grounds”. This was a day of community respect, celebration and “remembering”. The tradition continues today in Cades Cove.
All are welcome to attend and participate on June 1, 2019 and June 2, 2019.

For more information please contact Cades Cove Heritage Association in Maryville Tn.


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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 tfaa2019@comcast.net.

Previous newsletters are archived on the TFAA website.

The TFAA and President Kathy Hoffmann 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: 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