Friday, January 28, 2011

The Tipton Family Association of America Resurrected!

Folks, good news!  The Tipton Family Association of America has been resurrected!

John Parrish, a descendant of Colonel John Tipton (1730-1813) has taken up the reins as president of the Tipton Family Association of America.

John has issued his first TFAA newsletter.  I have reproduced it as below:

The Tipton Family Association of America
314 Oak Place, Asheville, North Carolina, 28803-1930

Winter 2010/2011 Newsletter

I am very proud and happy to be President of the Tipton Family Association of America.  I want to thank Robert Tipton Nave for nominating me for the office and the association members for their confidence in electing me at our October meeting.  I plan to devote time and energy to our family’s association providing the public with knowledge of the achievements of the Tiptons and helping descendants obtain the information they seek about our Tipton family.

I am a descendant of Colonel John Tipton (1730-1813) through his son, Captain Jacob Tipton (1765-1791) and his son, General Jacob Tipton (1790-1839).  My mother was born and raised in Covington, Tipton County, West Tennessee.

I have had the pleasure of association with many of our members visiting about questions of genealogy and history of the Tipton family.  I have met many of those family members through my website, www.coloneljohntipton.com.  I would invite each of you to visit the site, make a comment in the blog and contact me to further our personal acquaintance.

I thank Tom Manning for his service as President of the TFAA.

It was pleasing to see a dozen or more Tiptons and Tipton descendants gather to learn about the family and their connections to it at the recent meeting in Elizabethton.  While the majority of those attending live within a hundred miles of Carter County, there were folks from as far away as Washington, DC; north central Kentucky and Chattanooga.

Robert Tipton Nave began the day’s program with his presentation:
Rambling with Robert Tipton Nave
An expert genealogist, archivist, librarian and historian of the Tipton family and the history of early East Tennessee, Robert told stories and answered questions.  He was informative and enjoyed by all.

In addition to my comments regarding my research on the life of Colonel John Tipton and Bill Tipton’s narrative about his trip to West Tennessee to find out about the settlement of that area by our family.
Bob Tipton, Co-Administrator of the Tipton DNA Project gave the group an update on the activities of this project.  Anyone wanting more information can contact Bob at rrtipton@gmail.com.

            David W. Tipton, whose grandfather was Frank William Tipton born 13 Jul 1903 at Milligan College, Carter County, Tennessee, is looking for any information about his great-grandfather, Augustus T. (Gus) Tipton, who first married Margaret Evalen Bowman and second Polly Ann Barnett.  If you can help David, call him at (423) 538-4619 or (423) 968-1669.

Lastly, everyone present formed a group that shared information and fielded questions.

            As President, I am proposing two things to enhance the Tipton Family Association of America in the coming year.

First, have a meeting in one year with planning that can start now.  By having meetings over the Columbus Day weekend, Tiptons and descendants who want to attend can plan ahead and have a long weekend to make the trip to the gathering. 

David W. Tipton of Piney Flats suggested the next meeting be at Rocky Mount.  David is past president of the Rocky Mount Board of Directors and offered the location without fee for the next Tipton Family Association of America meeting.  If all fits in place, that meeting would be on October 8th, 2011.

Second, launch a website for the organization.  Prior to the meeting, I met with a website designer and established the parameters for a dynamic site designed to meet the needs of Tiptons and descendants no matter where they live; most importantly, the site would host a blog serving as a queries conversation so people can ask questions and get help from Tiptons everywhere.

The website would feature pictures of Tipton family and historic sites from throughout the United States and perhaps even from the village of Tipton, England.  The website would have a magazine section for contributed stories, a gift shop, research information and could archive newsletters, etc.  This website as envisioned would not be static; it would have interactive picture display and pop-ups to make it appealing to all who visited.  All of these features do contribute to a higher cost than one might spend to do a static website.  It would be professionally monitored on a regular basis.

To launch the website, at a cost of about $ 900.00, the TFAA will need donations to cover that cost.  Please send your donations to John Parrish, President, Tipton Family Association of America at 314 Oak Place, Asheville, North Carolina, 28803.  I don’t think our association has a dynamic future in this internet world without a website and we all need a place to make our genealogical/historical inquiries and get answers.  Several donations were made at the October meeting toward this website project.

Numerous research resources were available at the meeting and can be ordered now with the addition of postage and packaging cost.  For more information, contact John Parrish at parrish968@aol.com or the source indicated.   


  • Dale Reed’s book John Tipton, John Sevier, and The State of Franklin     $ 17.00
  • John Parrish's book The Life of Colonel John Tipton                                  $   9.00
  • Teter Nave, Pioneer of East Tennessee by Robert Tipton Nave                 $ 30.00
  • History of the Iron Industry in Carter County, Tennessee  by Robert Tipton Nave       $ 20.00
  • Copy of Spoden Map, Courtesy Suycamore Shoal State Park                    $   1.00
  • Copy of Keesee Map                                                                                  $    2.00                                                 

The Watauga Land Purchases by Troy R. Keesee is available from the Sycamore Shoals State Park Bookstore.
History of East Tennessee 1740-1800 by George and Juanita Fox can be ordered from the authors at brm887@bellsouth.net.  Very informative.

There is a new book on the State of Franklin, the Lost State of Franklin by Kevin T. Barksdale which is available through bookstores.

Tiptons: The First Five Generations by Charles D. Tipton can be purchased on CD from the Tipton-Haynes Historic Site Bookstore.



The embroidered Tipton family crest shown in the pictures above is available to all if you wish to have something embroidered.  The set up fee has been paid so your cost would be the article you have embroidered and the charges from:

Doe Valley Printing, 1282 Riverview Drive, Elizabethton, Tennessee 37643.  You can place orders by mail or contact Anita Remme at doevalley@comcast.net.  or call (423) 542-4616.  John Parrish is the shirt model above.


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.  If you are receiving two emails, please let me know.  My email address is parrish968@aol.com.

Below is a picture of my mother, Mary Frances Parrish, at her birthday party.  Mother turned 101 on 27 Sept 2010.  A wonderful example of those good Tipton genes!  She is pictured with my sister, Laura, and her husband Ed Midgley.


Please remember to donate to the Tipton Family Association of America,
Tax Identification Number 61-1636584

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Lovada "Lovey" Ray Bailey


Lovada "Lovey" Ray Bailey
1805-1898



A few days ago I received an e-mail from a Kay Pendergrass.  She had discovered this blog and was inquiring if we were cousins.  Her great-grandmother was Rutha Mae Tipton who married Ansel Bailey.  
Photo taken by Chad Bailey 2009


My answer to her was "Yes", we are cousins.  Her great-grandmother Rutha Mae Tipton was the sister of my great-great grandfather John Tipton.  My great-great grandfather John Tipton was married to Ansel Bailey's sister, Martha "Patty" Bailey.  As I have so often discovered, the families were sometimes very close up there in those Appalachian hills of western North Carolina in the 18th and 19th centuries.


Pictured above is my great-great-great grandmother, Lovada "Lovey" Ray Bailey.  "Lovey" was the mother of both Ansel Bailey and my great-great grandmother Martha "Patty" Bailey.  Kay Pendergrass was kind enough to provide me with the long ago picture of my great-great-great grandmother.  


I don't have a picture of my great-grandmother, Martha "Patty" Bailey but I do hear that one is in existence.  Someday I hope to get a copy of that picture.  There is no known picture of my great-grandfather John Tipton.

Martha "Patty" Bailey Death Certificate
1824-1915


Martha "Patty" Bailey was the wife of my great-great grandfather John Tipton who was killed in a Confederate ambush when he was recruiting for the Union Forces in the hills of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, near Johnson City, Tennessee.  


One of John and Martha "Patty" Bailey Tipton's sons was my great grandfather, Hiram Tipton.

Myra Warrick  1855-1930)and Hiram Tipton 1852-1933) 

One of Hiram and Myra Tipton's sons was my grandfather Fieldon Jacob Tipton, Sr.

Fieldon Jacob Tipton (1884-1939)  and Hester Lewis (1894-1944) 

One of Fieldon and Hester's eleven sons was my father, Isaac Walter Tipton, Sr.

Betty Hadfield (1923-2010) and Isaac "Ike" Tipton, Sr. (1920-2000)
 1941 -(my mom is pregnant with me in this picture)






My parents had three sons of which I am the oldest.  
Me at my great-grandparents grave at the Freewill Baptist Church in Limestone, Tennessee - 1994




This spring Bill and I are planning another trip down south to visit his hometown of Toccoa, Georgia.  I hope to also visit Cades Cove Tennessee, where many Tipton ancestors are buried.  I also hope to revisit Pigeon Roost, Tennessee, the area of the Pisgah Mountains near the border to Johnson City Tennessee where my farther was born.  Last year I visited that area with my brother John (who lives in Greenville, South Carolina.)  John and I are always reinvigorated when we visit our roots.  

I began researching my family roots back in 1994 (as the above picture attests) but since that time there have been long stretches where Life interfered and I haven't done as much research as I would have liked.  Unfortunately, during that time so many relatives have died, thus taking with them their history of the family.  

With my recent discovery of Ancestry.com and the wealth of information available on that website, I have been able to rebuild my family tree.  That is my goal in life to record as much information as I have and then when I eventually pass on (which I will), some other family member will pick up where I left off.  That is my wish and desire.

In the meantime, I will share what information and pictures that I have on this website.  

Please contact me if any readers of this blog wish to contribute information about their family and/or photos or have any question about how they fit into the Tipton Family Tree. 

Remember, we're all descended from the original Jonathan Tipton who landed on these shores by way of Baltimore County, Maryland around 1692 from Jamaica. 

If can provide me with the name of your great grandfather I can probably find your link to the Tipton Family Tree record that I maintain and am constantly adding new information.

Have a very happy new year!