Jonathan Tipton

Evidence needed to support as son of Edward Tipton, Sr. & Amy Tipton

Disputed Origins

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tipton-63

Several genealogists have come to the conclusion that Edward Tipton and Amy Phillips were the parents of Jonathan. This Edward was born about 1617 in Pontesbury, Shropshire, England. This might fit if we assume that Jonathan was born in 1639. However, there is no indication that this Edward and Amy ever came to America. However, their son, also named Edward, did come to America. This son was born 7 Nov 1650, and was 18 when he arrived in Maryland on the ship Friendship. He returned to England in 1700.[citation needed] There is no indication that Edward, Jr, went to Jamaica. While it might be possible that Jonathan was a brother to Edward, Jr, it is highly unlikely that he would be his son.

Charles D Tipton, in his book TIPTON The First Five American Generations, discusses several of the problems with this short obituary. One of the most telling is the fact that Jamaica was under Spanish control until it was conquered by Venable in 1655. It is unlikely that an English child was born in Jamaica prior to that time. Tipton says that 1659 is a much more likely date of birth.

Disputed Wife

Wikitree speculates that 2nd wife Mary was born Tindale and widow Chilcott. See https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tindale-345

Summary

From “The Tipton Family of Washington County, Tennessee.” < link >

Jonathan Tipton, Sr.

Many details of his life are controversial.

His children included:

1. Thomas Tipton (1693)
2. William Tipton (1696),
3. Jonathan Tipton (1699),
4. John Tipton 1700, married Mary Kemp).

Jonathan settled in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

He died in Maryland in 1757.

The Maryland Gazette, Annapolis, Maryland, January 27, 1757

This article appeared in the Maryland Gazette of January 27, 1757. It says: " We are informed that the beginning of this month, died in Baltimore County, Mr. Jonathan Tipton, aged 118 years. He was born at Kingston Jamaica, which place he left while young and lived almost ever since in this Province, and had his perfect senses to the last., especially a remarkable strength of memeory. His youngest sons are reconed among the oldest men in Baltimore County."

1. JONATHAN2 TIPTON I (EDWARD1) was born 1639 in Shropshire England, and died January 21, 1757 in Maryland. He married (1) SARAH PEARCE, daughter of WILLIAM PEARCE and ELIZABETH ANDERSON. He married (2) MARY CHILCOAT December 15, 1709 in Anne Arundel County Maryland, daughter of HUMPHRY CHILCOAT and SARAH ???. She was born in Anne Arundel County Maryland, and died December 06, 1736 in Anne Arundel County Maryland.

Notes for JONATHAN TIPTON I:

Let us begin with the known progenitor of the American Tipton's, Jonathan Tipton

(1639-1757), Jonathan Tipton I, or #10 in Hord's book. He died January 21, 1757. He was an early immigrant and a large land owner, attested bymany land transactions listed on the record books of Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties.

(here included).

Remembering what has been said heretofore re: his birth i refer to the Maryland Gazette of January 27, 1757 once again.

Maryland Gazette January 27, 1757

We are informed at the beginning of this month died in Baltimore County Mr. Jonathan Tipton aged 118 years. He was born at Kingston Jamaica, which place he left while young and lived almost ever since in this province, and had perfect senses to the last, especially a remarkable strength of memory. His youngest sons are reconed to be among the oldest men in Baltimore County.

He was married at least twice and possibly 3 times (1) to Sarah Pearce, daughter of William Pearce Sr., Sarah was probably born ca. 1680. (2) His second wife was Mary Chilcoat daughter of Humphry and Sarah Chilcoat and born ??, she died December 1756. There were no children by this marriage. By his wife Sarah Pearce, Jonathan Tipton I had four sons; m. Mary 12-15-1709.

Marriage and Birth Records, Anne Arundel County Maryland.

From the Court hosue at Annapolis (1663-1856) see also

Rec. of M. Anne Arundel Co., in 1705, Ref. Warrants, Libn. Folio 426.

Page 8. No. 5 under Births.

"Thomas ye son of Jonathan Tipton and Sarah his wife. Born April ye 8th, 1693. Baptized April ye 25th, 1699."

Page 8, No. 6.

"William ye son of Jonathan Tipton, and Sarah his wife. Born July ye 27th, 1696, Baptized April ye 25th, 1699."

Page 8. No 7.

"Jonathan ye son of Jonathan Tipton, and Sarah his wife. Born March ye 25th, 1699, Baptized April ye 25th, 1699."

Ref; St James Parish Records Anne Arundel County Md.

More About JONATHAN TIPTON and MARY CHILCOAT:

Marriage: December 15, 1709, Anne Arundel County Maryland

Children of JONATHAN TIPTON and SARAH PEARCE are:

2. i. THOMAS3 TIPTON, b. April 08, 1693, Anne Arundel County Maryland; d. 1763, Baltimore Maryland.

3. ii. WILLIAM TIPTON, b. July 27, 1696, Anne Arundel County Maryland; d. May 06, 1726, Baltimore County Maryland.

4. iii. JONATHAN TIPTON II, b. March 25, 1699, Anne Arundel County Maryland; d. 1779, Maryland.

iv. JOHN TIPTON, b. 1700; m. MARY KEMP.

source: http://www.acetipton.net/tiptons01.html

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=anc...

• -------------------------
• 'Founders and Patriots of America Index By National Society of Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America
• http://books.google.com/books?id=7dGPyld17G4C&pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq...
• Pg.221
• TIPTON
• Edward (1618/20-....) m. .... (1) Elizabeth ......; ....(2) Margaret Downing MD XXXII, 171
• Jabez Murray (Nov.17, 1754-Dec. 25, 1818) m. Mary 8, 1788 Elizabeth Mitchell XXXII, 244
• John (July 6, 1726-Nov. 18, 1808) m. Feb. 8, 1747 Martha Murray XXXII, 244
• John (Aug. 15, 1730-Aug. 1813) m. 1751 Mary Butler XXXII, 170, 171
• ' Jonathan (1639-Jan. 21, 1757) (age 118 Years) m. ... Sarah Pierce MD XXXII, 244
• ----------------

Jonathan Tipton came to Maryland by way of Jamaica. He was the owner of many farms and was a trader.

In the "Book of Marriages and Deaths" in the Maryland Gazette (1727-1839) page 186, it states:

Tipton, Mr. Jonathan, died at the beginning of the month in Baltimore County, aged 118 years. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, which place he left while young, and lived almost ever since in the province. He had his perfect senses to the last, especially a remarkable strength of memory. His youngest sons are reckoned among the oldest men in the county.

1/27/1757

Jonathan's age at the time of his death is just speculation at this time. Some researchers have his date of birth as 1659.

The research on the Tipton line has only been proven through documentation beginning with Jonathan. All previous generations are just speculation at this time.

OBITUARY:

In the "Book of Marriages and Deaths" in the Maryland Gazette (1727-1839) page 186, Maryland Hall of Records building in Annapolis, it states:

Maryland Gazette: January 27, 1757

We are informed at the beginning of this month died in Baltimore County Mr. Jonathon Tipton aged 118 years. He was born in Kingston Jamaica, which place he left while young and lived almost ever since in this province, and had perfect senses to the last, especially a remarkable strength of memory. His youngest sons are reckoned to be among the oldest men in Baltimore County.

He was married at least twice and possibly 3 times to Sarah Pearce, daughter of William Pearce, second to Mary Chilcoat daughter of Humphry and Sarah Chilcoat.

All children were by 1st wife Sarah Pearce.

Ref. St. James Parish Records, Anne Arundel County, Maryland

There is much discussion as to where Jonathon was born since Kingston, Jamaica did not actually exist until 1694/95 and how he got from England to Jamaica and then to Maryland, but the most likely is that he was in the shipping business with his father, Edward and then retired to Maryland. Even though his birth date and location is questionable, Jonathan Tipton is generally recognized as the Tipton ancestor of most of the Tipton's living in America today. His descendants moved through Virginia, eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. Eventually his descendants moved throughout this great land of ours.

The preponderance of Tiptons in the United States descend from Jonathan Tipton, who settled in Anne Arundel County, maryland, some time prior to 1690. His obituary, which appeared in the January 27, 1757, edition of the Maryland Gazette, contains several apparently contradictory statements that have caused no end to head scratching and puzzlement among his descendants.

The contradictions start with the fact that Kingston, Jamaica, was not established until after the destruction of Port Royal in 1692, long after Jonathan had left the island. This contradiction can, perhaps be explained by assuming that Jonathan, as a matter of convenience, used the then-current name for the location rather than the archaic one. (Kingston, although not built exactly on the site of Port Royal, is located not far from the ruins.)

The next contradiction is jurisdictional. A 1966 letter from the librarian for the Institute of Jamaica to the writer contains the following statement:

"The English conquered Jamaica from Spain in 1655, and before that time the English Settlers were not allowed on the island, so that Jonathan Tipton could not have been born in Kingston in 1639."

This fact, coupled with the unlikely longetivity of Jonathan and the almost incredible level of activity displayed by the man as late as the 1740's leads some students of the family to believe that his reported age was in error. Evidence that this is almost certainly the case is to be found in court records of testimony about his age that Jonathan gave in open court on two separate occasions. Although this testimony contains some minor contradictions, when taken on the whole and considered in the context of history and the life of the man, it leads to the conclusion that 1659 is a more likely date for the birth for Jonathan. How then does one account for the disparity between this date and the age reported in the Maryland Gazette? One possibility is that the survivors reported Jonathan's date of birth (1659) rather than his age and that the compiler of the obituary either midread the "5" for a "3" or made a mistake in subtraction when he computed the age of Jonathan Tipton to be 118. The praise of his memory and other faculties given in the obituary would be just as in keeping with an age of 98 as it would be for an age of 118, and a 1659 date of birth for Jonathan Tipton is both compatible with the history of Jamaica and more in harmony with the life and activities of the man.

Reference: Tipton, The First Five American Generations by Charles D. Tipton, page 2.

The Rev. E. C. Tipton in his book, "We Tiptons and Our Kin" suggests that Jonathan Tipton (1659-1775) was a brother to Edward Tipton (1650-1717). This suggestion would appear to have little if any merit for the following reasons:

(1) If Jonathan Tipton had been born in England, his obituary would almost certainly have said so. Mary, his wife of many years was still living and at least one of his sons was still in Baltimore County at the time of his death.

(2) The offspring of Edward Tipton of Pontesbury (1617-????) and Amy Phillips do not include a Jonathan (see chart). Since we have no clue or hint as to the name of the father of Jonathan Tipton (1659-1757), to suggest that one of Edward's (1617-???) two sons "who died without issue" is Jonathan is not only grasping at straws but requires that one discredit the very document (i.e., the Tipton Pedigree) that is being cited as the authority.

Reference: Tipton, The First Five American Generations by Charles D. Tipton, page 23.

It is quite likely that Jonathan Tipton's agricultural enterprises were centered around growing tobacco because Maryland was, to a large degree, committed to a one-crop system, and many of Jonathan's transactions were carried out in terms of "pounds of Tobacco." The fact that planting tobacco exclusively would exhaust the soil in about 7 years may have had much to do with Jonathan's frequent land acquisitions and sales. So, perhaps because his land was worn out, or perhaps because the center of Maryland commerce was shifting from Anne Arundel County to Baltimore County, Jonathan moved to Baltimore County around 1713, as documented by a deed from John Boring to "Jonathan Tipton, cooper, of Baltimore County" for a tract called "Poor Jamaica Man's Plague."

There is no great mystery concering how Jonathan Tipton amassed his holdings. The picture that comes across from study of the deeds of Jonathan Tipton's property is that of a shrewd, agressive man who kept his eyes open for opportunities and was not afraid to take advantage of them when they arose. What would appear to be Jonathan's first land acquisition came about as a part of his wife's inheritance. In 1703, he went before the court to ask for title to land in Anne Arundel County that was due him by right of his wife Sarah Pearce. In addition, he asked for warrants on some contiguous property by virtue of the fact that he had made improvements on it. So, now we have a man who not only has a trade, but also one who has land and four sons to work it. It is to be assumed that Jonathin Tipton used all or part of the proceeds from the sale of this Anne Arundel County land to purchase "Poor Jamaica Man's Plague" in Baltimore County in 1713. Here again, we see evidence of the opportunistic eye of Jonathan Tipton, because in the next few years he acquired several warrants by various means. Emigrants were given warrants for 50 acres of land (more if they had a family), and indentured servents were given a warrant for 50 acres at the end of their indenture. Many did not have the wherewithal or initiative to operate a farm and would sell their warrants cheaply, and instances can be found where Jonathan bought or traded for land warrants. In other cases, Jonathan acquired land by locating tracts that were not being worked and laying claim to those. In addition, Jonathan was granted property by the proprietor, presumably for some service to the Province. Jonathan could neither read nor write, but literacy is not a prerequisite to being a shrewd trader, and there would seem little question but that Jonathan warranted that appellation.

Although the records of Jonathan's numerous land transactions in Baltimore County over the next several years are somewhat confusing, apparently, starting with little but his skill as a cooper, Jonathan extended his Baltimore County holdings such that, by 1722, he owned something over 1500 acres in one contiguous block. This block, located in the vicinity of present-day Cockyville, included "Poor Jamaica Man's Plague," "Addition to Poor Jamaica Man's Plague," and "Addition to Port Royal." As a measure of this accomplishment, it can be pointed out that less than 7 percent of the landowners in that area of Maryland in that period owned as much as 1000 acres.

Jonathan disposed of this block of land, including his homestead, "Poor Jamaica Man's Plague," in a series of sales of the period 1722 to 1728. Between 1730 and 1734, Jonathan made several new land acquisitions that included "Molly's and Sally's Delight," "Tipton's Puzzle" (his homestead in 1745), "Addition to Tipton's Puzzle," and "Tipton's Adventure." He began to dispose of these new acquisitions in 1733 and sold the last of these tracts in 1745. (Some have suggested that the names of Jonathan's farms had been bestowed by previous owners. Not so; the deed states that "Poor Jamaica Man's Plague" was taken out of a larger tract called "Selsed," so the name was in fact conferred by Jonathan Tipton.) (Further evidence that Jonathan Tipton was active as a "cooper" is to be found in a 1730 document in which he gave bond that would have Richard and William Cross taught to read and to learn the trade of cooper.)

Reference: Tipton, The First Five American Generations by Charles D. Tipton, page 46.

The records concerning a 200-acre property acquired by Jonathan Tipton in 1730 that he named "Molly's and Sally's Delight" are rather interesting. The name Jonathan bestowed on this property has caused some to speculate that Jonathan had daughters by that name and caused others to go so far as to suggest that the namesakes for the property were both wives of Jonathan; neither of these is apt to be the case. Far and away the most likely situation is that he named the tract for two of his granddaughters, Mary (Molly), who was 13 at the time, and Sarah (Sally), who was 8 at the time of the acquisition. It is not hard to envision a doting grandfather eliciting some squeals of delight from his pet granddaughters by naming a tract of land in their honor.

• (See Mary Tipton Stevenson, daughter of Thomas for further information)

Reference: Tipton, The First Five American Generations by Charles D. Tipton, page 52.

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JONATHAN1 TIPTON was born Abt. 1659 in Kingston, Jamaica, and died Jan 1757 in Baltimore County, MD1. He married (1) SARAH PEARCE Abt. 1690 in Maryland, daughter of WILLIAM PEARCE and ISABEL. She was born Abt. 1675 in Anne Arundel County, MD, and died Abt. 1709 in Baltimore County, MD. He married (2) MARY TYNDALE 15 Dec 1709 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. She was born 14 Feb 1673 in Maryland, and died 06 Dec 1736 in Baltimore County, MD.

My family line is thru his first wife, Sarah

In the "Book of Marriages and Deaths" in the Maryland Gazette (1727-1839) page 186, it states:

Tipton, Mr. Jonathan, died at the beginning of the month in Baltimore County, aged 118 years. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, which place he left while young, and lived almost ever since in the province. He had his perfect senses to the last, especially a remarkable strength of memory. His youngest sons are reckoned among the oldest men in the county. 1/27/1757 Jonathan's age at the time of his death is just speculation at this time. Some researchers have his date of birth as 1659.

References

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Sep 9 2019, 20:23:28 UTC

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• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Sep 9 2019, 22:22:48 UTC
• https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/Ti...