From Tipton-Hazelton-Payne-Barr Families by Ellen Mae Rose & George H. Rose, published 1976 by J. Grant Stevenson, 230 W 1230 N, Provo, UT
Pgs. 24-25 St. Paul's Parish Register of Balitimore, MD records the birth of Mordecai Tipton, son of William and Hannah Price Tipton, on April 18, 1724. He was surely named for his grandfather, Mordecai Price. Mordecai Tipton was only two years old when his father died. He was reared in the household of his step-father, John Bosley, who died at some time between 1767 and 1772. He surely thought of John Bosely as his father. John Bosely was a prominent Marylander. He displayed affection toward his step sons though unequally. He did favor Thomas, brother of Mordecai, on whom he conferred his patented land known as Pointer's Level.
It is not know whether Mordecai Tipton actually took up land in a new county or if he resided in an area which was split of from Balitimore County. Records of Sheriff Hall kept in Harford Historical Library show that in 1760 Mordecai of North Hundred was to pay dues of 478 pounds of tobacco. This was probably due for head tax or an assessment on each male sixteen or older called a tithable. If this assumption is correct, it follows that he no longer lived near Baltimore by 1760. We do knw that he married Mary, ?, and that William Tipton, his son, states in his application for a Revolutionary War pension that he was born January 1, 1754 near Baltimore. This helps to establish the probable movement of Mordecai and indicates that he moved from Baltimore county to Hartford County some time after 1754.
Mordecai Tipton lived at a time when the English effort to control westward movement was breaking down. Western Virginia was first oganized into large counties which were soon broken down into smaller counties because of the influx of settlers. Mordecai Tipton joined this westward movement. He may have lived for a time in an area included in Frederick County, from which area his son enlisted in the Revolutionary War. Mordecai would have been past fifty in 1776 making it unlikely that he had an active part in the war. When the war ended in 1783 he joined the company of Captain Matterson, consisting of 77 person, and moved into Montgomery County, Virginia. There he had a grant of 200 acres on the north fork of Roanoke River. (See Kegley's Virgina Fronier Records, P. 585) Clayton Torrance's index of Virginia Wills and administrations list a will for Mordekai Tipton which was recorded in Monrtomgery County in 1795. The index is not without errors but there was asurely some reason for the entry. There seems to be no inventory or will now available. A power of attorney running from Mordecai to Samuel Langdon, dated October 18, 1794 is recorded. This document indentified Mordecai as being of "Grass Valley in the Western Territory of North America," and authorized Samuel Langdon to "alter one certain date of an indenture of lease and release given me to said Langdon for his purchase of one certain tract oor parcel of land." This said Langdon was probably a son in law to whom a bequest was made at a time when Mordecai anticipated that hsi life was near an end. This transaction was in Montgomery County, but it probably was in an area which became Botetourt Co.
It becomes quite different to firmly establish family continuity when there is a transfer of residence to a remote and frontier area. As might be expected, there has been disagreement among researchers as to the children of Mordecai Tipton and his wife Mary, of unknown family name.
W. Hord Tipton lists seven sons of Mordecai. (as given)Much as been written about these frontier Tiptons and their descendents because of their political and miltary activity in Tennessee adn Indiana.
Before resuming the account of the ancestry of Harve V. Tipton in direct line, we will now pause to take note of his kindsmn, General John Tipton, United States Senator from Indiana, and another, Colonel John Tipton of Tennessee.Date of birth is also listed as October 31, 1724 in St. Paul's Parish, Baltimore, Maryland.He was reared by his stepfather John Bosley. records of Sheriff Hall kept in the Harford County Library show that in 1760 Mordecai of North Hundred was to pay dues of 478 pounds of tobacco.(Probably due for head tax or assessment on each male sixteen or older called tithable. (The Graham & Tipton Story by Owen Gayle Graham) Grant of 200 acres on the North Fork of the Roanoke River in Montgomery County, Virginia (See Kegley's Virginia Frontier Records, Page 585). Clayton Torrance's index of Virginia Wills and Administrations lists a will for Mordecai Tipton which was recorded in Montgomery County, Virginia in 1795. (The Graham & Tipton Story by Owen Gayle Graham).
He was a delegate to frame a consititution for the State of Franklin. This effort failed and the territory, now Tennessee, returned to the sovereignty of North Carolina.
John was a delagate to frame a constitution for the State of Franklin. This effort failed and the territory, now Tennessee, returned to the sovereingnty of North Carolina.
From the book TIPTON FAMILY BY W. HORD TIPTON
In appearance, John was described as small featured, and of medium height. He had grey eyes and stiff sandy hair. He was a typical frontier politician, a hard-drinking, hard-hitting, Indian fighter, an adroit land speculator. He died a very wealthy man and was buried with the Military rites of the Masonic Order.
The Twentieth Century Biographical History of Notable Americans: Volume X, TIPTON, Thomas Warren.
TIPTON, John, Senator, was born in Sevier Co., TN, 14 Aug 1786. Son of Joshua Tipton who was massacred by the Indians, 18 April 1793. He received a limited education, and became prominent as an Indian fighter, and in 1807 he removed with his family to Harrison Co., IN, where he engaged in farming. He was largely instrumental in freeing the district of counterfeiters and horse theives, by whom it was overrun, and in 1809 he joined the company of Yellow Jackets, and served as ensign in the battle of Tippecanoe where on the death of captain and both lieutenants he succeeded to the command of the company. He was appointed in 1820, to select the site for the new capital for Indiana, and described in a journal his search for a locality and the final choosing of Fall Creek. In March, 1923, he was appointed US Indian Agent for the Pottawattamie and Miami tribes. He was elected US Senator to succed Robert Hanna (q.v.), taking his seat, 31 Jan 1832, and was re-elected for a full term expiring 3 March 1839. He purchased extensive tracts of land in Indiana, and gave the site for the city of Columbus, which for a time was known as Tiptonia. He died in Logansport, IN, 5 April 1839.
FAMILY TREE MAKER CD VOL 18, Tree #1918
General and Senator from Indiana
John was a general in the US Army, because of his father's death at the hand of Cherokees and the general terror he experienced as a young boy, John Tipton was born an Indian hater. Further examination of his dealings with the Indians as federal agent, does not totally support that claim. He pursude Indian War parties in his early days and lamented in his writings when they escaped. Although he may have at times taken monetary advantage of his position as commisioner of Indian Affairs through land dealings and hte appointment of friends and relatives to lucrative jobs, he was neither better nor worse than those who served at the time in similar positions. Paul Wallace Gates, Cornell University historian, said in his introduction to "The Tipton Papers," "Rugged, fearless, a hard fighter and a warm friend. Tipton left an indelible mark on the state which had so significantly honored him. Donor of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe, the memories of which he ever cherished, founder and first citizen of Logansport, friend of Indian Chiefs, yet supporter of frontier demands for the removal of the red man; framer of reform n the national capital, all this might have been placed on his tombstone."
As a minor officer under General William Henry Harrison, Tipton won his first promotion at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He rose rapidly to the rank of Brigadier General in the Indian militia and was later a general in the US Army, United States Commisioner of Indian Affairs and a US Senator from Indiana. As a member of the Indiana Legislature, he was on the committee that selected Indianapolis as teh capital of the state and was on the commision that drew the boundary between Indiana and Illinois from Vincesses to Lake Michigan. He also founded the cities of Columbus (Originally Tiptonia) and Logansport.
John's first wife was Martha Jane SHEILDS, his first cousin and daughter of John SHIELDS, who participated in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His second wife, Matilda Spencer, was the daughter of a close friend, Spier Spencer.
Captain John Tipton's Company of Mounted Militia, 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia, was ordered into service to repel an invasion of Indians on Clark County, Indiana during the War of 1813. Included in his company were Joseph SHIELDS, ensign; Benjamin SHIELDS, sergent; Joshua SHIELDS, corporal; Jesse SHIELDS, private; and Nathan Veatch, private. The SHIELDS were probably all uncles of John Tipton, and Nathan Veatch was probably the brother of Mary and Martha Veatch. (Tipton.FTW)
John TIPTON (1786-1839) of Logansport, IN. Born in TN. Member of the Indiana State House of Representatives, 1819; US Senator from Indiana, 1832-1839. Internment at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Tipton Co., IN is named for him.
TIPTON, JOHN 1786-1839
Years of Service: 1832-1837; 1837-1839
Party: Jacksonian DemocratTIPTON, John, a Senator from Indiana; born near Sevierville, Sevier Co, TN, 14 Aug 1786; received a limited schooling; moved to Harrison Co., IN, in 1807 and engaged in agricultural pursuits; served with the "Yellow Jackets" in the Tippecanoe campaign and subsequently attained the rank of brigadier general of the Militia; sherriff of Harrison Co., IN, 1816-1819; member of the House of Representatives 1819-1823; one of the commissioners to select a site for a new capital for Indiana in 1820; commissioner to determine the boundary line between Indiana and Illinois 1821. Appointed US Indian agent for the Pottawatamie and Miami tribes 1823; laid out the city of Logansport, IN, in 1828; elected as a Democrat to the US Senate on 9 Dec 1831, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of James Noble; reelected in 1832 and served from 3 January 1832 to 3 March 1839; due to poor heath he declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1838; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-Fifth Congress), Committee on Indian Affairs (Twenty-Fifth Congress); died in Logansport, Cass Co, IN, on 5 April 1839; interment in Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Biography
American National Biography, Dictionary of American Biography; Blackburn, Glen A. "The Papers of John Tipton." Dr. D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1928; Robertson, Nellie and Dorothy Riker, eds. The John Tipton Papers. 3 Volumes, Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1942.
TIPTON PORTRAIT SELLS FOR $46,000
by Elizabeth Johnson
There as a certain bit of irony surrounding the Gen. John Tipton portrait that sold for $46,000 (no premium) at a Doug Davies auction on 12 June in Lafayette, Indiana. The 50" by 40" oil on canvas was the work of Geortge Winter, a pioneer artist noted for his depictions of Native Americans. It's rather incongruous that the artist who did so mcuh to provide us with an understanding of Indian life along the Wabash River Valley, would be called upon to render a portrait of a soldier/politician instrumental in removing those same people from the state.But first things first. The unsigned portrait was consigned to the sale by the Tipton Masonic Lodge #33 of Logansport, Indiana, of which Tipton was a charter member in 1828. The lodge took on Tipton's name after his death, commemorating the man who was once their Worthy Master as well as Grand Master of the state.
After Tipton's death in April 1839, the Logansport lodge commissioned Winter to paint a portrait of Tipton. The final work was based on a small water color sketch made by Winter the morning after Tipton's death.
Following it's completetion in 1839, the portrait was hung in the lodge, where it remained until this year. In an effort to raise money for a new facility, the lodge chose to auction the painting and replace it with a color photo of the same size.
The fact that the piece was a period portrait of Tipton would have been enough to draw serious interest from a number of collectors and Indiana institutions. Tipton, who came to Indiana from Tennessee, fought with future President, William Henry Harrison against a confederation of Indians on 7 November 1811, at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He commanded rangers in the War of 1812, served as Harrison County Sherriff and as a member of the state legislature, was appointed in 1823 by President James Monroe to be Indian Agent for the Potawatomi and Miami Indian tribes, and was Indiana's first US Senator from 1831 until 1839.
Tipton's feelings toward the Indians were made clear in a letter to Gov. Gibson on 24 April 1813. Then a major, Tipton wrote, "Since I have had command of the militia stationed on the frontiers of Harrison and Clark counties, there has been much mischief done by Indians in those counties. It is much to be designed that those rascals, of whatever tribe they be, harboring about those towns, should be routed, which could be done, with one hundred mounted men in seven days...."
In addition to Tipton;s significant historical role, the portrait was a remarkable find due to the involvement of Winters, whose works seldom come onto the market. Born in England, Winters emigrated to the US in 1830, working primarily as a portrait painter. In 1837, while living in Middletown, OH, he decided to go west after hearing of the impending removal of the Potawatomi Indians from their Wabash Valley Reservations. He wrote that "the enthusiasm of adventure and love of the romantic" led him to the Logansport area "for the purpose (before I should return East) of seeing and learning something of the Indians and exercising the pencil in this direction."
During the late 1830's and early 1840's, Winter completed numerous paintings and sketches, a mixture of both portraits and camp scenes of Potawatomi and Miami Indians. Although the quality of his work has at times been called into question, Winter's depiction of Indian costumes and daily life are unsurpassed. His fascination with his subjects was instrumental in creating a visual history of the same people Tipton once fought against.
When the portrait of Tipton was auctioned in June, the institution that had previously expressed an interest in teh piece were relegated to the role of observers as two private collectors vied for the painting. The winner at $46,000 was Dennis Longmire, a former Indiana resident now living in Texas. Although he also deals in antiques, Longmire plans to keep the painting As it turns out, General Tipton is Longmire's great-great-great grandfather.
Longmire learned of his genealogical link to Tipton years ago while researchign a large horse weathervane from a barn on the Tipton Family estate. He bought the weathervane when the family wanted to sell the piece but didn't want to risk putting it in an auction. At the time of that purchase, Longmire did not know of the family connection. As for the portrait of Tipton, Longmire was well aware of the family ties, a factor that obviously affected the final selling price.
--- Maine Antique Digest, 1996
Tipton County History
Pioneers entering Tipton County during the early 1800's found that the Indians from the Miami, Delaware and Pottowatomie Tribes used the swampy prairies and hardwood forests of the area as a shared hunting ground. Although the Indians may well have resented the entry of white settlers into the area, there is no record of any battle bewteen settlers and Native Americans having ever taken place on the soil of Tipton County.An 1826 treaty with the Indians ceded all the Northwest Portion of Indiana to the government, and established what is now Howard and Tipton Counties as the "Miami Reserve". From 1823 until 1838, the lands within the Reserve were purchased from the Indians, at which point the remaining residents of hte Reserve were "escorted" to their new homes west of the Mississippi.
John Tipton, namesake of the City and County of Tipton, was a native of Tennessee, moving to Harrison Co., IN with his family in 1807 at the age of 11. He joined a militia group known as the "Yellow Jackets" in 1809, and took part in the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811. After the battle, Ensign Tipton was elected to take the place of his commanding officer, Captain Spencer, who had fallen during the battle. He was eventually promoted to Brigadier General. Tipton held many civic offices, serving as justice of the Peace in Harrison Co. at the age of 25, and at the age of 30, served two terms as Harrison Co. Sheriff. He was elected to the State Legislature, where he served two terms as Representative, servign on the Commission which selected Indianapolis as the site for the new State Capitol. He later served on a commission established to set the boundary lines between Indiana and Illinois.
Tipton County was organized and named after General John Tipton by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana on January 15, 1844. Samuel King donated 100 acres of his property to the County for purposes of establishing a county seat. Pioneers discovered that the area was a harsh place to live, with lands covered in dense forest canopy and malarial swamps, offering only sparse amounts of land near creek banks fit for farming. Efforts to clear woodlands and build roads was hampered by the fact that only one gravel pit could be found to supply the needed agrigate. Many of the Pioneers who came to Tipton County emigrated from southern Indiana, adding to immigrants from Germany, Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, England and France. Settlers with an urge to "Push West" came to Indiana from Ohio, Pennsuylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, the Carolinas and Kentucky, making their way to the swampy wilderness of Tipton County.
Indian agent for the Pottawottomies and Miamis; laid ouit Logansport, IN; and was a US Sentor from Indiana, 1832-1839.
He married Miss Shields, daughter of his mother's brother, John SHIELDS, gunsmith and scout of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The last's wife sister of Hugh Lawson White, US Senator from Tennessee and candidate for President. John and Martha SHIELDS were cousins.
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John had an earlier marriage about 1807 and was divorced in 18818.SHIELDS FAMILY HISTORY by John Arthur SHIELDS, 1917, pg. 25.
John Tipton's first wife as his cousin, Jennie Shields, generally thought to have been the only daughter of John SHIELDS, the explorer; of this we have no conclusive evidence. The writer has assumed it to be the case. They had two sons, one whose name is not known, the other named Spier Shields Tipton, who graduated from West Point, was a captain of dragoons in the Mexican War, and later was commander of the Indiana troops.
Tipton's second wife was Matilda Spencer, daughter of his old friend Spier Spencer. Three children were born of this union. George lived and died in Logansport, Indiana. John graduated from West Point and entered the Army, but he died while in California just before the outbreak of the Civil War. Harriet married Thomas S. Du Pont and settled in Oregon, where she died. Several of General Tipton's descendants now live in Loganport and Fort Wayne.
John Tipton died April 5, 1839, and was buried with military honors and in the rites of the Masonic Order. The original of his only protrait hangs in the Masonic Lodge rooms at Logansport, of which Lodge he was one of the founders and for many years a leading member.John Shields, only son of Jeannette Shields and Joshua Tipton, married his cousin, Jeannette Shields, dau. of John Shields.
General and Senator from Indiana.
John was a general in the United States Army, a United States senator, United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, grand master of the Grand Masonic Lodge of the Northwest Territory and founder of Columbus, Logansport and other cities in Indiana. He surveyed and platted the city of Indianapolis and established the boundary between Indiana and Illinois.
John Arthur Shields said that, because of his father's death at the hands of the Cherokees and the general terror he experienced as a young boy, John Tipton was a born Indian hater. Further examination of his dealings with the Indians as federal Indian agent does not totally support that claim. He pursued Indian war parties in his early days and lamented in his writings when they escaped. Although he may have at times taken monetary advantage of his position as commissioner of Indian affairs through land dealings and the appointment of friends and relatives to lucrative jobs, he was neither better nor wore than those who served at the time in like positions. Paul Wallace Gates, Cornell University historian, said in his introduction to "The Tipton Papers," "Rugged, fearless, a hard fighter and a warm friend, Tipton left an indelible mark on the state which had so signally honored him. Donor of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe, the memories of which he ever cherished, founder and first citizen of Logansport, friend of Indian chiefs, yet supporter of frontier demands for the removal of the red man; framer of reform legislation for Indian welfare; advocate of internal improvements and careful guardian of Indiana's interests in the national capital, all this might have been placed on his tombstone."
As a minor officer under General William Henry Harrison, Tipton won his first prominence at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He rose rapidly to the rank of brigadier general in the Indiana militia and was later a general in the United States Army, United States commissioner of Indian affairs and a United States senator from Indiana. As a member of the Indiana legislature, he was on the committee that selected Indianapolis as the capital of the state and was on the commission that drew the boundary between Indiana and Illinois from Vincennes to Lake Michigan. He also founded the cities of Columbus (originally called Tiptonia) and Logansport.
John's first wife was Martha Shields, his first cousin and daughter of John Shields, who participated in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His second wife, Matilda Spencer, was the daughter of a close friend, Spier Spencer.
Captain John Tipton's Company of Mounted Militia, 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia was ordered into service to repel an invasion of Indians on Clark County, Indiana during the War of 1812. Included in his company were Joseph Shields, ensign; Benjamin Shields, sergeant; Joshua Shields, corporal; Jesse Shields, private, and Nathan Veatch, private. The Shields were probably all uncles of John Tipton, and Nathan Veatch was probably the brother of Mary and Martha Veatch.
SUMMARY OF JOHN TIPTON'S LIFE: 1786-1839
14 August 1786--Born in Sevier County, Tennessee
1783--Father Joshua Tipton killed by Cherokees
1807--Moved to Harrison County, Indiana with mother and members of her family, notably her brother James Shields.
20 June 1811--Elected justice of the peace for Harrison County, Indiana.
7 November 1811--Elected captain of Rifle Company following Battle of Tippecanoe.
5 March 1812--Commissioned captain.
14 May 1812--Commissioned major in 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia.
4 June 1813--Commissioned lieutenant colonel in 5th Regiment.
22 April 1814--Commissioned colonel of 5th Regiment.
5 August 1816--Elected sheriff of Harrison County, Indiana.
23 May 1817--Commissioned brigadier general of Third Brigade, Indiana Militia.
July 1817--Divorced from first wife, Martha Shields.
March 1818--Appointed commissioner to relocate Warrick County, Indiana seat.
3 August 1818--Reelected sheriff.
29 December 1819--Appointed commissioner to relocate Owen County, Indiana seat.
11 January 1820--Appointed commissioner to select site for Indiana capital.
7 August 1820--Elected representative to Indiana General Assembly from Harrison County.
14 September 1820--Elected grand master of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Indiana.
3 April 1821--Appointed a commissioner to mark boundary between Indiana and Illinois.
6 August 1821--Elected representative to the General Assembly.
25 January 1822--Commissioned major general, 2d Division, Indiana Militia.
28 March 1823--Appointed Indian agent at Fort Wayne, Indiana.
22 December 1823--Appointment confirmed by United States Senate.
1825--Married Matilda Spencer, daughter of close friend Spier Spencer.
24 May 1826--Appointed commissioner to negotiate treaty with Miami and Potawatomi Indian tribes.
9 January 1828--Appointed commissioner to negotiate with the Eel River Miami tribe for the Thorntown Reserve.
April 1828--Removed the Indian agency to the Miami Reserve, opposite the mouth of the Eel River.
27 November 1828--Elected grand master of the Indiana Grand Lodge of Masons.
9 December 1831--Elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Noble.
31 December 1831--Resigned as Indian agent.
10 December 1832--Reelected to the United States Senate.
27 August 1838--Appointed by Governor David Wallace to effect the removal of the Potawatomi tribe from Indiana.
3 March 1839--Completed his term in the United States Senate.
5 April 1839--Died at his home at Logansport, Indiana.From Tipton-Hazelton-Payne-Barr Families by Ellen Rose & George H. Rose. 1967 by J. Grant Stevenson publisher, Provo, UT.
Senator John Tipton was the son of Joshua Tipton and grandson of Mordecai Tipton. He was the nephew of William Tipton of Montgomery Co., TN. He was the newphew or great nephew, of Thomas Tipton who when one hundred years old made application for a pension referred to his nephew, U.S. Senator John Tipton, and to his brother William Tipton of Montgomery Co., KY. Joshua Titpon was killed by the Indians at Pigeon Creek on April 18, 1793.
In 1807, John Tipton, son of Josuha, settled in Harrison Co., IN at what was known as Brinley's Ferry. His two sisters, half brother and mother accompanied him. He acquired fifty acres by splitting rails. He joined the militia and became a member of Captain Spencer's Yellow Jackets. He was made the Ensign in the Tippecanoe campaign and on the death of the company commander he was promoted to command his company.
In the course of time he was called upon to conduct compaigns against maurauding Indians. He commanded at Fort Vallonia. On March 23, 1813 he and his company set out to repel a band of marauding Indians. As Tipton;s men approached, the Indians fled on a raft across White River to an island. Tipton divided his men, surprised the Indians killing one and shooting others in teh water. In the course of this battle Tipton had commanded absolute silence. One big talkative fellow insisted on talking as he pleased. Tipton disarmed him, tied him to a tree while bullets flew all around, and so, enforced disipline. To this day the scene of this battle is known as Tipton's Island.
On April 24, 1813 John Tipton addressed the following letter to acting Govenor Gibson:
"Since I have had command of the militia stationed on the frontier of Harrison and Clark counties, there has been much mischief done in those counties, of which I have made a correct report to Col. Robert M. Evans, believing it his duty to make report to you. On the 18th of March one man was killed and three wounded near this place (Vallonia). At that time I was not here. On my return I took twenty nine men and went up Driftwood twenty five miles. I met a party of Indians on an island in the river, a smart skirmish took place; and in twenty minutes I defeated them; killed one dead on the ground and saw some sink in the river; and I believe all taht made their escape by swimming the river, if any done so, lost their guns. I lost no men killed or wounded. On the 16th instant two men were killed and one wounded eight miles southwest of this place, and five horses stolen. I immediately took thirty one men and followed them three days, notwithstanding we had five large creeks to raft, and many more to wade waist deep, and every day heavy rain. The third day I directed my spies to march slow (as my horses were much fatigues) and not try to overtake them until night. But contrary to my orders they came up with one who had stopped to fix his pack and fired on him. From his motions they think him mortally wounded, as he fell, but raised and run away. They all left their horses and other plunder; and the ground being hilly we could not catch them, as they were on high hills and we were in a deep hollow except the spies. Had it not been for my orders being disobeyed, I would certainly have killed them all at their camp teh ensuing night. On their way out they passed the Saline Salt Creek, and there took an old trail leading direct to the Delaware towns; and while the Government is supporting one part of that tribe the other is murdering our citizens."
"It is much to be desired that those rascals of whatever tribe they be, harboring about those towns should be routed, which could be done with one hundred men in seven days. If there is not effective measures taken to guard this place the whole of Clark and Harrison Counties will break. It is rumored that when the militia come out the rangers will be dismissed. If so our case is a dangerous one as it is hard for mounted men to range through the swamps and backwater of Driftwood and Musctituck rivers as they have been, most of the season, more then a mile wide, by reason of low marshy bottoms that overflow, and many times three or four miles wide. They (the Indians) come in and secret themselves on some high ground surrounded with water, and by help of bark canoes come in and do mischief, and until I came out could not be found. Since I came ouit they have made two attempts to take off the horses. The first time on the 12th instant, I took all their horses but one; the last I tok all and followed them with footmen. The last time we lived three days on a little venison, without bread or salt; and I believe if there are to be rangers there should be spies of young and hardy footmen who could lay and scout through the swamps and thickets like the Indians do, and then we'll be secure, not else. I have been constantly out for the last eight days; have seen much signs of Indians, such as camps where they have lain, killed hogs and cattle to live on, and made many canoes to approach our settlements; and I am concious if you had not ordered out the additional companies and made those excellent arrangements of the 9th of February, the whole frontier would have been murdered ere now. The citizens are now living between hope and despair waiting to know their doom."This letter appears in HISTORY of FREEMASONRY in Indiana by Daniel Mc Donald, Indianapolis, 1898.
During the first half of the year, 1813, Tipton took part in several expeditions against the Indians. It will be recalled taht Tecumpseh, the Indian Chief had worked out an alliance with the British. This accounted in great measure for Indian hostility in Indiana. At the declaration of peace ending the War of 1812, President Monroe promoted John Tipton to the rank of brigadier general.
With the wars behind him, General John Tipton returned to Harrison Co. In the course of time he held the following offices.
1) Sheriff of Harrison Co., 1816-1819
2) Member of Commission to locate state capital, Jan 11, 1820.
3) Started on his mission with Govenor Jennings, Jan., 11, 1820.
4) Re elected to state legeslature 1821
5) On commission to fix boundary between Indiana and Chicago, 1822.
6) Appointed general agent for Pottawatomie and Miami Indians by President Monroe. He then moved to Ft. Wayne, 1823.On the death of United States Senator James Noble, Tipton's friends urged him to seek the office. He declined saying he could serve his country best as Indian agent. He did, however, at the entreaty of friends permit his name to be placed in nomination. At this time, all United States Senators were elected by the state legeslature as was provided by the United States Constitution, since amended to provide for election by popular vote. Seven ballots were taken, in the course of which, Tipton's support steadily rose from just one vote on the first ballot to fifty five on the seventh and decideing ballot.
General John Tipton took his seat in the United States Senate January 3, 1832. He was quite active in connection with the Indian affairs. He sought to encourage the Indians to settle disputes between themselves. His participation in debates is recorded in Congressional Debates VIII, pgs., 978 & 991.
Looking back on the life of General John Tipton, we recognize that he rose to public notice because he understood the ways of teh Indian and had the energy and cunning to defeat them at their own game. Settlers looked upon him as their ableprotector. He was a keen marksman, a leader among men, a man of good judgement, and with all, a pretty good student.Democrat
General Military Service ,Senator
FROM THE BOOK TIPTON FAMILY BY W. HORD TIPTON
In appearance, John was described as small featured, and of medium height. He had grey eyes and stiff sandy hair. He was a typical frontier politician, a hard-drinking, hard-hitting, Indian fighter, and an adroit land speculator. He died a very wealthy man and was buried with the Military rites of the Masonic Order.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF NOTABLE AMERICANS: VOLUME X Tipton, Thomas Warren
TIPTON, John, Senator, was born in Sevier County, Tenn., Aug. 14, 1786; son of Joshua Tipton who was massacred by the Indians, April 18, 1793. He received a limited education, and became prominent as an Indian fighter, and in 1807 he removed with his family to Harrison County, Ind., where he engaged in farming. He was largely instrumental in freeing the district of the counterfeiters and horse thieves, by whom it was overrun, and in 1809 he joined the company of Yellow Jackets, and served as ensign in the battle of Tippecanoe where on the death of the captain and both lieutenants he succeeded to the command of the company. He was appointed brigadier-general of state militia; was sheriff of Harrison county, 1815-19, and was a representative in the state legislature, 1819-23. He was a member of the board of commissioners appointed in 1820, to select the site for a new capital for Indiana, and described in a journal his search for a locality and the final choosing of Fall Creek. In March, 1823, he was appointed U.S. Indian agent for the Pottawattamie and Miami tribes. He was elected U.S. Senator to succeed Robert Hanna (q.v.), taking his seat. Jan. 3, 1832, and was re-elected for a full term expiring March 3, 1839. He purchased extensive tracts of land in Indiana, and gave the site for the city of Columbus, which for a time was known as Tiptonia. He died in Logansport, Ind., April 5, 1839.
FAMILY TREE MAKER CD VOLUME 18, TREE #1918
General and Senator from Indiana.
John was a general in the United States Army, because of his father's death at the hands of Cherokees and the general terror he experienced as a young boy, John Tipton was born an Indian hater. Further examination of his dealings with the Indians as federal agent, does not totally support that claim. He pursued Indian War parties in his early days and lamented in his writings when they escaped. Although he may have at times taken monetary advantage of his position as commissioner of Indian affairs through land dealings and the appointment of friends and relatives to lucrative jobs, he was neither better nor worse than those who served at the time in similar positions. Paul Wallace Gates, Cornell University historian, said in his introduction to "The Tipton Papers," "Rugged, fearless, a hard fighter and a warm friend. Tipton left an indelible mark on the state which had so signally honored him. Donor of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe, the memories of which he ever cherished, founder and first citizen of Logansport, friend of Indian Chiefs, yet supporter of frontier demands for the removal of the red man; framer of reform legislation for Indian welfare; advocate of internal improvements and careful guardian of Indiana's interests in the national capital, all this might have been placed on his tombstone."
As a minor officer under General William Henry Harrison, Tipton won his first prominence at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He rose rapidly to the rank of brigadier general in the Indiana militia and was later a general in the United States Army, United States commissioner of Indian affairs and a United States senator from Indiana. As a member of the Indiana legislature, he was on the committee that selected Indianapolis as the capital of the state and was on the commission that drew the boundary between Indiana and Illinois from Vincesses to Lake Michigan. He also founded the cities of Columbus (Orignally Tiptonia) and Loganspport.
John's first wife was Martha Jennie Shields, his first cousin and daughter of John Shields, who participated in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His second wife, Matilda Spencer, was the daughter of a close friend, Spier Spencer.
Captain John Tipton's Company of Mounted Militia, 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia was ordered into service to repel an invasion of Indians on Clark county, Indiana during the War of 1812. Included in his company were Joseph Shields, ensign; Benjamin Shields, sergeant; Joshua Shields, corporal; Jesse Shields, private; and Nathan Veatch, private. The Shieldses were probably all uncles of John Tipton, and Nathan Veatch was probably the brother of Mary and Martha Veatch.
John Tipton (1786-1839) of Logansport, Ind. Born in Tennessee. Member of Indiana state house of representatives, 1819; U.S. Senator from Indiana, 1832-39. Interment at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Tipton County, Ind. is named for him.----------------------------------------------------------------- ------
TIPTON, John, 1786-1839----------------------------------------------------------------- ------
Years of Service: 1832-1837; 1837-1839
Party: Jacksonian; DemocratTIPTON, John, a Senator from Indiana; born near Sevierville, Sevier County, Tenn., August 14, 1786; received a limited schooling; moved to Harrison County, Ind., in 1807 and engaged in agricultural pursuits; served with the 'Yellow Jackets' in the Tippecanoe campaign and subsequently attained the rank of brigadier general of militia; sheriff of Harrison County, Ind., 1816-1819; member, State house of representatives 1819-1823; one of the commissioners to select a site for a new capital for Indiana in 1820; commissioner to determine the boundary line between Indiana and Illinois 1821; appointed United States Indian agent for the Pottawatamie and Miami tribes 1823; laid out the city of Logansport, Ind., in 1828; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate on December 9, 1831, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Noble; reelected in 1832 and served from January 3, 1832, to March 3, 1839; due to poor health declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1838; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-fifth Congress), Committee on Indian Affairs (Twenty-fifth Congress); died in Logansport, Cass County, Ind., on April 5, 1839; interment in Mount Hope Cemetery.
Bibliography
American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Blackburn, Glen A. 'The Papers of John Tipton.' Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1928; Robertson, Nellie and Dorothy Riker, eds. The John Tipton Papers. 3 vols. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1942.
Tipton Portrait Sells for $46,000
by Elizabeth JohnsonThere was a certain bit of irony surrounding the Gen. John Tipton portrait that sold for $46,000 (no premium) at a Doug Davies auction on June 12 in Lafayette, Indiana. The 50" x 40" oil on canvas was the work of George Winter, a pioneer artist noted for his depictions of Native Americans. It's rather incongruous that the artist who did so much to provide us with an understanding of Indian life along the Wabash River valley would be called upon to render the portrait of a soldier/politician instrumental in removing those same people from the state.
But first things first. The unsigned portrait was consigned to the sale by the Tipton Masonic Lodge #33 of Logansport, Indiana, of which Tipton was a charter member in 1828. The lodge took on Tipton's name after his death, commemorating the man who was once their Worthy Master as well as Grand Master of the state.
After Tipton's death in April 1839, the Logansport lodge commissioned Winter to paint a portrait of Tipton. The final work was based on a small watercolor sketch made by Winter the morning after Tipton's death.
Following its completion in 1839, the portrait was hung in the lodge, where it remained until this year. In an effort to raise money for a new facility, the lodge chose to auction the painting and replace it with a color photo of the same size.
The fact that the piece was a period portrait of Tipton would have been enough to draw serious interest from a number of collectors and Indiana institutions. Tipton, who came to Indiana from Tennessee, fought with future President William Henry Harrison against a confederation of Indians on November 7, 1811, at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He commanded rangers in the War of 1812, served as Harrison County Sheriff and as a member of the state legislature, was appointed in 1823 by President James Monroe to be Indian Agent for the Potawatomi and Miami Indian tribes, and was Indiana's U.S. Senator from 1831 until 1839.
Tipton's feelings toward the Indians were made clear in a letter to Gov. Gibson on April 24, 1813. Then a major, Tipton wrote, "Since I have had command of the militia stationed on the frontiers of Harrison and Clark counties, there has been much mischief done by Indians in those counties...It is much to be designed that those rascals, of whatever tribe they be, harboring about those towns, should be routed, which could be done, with one hundred mounted men, in seven days...."
In addition to Tipton's significant historical role, the portrait was a remarkable find due to the involvement of Winter, whose works seldom come onto the market. Born in England, Winter emigrated to the United States in 1830, working primarily as a portrait painter. In 1837, while living in Middletown, Ohio, he decided to go west after hearing of the impending removal of the Potawatomi Indians from their Wabash valley reservations. He wrote that "the enthusiasm of adventure and love of the romantic" led him to the Logansport area "for the purpose (before I should return East) of seeing and learning something of the Indians and exercising the pencil in this direction."
During the late 1830's and early 1840's, Winter completed numerous paintings and sketches, a mixture of both portraits and camp scenes of the Potawatomi and Miami Indians. Although the quality of his work has at times been called into question, Winter's depictions of Indian costumes and daily life are unsurpassed. His fascination with his subjects was instrumental in creating a visual history of the same people Tipton once fought against.
When the portrait of Tipton was auctioned in June, the institutions that had previously expressed an interest in the piece were relegated to the role of observers as two private collectors vied for the painting. The winner at $46,000 was Dennis Longmire, a former Indiana resident now living in Texas. Although he also deals in antiques, Longmire plans to keep the painting. As it turns out, Gen. Tipton is Longmire's great-great-great-grandfather.
Longmire learned of his genealogical link to Tipton years ago while researching a large horse weathervane from a barn on the Tipton family's estate. He bought the weathervane when the family wanted to sell the piece but didn't want to risk putting it in an auction. At the time of that purchase, Longmire did not know of the family connection. As for the portrait of Tipton, Longmire was well aware of the family ties, a factor that obviously affected the final selling price.
---Maine Antique Digest, 1996
Tipton County History
Pioneers entering Tipton County during the early 1800's found that Indians from the Miami, Delaware and Pottowatomie tribes used the swampy prairies and hardwood forests of the area as a shared hunting ground. Although the Indians may well have resented the entry of white settlers into the area, there is no record of any battle between settlers and Native Americans having ever taken place on the soil of Tipton County.An 1826 treaty with the Indians ceded all of the Northwest portion of Indiana to the government, and established what is now Howard and Tipton Counties as the "Miami Reserve." From 1823 until 1838, the lands within the Reserve were purchased from the Indians, at which point the remaining residents of the Reserve were "escorted" to their new homes west of the Mississippi.
John Tipton, namesake of the City and County of Tipton, was a native of Tennessee, moving to Harrison County, Indiana with his family in 1807 at the age of 11. He joined a militia group known as the "Yellow Jackets" in 1809, and took part in the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811. After the battle, Ensign Tipton was elected to take the place of his commanding officer, Captain Spencer, who had fallen during the battle. He was eventually promoted to Brigadier General. Tipton held many civic offices, serving as Justice of the Peace in Harrison County at the age of 25, and at age 30 served two terms as Harrison County Sheriff. He was elected to the State Legislature, where he served two terms as Representative, serving on the Commission which selected Indianapolis as the site for the new State Capitol. He later served on a commission established to set the boundary line between Indiana and Illinois.
Tipton County was organized and named after General John Tipton by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana on January 15, 1844. Samuel King donated 100 acres of his property to the County for purposes of establishing a county seat. Pioneers discovered that the area was a harsh place to live, with lands covered in dense forest canopy and malarial swamps offering only sparse amounts of land near creek banks fit for farming. Efforts to clear woodlands and build roads was hampered by the fact that only one gravel pit could be found to supply the needed aggregate. Many of the pioneers who came to Tipton County emigrated from southern Indiana, adding to immigrants from Germany, Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, England and France. Settlers with an urge to "push West" came to Indiana from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, the Carolinas and Kentucky, making their way to the swampy wilderness of Tipton County.
Indian agent for the Pottawottomies and Miamis; laid out Logansport, Ind.; and was U.S. senator from Indiana, 1832-1839.
He married Miss Shields, daughter of his mother's brother, John Shields, gunsmith and scout of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The last's wife sister of Hugh Lawson White, U.S. senator from Tennessee and candidate for President. John and Martha Shields were cousins.
________________________________________________ __________John had an earlier marriage abt 1807 and was divorced in 1818
Martha Jeannette (Jennie) SHIELDS
John A. Shields refers to Joshua Tipton's first wife as Jennie. Later data indicate her name was Martha. Bill Navey also refers to her as Jennie.
John TIPTON and Jeanette were divorced in 1810.
Died young
From the book TIPTON FAMILY BY W. HORD TIPTON
In appearance, John was described as small featured, and of medium height. He had grey eyes and stiff sandy hair. He was a typical frontier politician, a hard-drinking, hard-hitting, Indian fighter, an adroit land speculator. He died a very wealthy man and was buried with the Military rites of the Masonic Order.
The Twentieth Century Biographical History of Notable Americans: Volume X, TIPTON, Thomas Warren.
TIPTON, John, Senator, was born in Sevier Co., TN, 14 Aug 1786. Son of Joshua Tipton who was massacred by the Indians, 18 April 1793. He received a limited education, and became prominent as an Indian fighter, and in 1807 he removed with his family to Harrison Co., IN, where he engaged in farming. He was largely instrumental in freeing the district of counterfeiters and horse theives, by whom it was overrun, and in 1809 he joined the company of Yellow Jackets, and served as ensign in the battle of Tippecanoe where on the death of captain and both lieutenants he succeeded to the command of the company. He was appointed in 1820, to select the site for the new capital for Indiana, and described in a journal his search for a locality and the final choosing of Fall Creek. In March, 1923, he was appointed US Indian Agent for the Pottawattamie and Miami tribes. He was elected US Senator to succed Robert Hanna (q.v.), taking his seat, 31 Jan 1832, and was re-elected for a full term expiring 3 March 1839. He purchased extensive tracts of land in Indiana, and gave the site for the city of Columbus, which for a time was known as Tiptonia. He died in Logansport, IN, 5 April 1839.
FAMILY TREE MAKER CD VOL 18, Tree #1918
General and Senator from Indiana
John was a general in the US Army, because of his father's death at the hand of Cherokees and the general terror he experienced as a young boy, John Tipton was born an Indian hater. Further examination of his dealings with the Indians as federal agent, does not totally support that claim. He pursude Indian War parties in his early days and lamented in his writings when they escaped. Although he may have at times taken monetary advantage of his position as commisioner of Indian Affairs through land dealings and hte appointment of friends and relatives to lucrative jobs, he was neither better nor worse than those who served at the time in similar positions. Paul Wallace Gates, Cornell University historian, said in his introduction to "The Tipton Papers," "Rugged, fearless, a hard fighter and a warm friend. Tipton left an indelible mark on the state which had so significantly honored him. Donor of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe, the memories of which he ever cherished, founder and first citizen of Logansport, friend of Indian Chiefs, yet supporter of frontier demands for the removal of the red man; framer of reform n the national capital, all this might have been placed on his tombstone."
As a minor officer under General William Henry Harrison, Tipton won his first promotion at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He rose rapidly to the rank of Brigadier General in the Indian militia and was later a general in the US Army, United States Commisioner of Indian Affairs and a US Senator from Indiana. As a member of the Indiana Legislature, he was on the committee that selected Indianapolis as teh capital of the state and was on the commision that drew the boundary between Indiana and Illinois from Vincesses to Lake Michigan. He also founded the cities of Columbus (Originally Tiptonia) and Logansport.
John's first wife was Martha Jane SHEILDS, his first cousin and daughter of John SHIELDS, who participated in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His second wife, Matilda Spencer, was the daughter of a close friend, Spier Spencer.
Captain John Tipton's Company of Mounted Militia, 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia, was ordered into service to repel an invasion of Indians on Clark County, Indiana during the War of 1813. Included in his company were Joseph SHIELDS, ensign; Benjamin SHIELDS, sergent; Joshua SHIELDS, corporal; Jesse SHIELDS, private; and Nathan Veatch, private. The SHIELDS were probably all uncles of John Tipton, and Nathan Veatch was probably the brother of Mary and Martha Veatch. (Tipton.FTW)
John TIPTON (1786-1839) of Logansport, IN. Born in TN. Member of the Indiana State House of Representatives, 1819; US Senator from Indiana, 1832-1839. Internment at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Tipton Co., IN is named for him.
TIPTON, JOHN 1786-1839
Years of Service: 1832-1837; 1837-1839
Party: Jacksonian DemocratTIPTON, John, a Senator from Indiana; born near Sevierville, Sevier Co, TN, 14 Aug 1786; received a limited schooling; moved to Harrison Co., IN, in 1807 and engaged in agricultural pursuits; served with the "Yellow Jackets" in the Tippecanoe campaign and subsequently attained the rank of brigadier general of the Militia; sherriff of Harrison Co., IN, 1816-1819; member of the House of Representatives 1819-1823; one of the commissioners to select a site for a new capital for Indiana in 1820; commissioner to determine the boundary line between Indiana and Illinois 1821. Appointed US Indian agent for the Pottawatamie and Miami tribes 1823; laid out the city of Logansport, IN, in 1828; elected as a Democrat to the US Senate on 9 Dec 1831, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of James Noble; reelected in 1832 and served from 3 January 1832 to 3 March 1839; due to poor heath he declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1838; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-Fifth Congress), Committee on Indian Affairs (Twenty-Fifth Congress); died in Logansport, Cass Co, IN, on 5 April 1839; interment in Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Biography
American National Biography, Dictionary of American Biography; Blackburn, Glen A. "The Papers of John Tipton." Dr. D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1928; Robertson, Nellie and Dorothy Riker, eds. The John Tipton Papers. 3 Volumes, Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1942.
TIPTON PORTRAIT SELLS FOR $46,000
by Elizabeth Johnson
There as a certain bit of irony surrounding the Gen. John Tipton portrait that sold for $46,000 (no premium) at a Doug Davies auction on 12 June in Lafayette, Indiana. The 50" by 40" oil on canvas was the work of Geortge Winter, a pioneer artist noted for his depictions of Native Americans. It's rather incongruous that the artist who did so mcuh to provide us with an understanding of Indian life along the Wabash River Valley, would be called upon to render a portrait of a soldier/politician instrumental in removing those same people from the state.But first things first. The unsigned portrait was consigned to the sale by the Tipton Masonic Lodge #33 of Logansport, Indiana, of which Tipton was a charter member in 1828. The lodge took on Tipton's name after his death, commemorating the man who was once their Worthy Master as well as Grand Master of the state.
After Tipton's death in April 1839, the Logansport lodge commissioned Winter to paint a portrait of Tipton. The final work was based on a small water color sketch made by Winter the morning after Tipton's death.
Following it's completetion in 1839, the portrait was hung in the lodge, where it remained until this year. In an effort to raise money for a new facility, the lodge chose to auction the painting and replace it with a color photo of the same size.
The fact that the piece was a period portrait of Tipton would have been enough to draw serious interest from a number of collectors and Indiana institutions. Tipton, who came to Indiana from Tennessee, fought with future President, William Henry Harrison against a confederation of Indians on 7 November 1811, at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He commanded rangers in the War of 1812, served as Harrison County Sherriff and as a member of the state legislature, was appointed in 1823 by President James Monroe to be Indian Agent for the Potawatomi and Miami Indian tribes, and was Indiana's first US Senator from 1831 until 1839.
Tipton's feelings toward the Indians were made clear in a letter to Gov. Gibson on 24 April 1813. Then a major, Tipton wrote, "Since I have had command of the militia stationed on the frontiers of Harrison and Clark counties, there has been much mischief done by Indians in those counties. It is much to be designed that those rascals, of whatever tribe they be, harboring about those towns, should be routed, which could be done, with one hundred mounted men in seven days...."
In addition to Tipton;s significant historical role, the portrait was a remarkable find due to the involvement of Winters, whose works seldom come onto the market. Born in England, Winters emigrated to the US in 1830, working primarily as a portrait painter. In 1837, while living in Middletown, OH, he decided to go west after hearing of the impending removal of the Potawatomi Indians from their Wabash Valley Reservations. He wrote that "the enthusiasm of adventure and love of the romantic" led him to the Logansport area "for the purpose (before I should return East) of seeing and learning something of the Indians and exercising the pencil in this direction."
During the late 1830's and early 1840's, Winter completed numerous paintings and sketches, a mixture of both portraits and camp scenes of Potawatomi and Miami Indians. Although the quality of his work has at times been called into question, Winter's depiction of Indian costumes and daily life are unsurpassed. His fascination with his subjects was instrumental in creating a visual history of the same people Tipton once fought against.
When the portrait of Tipton was auctioned in June, the institution that had previously expressed an interest in teh piece were relegated to the role of observers as two private collectors vied for the painting. The winner at $46,000 was Dennis Longmire, a former Indiana resident now living in Texas. Although he also deals in antiques, Longmire plans to keep the painting As it turns out, General Tipton is Longmire's great-great-great grandfather.
Longmire learned of his genealogical link to Tipton years ago while researchign a large horse weathervane from a barn on the Tipton Family estate. He bought the weathervane when the family wanted to sell the piece but didn't want to risk putting it in an auction. At the time of that purchase, Longmire did not know of the family connection. As for the portrait of Tipton, Longmire was well aware of the family ties, a factor that obviously affected the final selling price.
--- Maine Antique Digest, 1996
Tipton County History
Pioneers entering Tipton County during the early 1800's found that the Indians from the Miami, Delaware and Pottowatomie Tribes used the swampy prairies and hardwood forests of the area as a shared hunting ground. Although the Indians may well have resented the entry of white settlers into the area, there is no record of any battle bewteen settlers and Native Americans having ever taken place on the soil of Tipton County.An 1826 treaty with the Indians ceded all the Northwest Portion of Indiana to the government, and established what is now Howard and Tipton Counties as the "Miami Reserve". From 1823 until 1838, the lands within the Reserve were purchased from the Indians, at which point the remaining residents of hte Reserve were "escorted" to their new homes west of the Mississippi.
John Tipton, namesake of the City and County of Tipton, was a native of Tennessee, moving to Harrison Co., IN with his family in 1807 at the age of 11. He joined a militia group known as the "Yellow Jackets" in 1809, and took part in the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811. After the battle, Ensign Tipton was elected to take the place of his commanding officer, Captain Spencer, who had fallen during the battle. He was eventually promoted to Brigadier General. Tipton held many civic offices, serving as justice of the Peace in Harrison Co. at the age of 25, and at the age of 30, served two terms as Harrison Co. Sheriff. He was elected to the State Legislature, where he served two terms as Representative, servign on the Commission which selected Indianapolis as the site for the new State Capitol. He later served on a commission established to set the boundary lines between Indiana and Illinois.
Tipton County was organized and named after General John Tipton by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana on January 15, 1844. Samuel King donated 100 acres of his property to the County for purposes of establishing a county seat. Pioneers discovered that the area was a harsh place to live, with lands covered in dense forest canopy and malarial swamps, offering only sparse amounts of land near creek banks fit for farming. Efforts to clear woodlands and build roads was hampered by the fact that only one gravel pit could be found to supply the needed agrigate. Many of the Pioneers who came to Tipton County emigrated from southern Indiana, adding to immigrants from Germany, Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, England and France. Settlers with an urge to "Push West" came to Indiana from Ohio, Pennsuylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, the Carolinas and Kentucky, making their way to the swampy wilderness of Tipton County.
Indian agent for the Pottawottomies and Miamis; laid ouit Logansport, IN; and was a US Sentor from Indiana, 1832-1839.
He married Miss Shields, daughter of his mother's brother, John SHIELDS, gunsmith and scout of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The last's wife sister of Hugh Lawson White, US Senator from Tennessee and candidate for President. John and Martha SHIELDS were cousins.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
John had an earlier marriage about 1807 and was divorced in 18818.SHIELDS FAMILY HISTORY by John Arthur SHIELDS, 1917, pg. 25.
John Tipton's first wife as his cousin, Jennie Shields, generally thought to have been the only daughter of John SHIELDS, the explorer; of this we have no conclusive evidence. The writer has assumed it to be the case. They had two sons, one whose name is not known, the other named Spier Shields Tipton, who graduated from West Point, was a captain of dragoons in the Mexican War, and later was commander of the Indiana troops.
Tipton's second wife was Matilda Spencer, daughter of his old friend Spier Spencer. Three children were born of this union. George lived and died in Logansport, Indiana. John graduated from West Point and entered the Army, but he died while in California just before the outbreak of the Civil War. Harriet married Thomas S. Du Pont and settled in Oregon, where she died. Several of General Tipton's descendants now live in Loganport and Fort Wayne.
John Tipton died April 5, 1839, and was buried with military honors and in the rites of the Masonic Order. The original of his only protrait hangs in the Masonic Lodge rooms at Logansport, of which Lodge he was one of the founders and for many years a leading member.John Shields, only son of Jeannette Shields and Joshua Tipton, married his cousin, Jeannette Shields, dau. of John Shields.
General and Senator from Indiana.
John was a general in the United States Army, a United States senator, United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, grand master of the Grand Masonic Lodge of the Northwest Territory and founder of Columbus, Logansport and other cities in Indiana. He surveyed and platted the city of Indianapolis and established the boundary between Indiana and Illinois.
John Arthur Shields said that, because of his father's death at the hands of the Cherokees and the general terror he experienced as a young boy, John Tipton was a born Indian hater. Further examination of his dealings with the Indians as federal Indian agent does not totally support that claim. He pursued Indian war parties in his early days and lamented in his writings when they escaped. Although he may have at times taken monetary advantage of his position as commissioner of Indian affairs through land dealings and the appointment of friends and relatives to lucrative jobs, he was neither better nor wore than those who served at the time in like positions. Paul Wallace Gates, Cornell University historian, said in his introduction to "The Tipton Papers," "Rugged, fearless, a hard fighter and a warm friend, Tipton left an indelible mark on the state which had so signally honored him. Donor of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe, the memories of which he ever cherished, founder and first citizen of Logansport, friend of Indian chiefs, yet supporter of frontier demands for the removal of the red man; framer of reform legislation for Indian welfare; advocate of internal improvements and careful guardian of Indiana's interests in the national capital, all this might have been placed on his tombstone."
As a minor officer under General William Henry Harrison, Tipton won his first prominence at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He rose rapidly to the rank of brigadier general in the Indiana militia and was later a general in the United States Army, United States commissioner of Indian affairs and a United States senator from Indiana. As a member of the Indiana legislature, he was on the committee that selected Indianapolis as the capital of the state and was on the commission that drew the boundary between Indiana and Illinois from Vincennes to Lake Michigan. He also founded the cities of Columbus (originally called Tiptonia) and Logansport.
John's first wife was Martha Shields, his first cousin and daughter of John Shields, who participated in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His second wife, Matilda Spencer, was the daughter of a close friend, Spier Spencer.
Captain John Tipton's Company of Mounted Militia, 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia was ordered into service to repel an invasion of Indians on Clark County, Indiana during the War of 1812. Included in his company were Joseph Shields, ensign; Benjamin Shields, sergeant; Joshua Shields, corporal; Jesse Shields, private, and Nathan Veatch, private. The Shields were probably all uncles of John Tipton, and Nathan Veatch was probably the brother of Mary and Martha Veatch.
SUMMARY OF JOHN TIPTON'S LIFE: 1786-1839
14 August 1786--Born in Sevier County, Tennessee
1783--Father Joshua Tipton killed by Cherokees
1807--Moved to Harrison County, Indiana with mother and members of her family, notably her brother James Shields.
20 June 1811--Elected justice of the peace for Harrison County, Indiana.
7 November 1811--Elected captain of Rifle Company following Battle of Tippecanoe.
5 March 1812--Commissioned captain.
14 May 1812--Commissioned major in 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia.
4 June 1813--Commissioned lieutenant colonel in 5th Regiment.
22 April 1814--Commissioned colonel of 5th Regiment.
5 August 1816--Elected sheriff of Harrison County, Indiana.
23 May 1817--Commissioned brigadier general of Third Brigade, Indiana Militia.
July 1817--Divorced from first wife, Martha Shields.
March 1818--Appointed commissioner to relocate Warrick County, Indiana seat.
3 August 1818--Reelected sheriff.
29 December 1819--Appointed commissioner to relocate Owen County, Indiana seat.
11 January 1820--Appointed commissioner to select site for Indiana capital.
7 August 1820--Elected representative to Indiana General Assembly from Harrison County.
14 September 1820--Elected grand master of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Indiana.
3 April 1821--Appointed a commissioner to mark boundary between Indiana and Illinois.
6 August 1821--Elected representative to the General Assembly.
25 January 1822--Commissioned major general, 2d Division, Indiana Militia.
28 March 1823--Appointed Indian agent at Fort Wayne, Indiana.
22 December 1823--Appointment confirmed by United States Senate.
1825--Married Matilda Spencer, daughter of close friend Spier Spencer.
24 May 1826--Appointed commissioner to negotiate treaty with Miami and Potawatomi Indian tribes.
9 January 1828--Appointed commissioner to negotiate with the Eel River Miami tribe for the Thorntown Reserve.
April 1828--Removed the Indian agency to the Miami Reserve, opposite the mouth of the Eel River.
27 November 1828--Elected grand master of the Indiana Grand Lodge of Masons.
9 December 1831--Elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Noble.
31 December 1831--Resigned as Indian agent.
10 December 1832--Reelected to the United States Senate.
27 August 1838--Appointed by Governor David Wallace to effect the removal of the Potawatomi tribe from Indiana.
3 March 1839--Completed his term in the United States Senate.
5 April 1839--Died at his home at Logansport, Indiana.From Tipton-Hazelton-Payne-Barr Families by Ellen Rose & George H. Rose. 1967 by J. Grant Stevenson publisher, Provo, UT.
Senator John Tipton was the son of Joshua Tipton and grandson of Mordecai Tipton. He was the nephew of William Tipton of Montgomery Co., TN. He was the newphew or great nephew, of Thomas Tipton who when one hundred years old made application for a pension referred to his nephew, U.S. Senator John Tipton, and to his brother William Tipton of Montgomery Co., KY. Joshua Titpon was killed by the Indians at Pigeon Creek on April 18, 1793.
In 1807, John Tipton, son of Josuha, settled in Harrison Co., IN at what was known as Brinley's Ferry. His two sisters, half brother and mother accompanied him. He acquired fifty acres by splitting rails. He joined the militia and became a member of Captain Spencer's Yellow Jackets. He was made the Ensign in the Tippecanoe campaign and on the death of the company commander he was promoted to command his company.
In the course of time he was called upon to conduct compaigns against maurauding Indians. He commanded at Fort Vallonia. On March 23, 1813 he and his company set out to repel a band of marauding Indians. As Tipton;s men approached, the Indians fled on a raft across White River to an island. Tipton divided his men, surprised the Indians killing one and shooting others in teh water. In the course of this battle Tipton had commanded absolute silence. One big talkative fellow insisted on talking as he pleased. Tipton disarmed him, tied him to a tree while bullets flew all around, and so, enforced disipline. To this day the scene of this battle is known as Tipton's Island.
On April 24, 1813 John Tipton addressed the following letter to acting Govenor Gibson:
"Since I have had command of the militia stationed on the frontier of Harrison and Clark counties, there has been much mischief done in those counties, of which I have made a correct report to Col. Robert M. Evans, believing it his duty to make report to you. On the 18th of March one man was killed and three wounded near this place (Vallonia). At that time I was not here. On my return I took twenty nine men and went up Driftwood twenty five miles. I met a party of Indians on an island in the river, a smart skirmish took place; and in twenty minutes I defeated them; killed one dead on the ground and saw some sink in the river; and I believe all taht made their escape by swimming the river, if any done so, lost their guns. I lost no men killed or wounded. On the 16th instant two men were killed and one wounded eight miles southwest of this place, and five horses stolen. I immediately took thirty one men and followed them three days, notwithstanding we had five large creeks to raft, and many more to wade waist deep, and every day heavy rain. The third day I directed my spies to march slow (as my horses were much fatigues) and not try to overtake them until night. But contrary to my orders they came up with one who had stopped to fix his pack and fired on him. From his motions they think him mortally wounded, as he fell, but raised and run away. They all left their horses and other plunder; and the ground being hilly we could not catch them, as they were on high hills and we were in a deep hollow except the spies. Had it not been for my orders being disobeyed, I would certainly have killed them all at their camp teh ensuing night. On their way out they passed the Saline Salt Creek, and there took an old trail leading direct to the Delaware towns; and while the Government is supporting one part of that tribe the other is murdering our citizens."
"It is much to be desired that those rascals of whatever tribe they be, harboring about those towns should be routed, which could be done with one hundred men in seven days. If there is not effective measures taken to guard this place the whole of Clark and Harrison Counties will break. It is rumored that when the militia come out the rangers will be dismissed. If so our case is a dangerous one as it is hard for mounted men to range through the swamps and backwater of Driftwood and Musctituck rivers as they have been, most of the season, more then a mile wide, by reason of low marshy bottoms that overflow, and many times three or four miles wide. They (the Indians) come in and secret themselves on some high ground surrounded with water, and by help of bark canoes come in and do mischief, and until I came out could not be found. Since I came ouit they have made two attempts to take off the horses. The first time on the 12th instant, I took all their horses but one; the last I tok all and followed them with footmen. The last time we lived three days on a little venison, without bread or salt; and I believe if there are to be rangers there should be spies of young and hardy footmen who could lay and scout through the swamps and thickets like the Indians do, and then we'll be secure, not else. I have been constantly out for the last eight days; have seen much signs of Indians, such as camps where they have lain, killed hogs and cattle to live on, and made many canoes to approach our settlements; and I am concious if you had not ordered out the additional companies and made those excellent arrangements of the 9th of February, the whole frontier would have been murdered ere now. The citizens are now living between hope and despair waiting to know their doom."This letter appears in HISTORY of FREEMASONRY in Indiana by Daniel Mc Donald, Indianapolis, 1898.
During the first half of the year, 1813, Tipton took part in several expeditions against the Indians. It will be recalled taht Tecumpseh, the Indian Chief had worked out an alliance with the British. This accounted in great measure for Indian hostility in Indiana. At the declaration of peace ending the War of 1812, President Monroe promoted John Tipton to the rank of brigadier general.
With the wars behind him, General John Tipton returned to Harrison Co. In the course of time he held the following offices.
1) Sheriff of Harrison Co., 1816-1819
2) Member of Commission to locate state capital, Jan 11, 1820.
3) Started on his mission with Govenor Jennings, Jan., 11, 1820.
4) Re elected to state legeslature 1821
5) On commission to fix boundary between Indiana and Chicago, 1822.
6) Appointed general agent for Pottawatomie and Miami Indians by President Monroe. He then moved to Ft. Wayne, 1823.On the death of United States Senator James Noble, Tipton's friends urged him to seek the office. He declined saying he could serve his country best as Indian agent. He did, however, at the entreaty of friends permit his name to be placed in nomination. At this time, all United States Senators were elected by the state legeslature as was provided by the United States Constitution, since amended to provide for election by popular vote. Seven ballots were taken, in the course of which, Tipton's support steadily rose from just one vote on the first ballot to fifty five on the seventh and decideing ballot.
General John Tipton took his seat in the United States Senate January 3, 1832. He was quite active in connection with the Indian affairs. He sought to encourage the Indians to settle disputes between themselves. His participation in debates is recorded in Congressional Debates VIII, pgs., 978 & 991.
Looking back on the life of General John Tipton, we recognize that he rose to public notice because he understood the ways of teh Indian and had the energy and cunning to defeat them at their own game. Settlers looked upon him as their ableprotector. He was a keen marksman, a leader among men, a man of good judgement, and with all, a pretty good student.Democrat
General Military Service ,Senator
FROM THE BOOK TIPTON FAMILY BY W. HORD TIPTON
In appearance, John was described as small featured, and of medium height. He had grey eyes and stiff sandy hair. He was a typical frontier politician, a hard-drinking, hard-hitting, Indian fighter, and an adroit land speculator. He died a very wealthy man and was buried with the Military rites of the Masonic Order.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF NOTABLE AMERICANS: VOLUME X Tipton, Thomas Warren
TIPTON, John, Senator, was born in Sevier County, Tenn., Aug. 14, 1786; son of Joshua Tipton who was massacred by the Indians, April 18, 1793. He received a limited education, and became prominent as an Indian fighter, and in 1807 he removed with his family to Harrison County, Ind., where he engaged in farming. He was largely instrumental in freeing the district of the counterfeiters and horse thieves, by whom it was overrun, and in 1809 he joined the company of Yellow Jackets, and served as ensign in the battle of Tippecanoe where on the death of the captain and both lieutenants he succeeded to the command of the company. He was appointed brigadier-general of state militia; was sheriff of Harrison county, 1815-19, and was a representative in the state legislature, 1819-23. He was a member of the board of commissioners appointed in 1820, to select the site for a new capital for Indiana, and described in a journal his search for a locality and the final choosing of Fall Creek. In March, 1823, he was appointed U.S. Indian agent for the Pottawattamie and Miami tribes. He was elected U.S. Senator to succeed Robert Hanna (q.v.), taking his seat. Jan. 3, 1832, and was re-elected for a full term expiring March 3, 1839. He purchased extensive tracts of land in Indiana, and gave the site for the city of Columbus, which for a time was known as Tiptonia. He died in Logansport, Ind., April 5, 1839.
FAMILY TREE MAKER CD VOLUME 18, TREE #1918
General and Senator from Indiana.
John was a general in the United States Army, because of his father's death at the hands of Cherokees and the general terror he experienced as a young boy, John Tipton was born an Indian hater. Further examination of his dealings with the Indians as federal agent, does not totally support that claim. He pursued Indian War parties in his early days and lamented in his writings when they escaped. Although he may have at times taken monetary advantage of his position as commissioner of Indian affairs through land dealings and the appointment of friends and relatives to lucrative jobs, he was neither better nor worse than those who served at the time in similar positions. Paul Wallace Gates, Cornell University historian, said in his introduction to "The Tipton Papers," "Rugged, fearless, a hard fighter and a warm friend. Tipton left an indelible mark on the state which had so signally honored him. Donor of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe, the memories of which he ever cherished, founder and first citizen of Logansport, friend of Indian Chiefs, yet supporter of frontier demands for the removal of the red man; framer of reform legislation for Indian welfare; advocate of internal improvements and careful guardian of Indiana's interests in the national capital, all this might have been placed on his tombstone."
As a minor officer under General William Henry Harrison, Tipton won his first prominence at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He rose rapidly to the rank of brigadier general in the Indiana militia and was later a general in the United States Army, United States commissioner of Indian affairs and a United States senator from Indiana. As a member of the Indiana legislature, he was on the committee that selected Indianapolis as the capital of the state and was on the commission that drew the boundary between Indiana and Illinois from Vincesses to Lake Michigan. He also founded the cities of Columbus (Orignally Tiptonia) and Loganspport.
John's first wife was Martha Jennie Shields, his first cousin and daughter of John Shields, who participated in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His second wife, Matilda Spencer, was the daughter of a close friend, Spier Spencer.
Captain John Tipton's Company of Mounted Militia, 5th Regiment, Indiana Militia was ordered into service to repel an invasion of Indians on Clark county, Indiana during the War of 1812. Included in his company were Joseph Shields, ensign; Benjamin Shields, sergeant; Joshua Shields, corporal; Jesse Shields, private; and Nathan Veatch, private. The Shieldses were probably all uncles of John Tipton, and Nathan Veatch was probably the brother of Mary and Martha Veatch.
John Tipton (1786-1839) of Logansport, Ind. Born in Tennessee. Member of Indiana state house of representatives, 1819; U.S. Senator from Indiana, 1832-39. Interment at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Tipton County, Ind. is named for him.----------------------------------------------------------------- ------
TIPTON, John, 1786-1839----------------------------------------------------------------- ------
Years of Service: 1832-1837; 1837-1839
Party: Jacksonian; DemocratTIPTON, John, a Senator from Indiana; born near Sevierville, Sevier County, Tenn., August 14, 1786; received a limited schooling; moved to Harrison County, Ind., in 1807 and engaged in agricultural pursuits; served with the 'Yellow Jackets' in the Tippecanoe campaign and subsequently attained the rank of brigadier general of militia; sheriff of Harrison County, Ind., 1816-1819; member, State house of representatives 1819-1823; one of the commissioners to select a site for a new capital for Indiana in 1820; commissioner to determine the boundary line between Indiana and Illinois 1821; appointed United States Indian agent for the Pottawatamie and Miami tribes 1823; laid out the city of Logansport, Ind., in 1828; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate on December 9, 1831, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James Noble; reelected in 1832 and served from January 3, 1832, to March 3, 1839; due to poor health declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1838; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-fifth Congress), Committee on Indian Affairs (Twenty-fifth Congress); died in Logansport, Cass County, Ind., on April 5, 1839; interment in Mount Hope Cemetery.
Bibliography
American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Blackburn, Glen A. 'The Papers of John Tipton.' Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1928; Robertson, Nellie and Dorothy Riker, eds. The John Tipton Papers. 3 vols. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1942.
Tipton Portrait Sells for $46,000
by Elizabeth JohnsonThere was a certain bit of irony surrounding the Gen. John Tipton portrait that sold for $46,000 (no premium) at a Doug Davies auction on June 12 in Lafayette, Indiana. The 50" x 40" oil on canvas was the work of George Winter, a pioneer artist noted for his depictions of Native Americans. It's rather incongruous that the artist who did so much to provide us with an understanding of Indian life along the Wabash River valley would be called upon to render the portrait of a soldier/politician instrumental in removing those same people from the state.
But first things first. The unsigned portrait was consigned to the sale by the Tipton Masonic Lodge #33 of Logansport, Indiana, of which Tipton was a charter member in 1828. The lodge took on Tipton's name after his death, commemorating the man who was once their Worthy Master as well as Grand Master of the state.
After Tipton's death in April 1839, the Logansport lodge commissioned Winter to paint a portrait of Tipton. The final work was based on a small watercolor sketch made by Winter the morning after Tipton's death.
Following its completion in 1839, the portrait was hung in the lodge, where it remained until this year. In an effort to raise money for a new facility, the lodge chose to auction the painting and replace it with a color photo of the same size.
The fact that the piece was a period portrait of Tipton would have been enough to draw serious interest from a number of collectors and Indiana institutions. Tipton, who came to Indiana from Tennessee, fought with future President William Henry Harrison against a confederation of Indians on November 7, 1811, at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He commanded rangers in the War of 1812, served as Harrison County Sheriff and as a member of the state legislature, was appointed in 1823 by President James Monroe to be Indian Agent for the Potawatomi and Miami Indian tribes, and was Indiana's U.S. Senator from 1831 until 1839.
Tipton's feelings toward the Indians were made clear in a letter to Gov. Gibson on April 24, 1813. Then a major, Tipton wrote, "Since I have had command of the militia stationed on the frontiers of Harrison and Clark counties, there has been much mischief done by Indians in those counties...It is much to be designed that those rascals, of whatever tribe they be, harboring about those towns, should be routed, which could be done, with one hundred mounted men, in seven days...."
In addition to Tipton's significant historical role, the portrait was a remarkable find due to the involvement of Winter, whose works seldom come onto the market. Born in England, Winter emigrated to the United States in 1830, working primarily as a portrait painter. In 1837, while living in Middletown, Ohio, he decided to go west after hearing of the impending removal of the Potawatomi Indians from their Wabash valley reservations. He wrote that "the enthusiasm of adventure and love of the romantic" led him to the Logansport area "for the purpose (before I should return East) of seeing and learning something of the Indians and exercising the pencil in this direction."
During the late 1830's and early 1840's, Winter completed numerous paintings and sketches, a mixture of both portraits and camp scenes of the Potawatomi and Miami Indians. Although the quality of his work has at times been called into question, Winter's depictions of Indian costumes and daily life are unsurpassed. His fascination with his subjects was instrumental in creating a visual history of the same people Tipton once fought against.
When the portrait of Tipton was auctioned in June, the institutions that had previously expressed an interest in the piece were relegated to the role of observers as two private collectors vied for the painting. The winner at $46,000 was Dennis Longmire, a former Indiana resident now living in Texas. Although he also deals in antiques, Longmire plans to keep the painting. As it turns out, Gen. Tipton is Longmire's great-great-great-grandfather.
Longmire learned of his genealogical link to Tipton years ago while researching a large horse weathervane from a barn on the Tipton family's estate. He bought the weathervane when the family wanted to sell the piece but didn't want to risk putting it in an auction. At the time of that purchase, Longmire did not know of the family connection. As for the portrait of Tipton, Longmire was well aware of the family ties, a factor that obviously affected the final selling price.
---Maine Antique Digest, 1996
Tipton County History
Pioneers entering Tipton County during the early 1800's found that Indians from the Miami, Delaware and Pottowatomie tribes used the swampy prairies and hardwood forests of the area as a shared hunting ground. Although the Indians may well have resented the entry of white settlers into the area, there is no record of any battle between settlers and Native Americans having ever taken place on the soil of Tipton County.An 1826 treaty with the Indians ceded all of the Northwest portion of Indiana to the government, and established what is now Howard and Tipton Counties as the "Miami Reserve." From 1823 until 1838, the lands within the Reserve were purchased from the Indians, at which point the remaining residents of the Reserve were "escorted" to their new homes west of the Mississippi.
John Tipton, namesake of the City and County of Tipton, was a native of Tennessee, moving to Harrison County, Indiana with his family in 1807 at the age of 11. He joined a militia group known as the "Yellow Jackets" in 1809, and took part in the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811. After the battle, Ensign Tipton was elected to take the place of his commanding officer, Captain Spencer, who had fallen during the battle. He was eventually promoted to Brigadier General. Tipton held many civic offices, serving as Justice of the Peace in Harrison County at the age of 25, and at age 30 served two terms as Harrison County Sheriff. He was elected to the State Legislature, where he served two terms as Representative, serving on the Commission which selected Indianapolis as the site for the new State Capitol. He later served on a commission established to set the boundary line between Indiana and Illinois.
Tipton County was organized and named after General John Tipton by an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana on January 15, 1844. Samuel King donated 100 acres of his property to the County for purposes of establishing a county seat. Pioneers discovered that the area was a harsh place to live, with lands covered in dense forest canopy and malarial swamps offering only sparse amounts of land near creek banks fit for farming. Efforts to clear woodlands and build roads was hampered by the fact that only one gravel pit could be found to supply the needed aggregate. Many of the pioneers who came to Tipton County emigrated from southern Indiana, adding to immigrants from Germany, Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, England and France. Settlers with an urge to "push West" came to Indiana from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia, the Carolinas and Kentucky, making their way to the swampy wilderness of Tipton County.
Indian agent for the Pottawottomies and Miamis; laid out Logansport, Ind.; and was U.S. senator from Indiana, 1832-1839.
He married Miss Shields, daughter of his mother's brother, John Shields, gunsmith and scout of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The last's wife sister of Hugh Lawson White, U.S. senator from Tennessee and candidate for President. John and Martha Shields were cousins.
________________________________________________ __________John had an earlier marriage abt 1807 and was divorced in 1818
Marriage may have been in MayDeath date also given as 14th instead of 5th.?
Line in Record @I6831@ (RIN 289152) from GEDCOM file not recognized:
EVEN U. S. Army, Military Academy
John graduated from West Point, he ented the Army and died in pre-Civil War days in California. There is a good reason to believe that he is the John Tipton, After whom the town of Tipton, California is named.
Educated at United States Military Academy. By James A. SHIELDS, John graduated from West Point and entered the army, but he died while in California just before the outbreak of the Civil War. The town of Tipton, California named for him.
William may have been a relative of Susan Edwards, wife of David Shields.
Birth date also given as 1793.?
Bill Navey gives Elizabeth Tipton's date of birth as 1793.
Thomas Shields, oldest child of Robert and Nancy Stockton Shields was born in 1763 (at the Ft. in Jackson Co., near now Seymour, IN.) and married Rhoda (last name not known). He was the only member of his family killed by the Indians. The story as told by our line of the family says he was killed while plowing corn on his land near the fort. Tradition from those still living in the vacinity of the fort, is that he was shot from ambush on Burch Creek while getting water in his sugar tree orchard with which to boil for sugar. His two little boys, one of whom was named Joshua, saw their father fall and the Indians rush up to scalp him. While the Indians were thus engaged, the boys, eight and ten years of age, unhitched the old blind horse fromt he sled used for hauling the sugar water and mounted the horse and started for the fort over some of the rougher country in Tenn. Only by Omnipotent power could this poor old blind horse have reached the fort without falling. Thus the lives of these two brave boys were saved, they moved to Indiana with Jeanette and family in 1807-1808.
See page 58 of SHIELDS HISTORY, 1980
Thomas SHIELDS enlisted in the Rev. Army under Gen. John Sevier. On 7 Oct. 1780, he fought at the Battle of King's Mountain, one of the most important battles of the war. After being mustered out he spent a year hunting and exploring in what is now the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. For nearly two years more he wandered through the area of the mountains returning to his father's home in Sevier County, where he was married in 1783 (Name of wife unknown). It is told that his son, Joshua, was the first white child born in what is now Sevier Co., TN., in 1785. Reports have been made that there was another son,name unknown, which probably died young since nothing can be found on this child.
In 1795, Thomas and his two small sons were boiling sap in the sugar maple orchard on Birch Creek when he was shot from ambush. Ordering his sons to run, he rolled behind a log within reach of his rifle. He shot one of the Indians before he was killed. Thomas was the only SHIELDS son killed by Indians. His death can be fixed fairly accurately by a newspaper clipping found in the Knox Gazette (Newspaper) dated 6 mar 1797.
"Just as this paper was going to press we received information that Thomas SHILEDS was killed by Indians in Sevier County. They cut his head nearly off, took out his bowells, otherwise shockingly cut and mangled him... The youth lived with his parents Robert SHIELDS an Nancy SHIELDS at the Upper Middle Creek section of the county."Oldest of the Ten Brothers. Was killed by Indians in Tennessee. John A. Shields says Thomas had descendants in Tennessee and Indiana.Judge Littell says Thomas enlisted in the Revolutionary War under General John Sevier. He fought in the Battle of King's Mountain 7 October 1780. After being mustered out of the Army, he spent a year or two hunting and exploring in what is now Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In 1795, Thomas and his two small sons were boiling sap in the sugar-maple orchard on Birch Creek when he was shot from ambush. He ordered his sons to run and rolled behind a log within reach of his rifle. He shot one Indian before being killed himself. His death was reported in the Knox Gazette of 6 March 1797: "Just as this paper was going to press, we received information that Thos. Shields was killed by Indians in Sevier County. They cut his head nearly off, took out his bowells, otherwise shockingly cut and mangled him. The youth lived with his parents, Robert and Nancy Shields, at Upper Middle Creek section of the county."
John A. Shields says in 1780, Thomas Shields visited his cousins at the Yadkin Settlement in North Carolina, intending to proceed to Daniel Boone's new town at Boonesboro, Kentucky. But, instead, he enlisted in the Revolutionary army under John Sevier. This was a loosely organized but extremely effective band of pioneer mountaineers. On 7 October 1780, he fought at the Battle of King's Mountain, where the British were repulsed and their power in the South broken.
After being mustered out of the army, he spent a year hunting and exploring in what is now Great Smoky Mountain National Park, coming out through the Valley of the Little Pigeon, which would later be his home. For nearly two years after that, he wandered through the highest mountains east of the Rockies in East Tennessee and West North Carolina, returning to his father's home, where he was married in 1783. His son Joshua was the first white child born in what is now Sevier County, Tennessee. Joshua was born in 1785.
John A. Shields says there were 12 Cherokees in the party that ambushed Thomas and his sons.
Moved to Indiana with the rest of the Shields family.
David went back to Kentucky where he bacame renowned as a boatman on the Ohio River. He later returned to Tennessee and setteled near Athens.
See SHIELDS HISTORY, pg. 61
David brought his first bride to live in the SHIELDS Fort, where he lived from 1784 until 1808. His first wife's name is unknown. They probably lived in Jefferson Co., TN as he was serving on juror duty in the August Session, 1794 and appeared as Defendant in action vs. David Black. In the May session, 1796, he appears as Defendant and "certiorari" action.
In or about 1808, he took his little family and setteld in Lousville, Jefferson Co., KY. Here he engaged in flat boating down the river to New Orleans, floating down stream and walking the long miles back. He bitterly opposed slavery and is credited with having helped scores of negroes to escape from the south. He had effective slave running organizations at several points along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and in his later years he was an associate of Levi Coffin in the Underground Rail Road. (The above information was taken from John Arthur SHIELDS, 1917) Just when he returned to the south to make his home is unknown. He died and is buried at Athens, Tennessee.
See Page 5 of SHIELDS GENEALOGY by Mary O. Derrick Coleman.
David SHIElDS, known for his size and physical strength, was commonly known as "Big Dave". Many stories of his physical stength and prowness have come down as to how he could hit as hard and dextrously with his left as with the right. Most of the SHIELDS men were six feet tall. David was born about 1766. It is not known who his first wife was. To them were born one son, Joseph, in the year 1785. His second wife was Susan Edwards, a daughter of Robert Edwards, formerly of NY. They were married in 1786, six children were born to this union.
David went to Kentucky in 1808 and settled near Louisville, engaged in freighting goods by flat boat between Cincinattie and New Orleans. His latter days were spent at Athens, Tenn. See John A. Shields History for the Descendants of David and Susan Edwards Shields.Third of the Ten Brothers.
According to John A. Shields, David Shields went to Louisville, Kentucky in 1808 and, for 40 years, operated a flatboat on the river. Was said to have many descendants there, throughout Kentucky and Tennessee and around Canton, Illinois. Buried at Athens, Tennessee.
Some accounts say he was born in Rockingham County (Harrisonburg), Virginia
John A. Shields says David was called "Big Dave." He was a powerful, large-framed man, and few men could beat him in bare-fisted fights that were popular on the frontier. Men came to Sevierville from throughout East Tennessee to challenge him, and none succeeded. In later years, his nephew James assumed the title.
He lived at the Shields Fort from 1784 until 1808 and brought the first bride to the fort. In 1808 David and his family settled at Louisville, and he engaged in flat-boating freight from Cincinnati to New Orleans, floating downstream and walking back to Louisville. He was noted for his strength and his rowing ability on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
He was bitterly opposed to slavery and is credited with helping scores of slaves escape from the South. He had effective slave-running organizations at several points along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and, in his later years, was an associate of Levi Coffin in the underground railroad. [See also the note under John Shields 1811-89.]
John A. Shields says David's second wife, Susan, was from New York. Christine Brown says David's first wife is unknown. She says they probably lived in Jefferson County, Kentucky, where David was on jury duty in the August 1794 term of court and appeared as defendant in an action by David Black. (But Jacob Edwards Shields was born 1803 in Tennessee, undoubtedly at the fort.] In about 1808, Ms. Brown says, David took his family to Louisville.
David spent his last years at Athens, Tennessee, where he died and is buried.
Susan may have been a sister to William Edwards who married Agnes Tipton, a cousin, dau. of Jeannette Tipton and Joshua Tipton. Jeannette dau. of Robert Shields and Nancy Stockton.
Christine Brown says Susan Edwards was "of New York." Some sources in the LDS Library show that Susan Edwards was born at Louisville, Kentucky. One of the same sources indicates that David Shields was born in Sevier County, Tennessee.
See pg. 2 of Shields Gen. by Margaret Coleman.
Joseph was one of persons who responded to a call to arms to protect the
people from Indian attacks in 1793. His brother in law, Joshua Tipton was
killed in an ambush, Joseph was severely wounded at the same time.
Joseph was one of the younger children. He was born in 1775 in VA. Joseph went north form Tenn. into Harrison Co., IN with is family in 1808.
Joseph was one of the younger children, 9th, born 1775. He was severely wounded by the Cherokee Indians Apr. 18, 1793, near Sevierville, Tenn. at the time his brother-in-law Joshua Tipton was killed.He went north into Harrison County, IN with the family in 1808. Six sons are mentioned, the oldest one being Nathan V. Shields, born June 1801 in Sevier Co., TN. Nathan married Pollie Onion Aug. 6, 1827. After death he married Mary Kingery, March 1835. They moved to Fulton County, IL in 1836. He, like William's son, Robert, was a wheel-wright by trade.
Other sons of Joseph were: Kinzie, Asa, Hiram, David and Jesse, Joseph died October 15th, 1856.
See pg 66 of SHIELDS HISTORY, 1980
Little is know about Joseph SHIELDS. He was severly wounded by a party of Cherokee Indians, near Sevierville, TN on 18 Apr 1793, at the time his brother in law, Joshua Tipton was killed. He lived in the vicinity of Sevier Co., until about 1808 when he removed to Indiana with the other brothers. He later settled in Harrison Co., IN. Eighth of the Ten Brothers. According to John F. Shields, had a small family.Fulton County Illinois Heritage, published 1988, says Joseph, his wife Martha and Benjamin Shields' widow put their families and belongings on a flatboat in Harrison County, Indiana in the mid-1830s and floated down the Ohio to the Mississippi, went upstream to the Mississippi, up the Illinois to the Spoon River to Woodland Township, Fulton County, Illinois. Says the Robert Shields family (the Ten Brothers) settled on the eastern slope of the Smokeys on what is now Shields Mountain near Pigeon Forge in Sevier County, Tennessee. Some members of the family were already married and had families of their own. They built a fort. Thomas was killed by Indians. Says members of the Veatch and Onion (O'Nion) families, which had married into the family, made the trip as well.
Judge Littell says Joseph was severely wounded by a party of Cherokees near Sevierville, Tennessee 18 April 1793, at the time his brother-in-law Joshua Tipton was killed. He lived in Sevier County until 1808, at which time he and his brothers moved to Indiana. He later settled in Harrison County, Indiana.
According to John A. Tipton, Joseph and Joshua Tipton were on their way to join the militia which had been summoned to repel hostile Indians. Two shots rang out from a thicket, and both men fell to the ground. Tipton was dead. Joseph's gun had fallen a few feet away from where he fell, but he was afraid to move for fear the Indians would shoot him. Thinking the two were dead, the Indians rushed in with scalping knives. Joseph sprang up and killed the Indian who was about to scalp him and then shot the other Indian before he could escape.
Joseph settled in Corydon, Indiana in 1810.
Christine Brown lists Joseph's children as Nathan V., Kinzie (m. Katie), Joseph Jr. (b. 1814 Harrison County, Indiana, m. 11 February 1836 Rebecca Miner), Asa L. (m. 1. Mary Minor, daughter of John and Mary Minor and 2. 1860 Rachel Seehorn), Hiram, David and Jesse.[v28t2460.FTW]
Information from WFT Vol. I #5770.
RECORD:
We Veitches, Veatches, Veaches, Veeches, Compiled by Laurence R. Guthrie, edited by Wanda Veatch Clark, Midstate Printing, Inc., Redmond Oregon, USA.
DEATH:
Connie Ogden.
7 Nov 97 email.