Randall Louis Tipton

Randall Louis Tipton

Occasionally I receive a comment through this blog for help in researching someone's connection to the Tipton family tree.  If given enough information I can almost always make the connection.  Such was the case with a recent comment I received from a Randy Tipton.

As is usually the case, the first go round not enough information is supplied by the person requesting the information so I respond by asking for the names of at least a grandfather and great grandfather and date and place of birth.

After several exchanges of e-mails Randy was able to supply me with the name and date of birth of his father, grandfather and great grandfather.  With the information I started to dig in my family tree as well as public information on my Ancestry.com account.  After several hours of research I was able to establish Randy's connection to the Tipton family tree. (Double click chart to make bigger).

Randy Tipton Family Tree

Randy is my sixth cousin, twice removed.  What that means is that our five times great grandfather's were brothers.  In Randy's case, his 5X grandfather Edward Tipton (1728-1795) was the brother of my 5X grandfather Jonathan ("Major) Tipton (1750-1833).

Twice removed means that we are two generations removed.  In other words I am of the same generation as Randy's grandfather Alvin Clayton Tipton (1914-1972).  Of course this makes me feel VERY OLD.

I was so glad that I was able to find the information to fit Randy's line into the Tipton Family Tree.  I'm always willing to help anyone who reads this blog and is interested in finding out more about their connection to the Tipton family tree.  If you provide me with that basic information that I stated earlier in this blog, I can almost always make the connection.



Here is a little bit more information about Randy.  Randy is a twenty year veteran of the Army.  He served in the Special Forces. Ironically, Randy lost one of his legs not in the Army but in a motorcycle accident.  Below is a video of the new, revolutionary prosthetic device that Randy uses now.


Thank you very much Randy for giving me permission to share your story on my "Tipton Tales and Trails" blog.  This is what I love about this blog, exploring and discovering the great and wonderful history of the Tipton family in the United State of America.  Especially wonderful men like Randall Louis Tipton.

Thank you so much for your service to our country Randy!

Randy Tipton in Afghanistan

Rules of Engagement

Ronald Walter Tipton, June 29, 2012 - Delaware Beach

The past few weeks I've received two requests from Tipton descendants for help with researching their family tree.  I'm always glad to help a fellow Tipton descendent.  I was able to help both of these individuals because they provided me with sufficient information that I was able to research and make the link to our common Tipton family tree.  I always feel a wonderful sense of satisfaction what I can help someone find their roots plus add to my family tree records.

On the heels of these recent successes I feel I should restate the "rules of engagement" when requesting my help.  The reason I do this is because quite often in the past I've been asked to help folks who don't provide me with any information much more than the first name of their father.  No dates of birth or death, no names of grandfathers or great grandfathers.  I cannot help those people with such little information.

I also often receive requests from folks (usually women) who want information so they can join the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).  First of all, the information required to join the DAR is quite rigorous and I am but an amateur genealogist, even though I have been working at this game for almost twenty years now.  Secondly, I have no interest in helping anyone join the DAR.  Not that there is anything wrong with the DAR, it's just that my time is limited.  I am seventy years old, have a part-time job, not in good health and very busy with other activities in addition to researching my family tree.  My primary goal is filling out as many branches of my family tree that I can before I go to the Great Beyond and meet my Tipton ancestors in person.  So for all you DAR folks, you'll have to look elsewhere for your proof to join the DAR.

Now that I've stated my "rules of engagement", I hope to hear from my distant Tipton relatives.  As I said before, I am glad to help you find your connection to the first Tipton, Jonathan who came to this country in the late 1600's from Port Royale, Jamaica.  But in exchange I would like information from you too as to dates of birth and death and old photos.  I love old photos!

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Ron Tipton with fellow genealogist Larry Meredith - June 29, 2012