This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Chipman, Minor Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/FO.2ADI/353.1.1.1.1.1 Message Board Post: WHO WAS JAMES CHIPMAN OF BLEDSOE COUNTY, TENNESSEE? (REVISITED) The Bledsoe Co. courthouse at Pikeville, TN burned in 1908. The wills and marriages were lost, but fortunately the deeds of conveyance, court dockets, and some miscellaneous records survived. Legislative petitions for the early years of the county serve as “tax list” substitutes. Land grants by the state for property in the county are housed at the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville. The first U.S. census of TN taken in 1800 is lost. Of the 1810 U.S. census, only Rutherford Co. and part of Grainger Co. remain. About half of the returns for 1820 were lost, among them Bledsoe Co. The first census for which returns are extant for all counties is 1830. [Most genealogists working with records in the southern states will sooner or later encounter a burned courthouse. Nineteenth and twentieth century losses can usually be dealt with, but when seventeenth and early eighteenth century records in the old colonial counties are lost, the results can be catastrophic. Genealogists use various kinds of records. In Great Britain, landed families may have pedigree scrolls tracing their family back to the Flood; it doesn’t work that way in the USA. Non-genealogists have difficulty comprehending the concept that ALL genealogists use logic and deduction to correctly identify people. An uncommon surname, like Chipman, helps, but the use of the same given names in generation after generation means the genealogist has to exercise care. The last general Chipman genealogy was published in 1970. Unfortunately, the author did not insist on documentation of any kind, and allowed families to submit their data in the form of a “family group sheet.” Only occasionally will one meet with a reference to an actual source in that volume. It was better than nothing, because the previous works by Alberto Lee Chipman and Richard Manning Chipman were inadequate, with limited coverage.] Delaware did not require civil registration of births, deaths, and marriages until 1913, although a few were voluntarily submitted before that date. In the 1880 Lauderdale Co., TN U.S. census, Thomas Jefferson Chipman and James Washington Chipman, two grandchildren of this James Chipman said that their father, George Chipman, had been born in DE. DE is a small state consisting of three counties; there are no records that any Chipman ever lived in NewCastle Co., but Chipmans settled in both Sussex and Kent Cos. Due to its small size, DE wasn’t the most common migration point (most Tennesseans came from VA, GA, and the Carolinas); obviously this information came from a family source, probably George Chipman himself. Census records for George Chipman (1803-1878) also variously give his birthplace as being TN or VA, but James Washington Chipman and Thomas Jefferson Chipman were the only two sons of George Chipman to survive (there was another son named Edward, who evidently died before George made his will, as no more is heard of him; George Chipman named his first two sons James and Thomas after his father, James, and his father’s brother, Thomas—wasn’t that imaginative?). The point is that the family was from DE. This seems incontrovertible, and is fully consistent with other branches of the Chipman family that migrated from DE to NC and KY. ------------------------------------------------------------ The maiden name of James Chipman’s wife Betsy (Elizabeth) is unknown; however, it appears that she married James Chipman ca. 1801, probably in DE. James Chipman signed two 1815 legislative petitions to the TN legislature recorded in Bledsoe Co.: one as “James Chiteman” in “Petitions to delay enactment of the land law during the War Between Great Britain and the United States” [e.g. War of 1812]; and one as “James Chitman” dated 21 October 1815 to re-draw the boundaries of Bledsoe Co. Both petitions are available on microfilm at TSLA in Nashville. (both the TN and NC Chipmans have some spelling variations in the records) On 14 May 1821, James Chipman purchased 74 acres “on the South Side of Sequatchie” [River] in Bledsoe Co. from Jacob Roberson for 400 dollars. On 13 April 1822, James Chipman and James Roberson donated 1 ½ acres to the Providence Baptist Church in Bledsoe Co. Of this donation, Elizabeth Parham Robnett, Bledsoe Co. historian, wrote, “When and where the first religious services were held in what is now Bledsoe County or Sequatchie Valley is probably not known. However, many of the early religious services were held at the homes of the early settlers, school houses and camp grounds. The Methodist, Baptist and Christian churches were holding services in the 1820’s. James Roberson and James Chipman deeded land in 1822 in Lot No. 11 for a ‘meeting house.’ This Baptist Church was known as Providence church. In 1831 John Dalton, a Revolutionary War veteran, was a minister at this church which was near the home of another Revolutionary War patriot, Capt. George Walker.” (“Bledsoe County, Tennessee A History”, p. 117) George Walker died in Bledsoe Co. on 12 October 1833. He had served as an officer in the Burke Co., NC militia during the RW (see his RW pension papers). On 14 October 1823, George Chipman was commissioned a lieutenant in the 21 Regiment Bledsoe Co. militia. [muster roll in possession of TSLA] The Bledsoe Co. Circuit Court Execution Docket (p. 139) records the 1824 case of “The State vs William J. Thornton and James Chapman;” the defendants were ordered to pay $14.15 to cover court costs. On 3 July 1824, The State of Tennessee granted James Chipman 60 acres in Bledsoe Co. “on the west side of Walden’s ridge.” The grant was recorded 10 January 1826, and that is the last record of James Chipman in Bledsoe Co. The 1830 U.S. census enumeration commenced on 1 June 1 1830, and the filing date was 1 August 1830; this gives an outside limit for the death of James Chipman as being between 10 January 1826 and the actual date of enumeration of Betsy Chipman’s household (see below), which fell within the two-month period. On 20 December 1825, Robert Maitland of New York City, represent by John McIver, “his attorney in fact,” sold Samuel McReynolds Jr. for $1600.00 “a certain tract of land in Bledsoe County containing two hundred acres Beginning at a corner at John Rogers thence to Richard and Mary Jones thence to James Chipmans line also one other tract in Bledsoe County containing three hundred and sixty acres adjoining the lines of John Roberson, Robert Raines, James Roberson, James Chipman, the wagon road and Richard and Mary Jones Beginning on a corner of John Robersons tract then along said line as run by Michael Rawlings thence & etc to a line in Chapmans line run by John Kelly.” This left James Chipman, after deducting his gift to the church, about 132 acres. But what happened to his land? There is no deed recording its sale. The following probably contains the solution: On 5 May 1832, Robert Maitland of New York City, represented by his “attorney in fact” James A. Whiteside, sold to Samuel McReynolds for the sum of $835.00, “a certain tract of land in Bledsoe County one thousand acres adjoining the Robert Rains tract and the tract on which Samuel Cowan and George Reed now lives and including the plantation on which Dempsey Hulsy now lives thence to the corner of Robert Shewmakes tract the other tract of fifteen acres being the same Sold by John McIver as attorney in fact for said Maitland to Jacob Roberson and by said Roberson to James Chipman and adjoining lands of James Roberson & said McReynolds.” Somehow this 15 acres of James Chipman’s land wound up in the hands of Robert Maitland again. Maitland was a land speculator based in New York. The Chipman farm may have been abandoned, the property seized by the sheriff for non-payment of tax, then auctioned off and purchased once more by Maitland. S! uch events were common. The 1830 U.S. census for Bledsoe Co., p. 283, records Betsy Chipman as follows: One male under 5, one female under 5, one female 10-15, one female 15-20, one female 20-30, one female 50-60 On the same page of that census is Washington Chipman: One male 20-30, one female under 5, one female 20-30 [Washington Chipman married Rachel (maiden name said to be “Clements,” but probably actually “Clemmons”).] William Chipman (1814-1874) married Milly Standifer about 1832/3 in Bledsoe Co. as proven by the RW pension records of Milly’s father, Benjamin Standifer. The Standifers were close neighbors of Betsy Chipman in Bledsoe Co.; Milly was born in Elbert Co., GA in 1814. In 1832 Betsy Chipman was recorded on a tax list; that was her last record in Bledsoe Co. From the 1830 census it appears Betsy Chipman was born between 1770-1780 (probably much closer to 1780). The female 20-30 in the census is probably Paulina Chipman; the female 15-20 Mary Chipman who married Harrison R. Latham (Latham was probably connected to the Birdy Latham residing in Bledsoe Co. in 1830); and the female 10-15 Delilah Chipman who had a marriage bond dated 7 December 1840 with William H. Davis in Madison Co. About 1970 my father was told that William Chipman (1814-1874) had another brother named “Fate” Chipman (b. ca. 1820) who never married; I think “Fate” was actually Frederick Chipman who divorced Mary Ann Prendergrast 21 February 1867 in Madison Co., TN (William H. Davis had stood surety on the original bond); Frederick’s age range varied from 10-15 in 1840 (when he was living with William Chipman in Madison Co.) to 19 in 1850 (when he was living with Harrison Latham in Madison Co.), to 36 in 1860 (when he was living with George Chipman in Lauderdale Co., TN). This gives Frederick a birthdate of between 1824 and 1831, and if he is the last child of James and Betsy Chipman, as I think he was, the birthdate of 1824 makes more sense. There are two Chipmans connected with these families I cannot place: William Chipman (b. ca. 1844) who served in the CSA in the Civil War and later moved to AR (he had friends in Lauderdale Co., TN); and Perlina Chipman (b. ca. 1835) who married James H. Davis 9 April 1853 in Madison Co., TN. James Chipman of Bledsoe Co. was illiterate. For this reason alone, he could not have been the merchant mentioned in the Kent Co., DE estate papers of Jonathan Emerson as having sold various items, from sacks of oats to cloth, to Emerson’s heirs, and also to have stood surety on a note. James Chipman the merchant’s entries begin in 1788, the same year that James Chipman is first recorded on a Sussex Co., DE tax list. The Sussex Co. James was born BY 1767 (although as White & Coles have pointed out, he was actually born ca. 1753), so he could not have been the son of Stephen Chipman, who was born in 1771. The 1790 U.S. census for VA is lost; the statewide 1787 tax lists have been compiled and published, but no Chipman is listed in those records. As pointed out many times, the Sussex Co., DE James Chipman had settled in that county by 1788. Land in certain sections of VA was free, in large tracts of several hundred acres per grant, and probably many people just squatted and farmed the land until it was devoid of nutrients. As mentioned on numerous occasions, the codicil of the Emerson will proved 31 July 1784 pertaining to James Chipman reads as follows: “Item I give and bequeath to James Chipman (the son of Steven Chipman Deceased) He Being an impotent Boy in one of his knees, the sum of fifty 50 pounds Cash when he Shall arrive at a lawful age viz to twenty one years part or sooner if my Trustees think best or necessary –“. This legacy was recorded on June 30th, 1792, and held in an interest bearing account, until January 1, 1800. This is how the birthdate of 1771 was derived, and inasmuch as Stephen Chipman died in 1772, I see no reason to dispute it. Stephen Chipman’s widow Agnes remarried to Isaac Moore, and evidently the couple did not arrange for the education of James Chipman and his brother Thomas, who died in 1789 at the age of twenty, who was also illiterate. “An impotent Boy in one of his knees” means that James Chipman (who was 13 at the time of the codicil) had some defect or injury to a knee; it did not mean he was a cripple, incapable of any kind of future, as obviously Emerson himself expected James to make it to 21, an age not reached until some 8 years after the codicil was written. Whatever the exact nature of the ailment, it was not life-threatening. Other than similarity of names, there is no evidence to support a contention that James son of Stephen and the James Chipman in the 1800 Sussex Co., DE census are the same person. It’s impossible. Frankly, were it not for the fact that the line has a common ancestor (Alice Freeman) with the late Diana Spencer, and a descent from five Mayflower passengers, I doubt anyone would give it a second look. This is not a difficult identification to make. We know the Bledsoe Co. family was from Delaware, we know the father’s name was James Chipman, that he was illiterate (merchants had to read and write), that there is no evidence that he had any children older than George Chipman who was born ca. 1803, or that he or any of his children had any contact of any kind with any Chipmans then in KY. The Sussex Co. James Chipman is listed in the 1800 DE census with a number of males in perfect age range for the KY Chipmans: Stephen Chipman, John C. Chipman, Perry Chipman, and James Chipman. If he is not the father of those men, their origin is a complete mystery: there is nobody else who could be their parent, and they are left with nothing. It is an absolute fact that these TN and KY Chipmans were from DE, and that their fathers were different men, both named James Chipman. That’s the way it is. My grand-aunt (by marriage) Ruby (Bohannon) Chipman, wife of my grand-uncle Jewell Chipman, had a lively interest in family and family history. Jewell Chipman was a son of James Edward (known as simply “Ed” or “Poppa”)and Allie (Oxley) Chipman, and a brother of my grandfather, Beecher Edgar Chipman. James Edward Chipman’s daughter Pauline Aquilla Chipman married Carl Davis Page, and they were the grandparents of Larry Page, co-founder of “google.” There were also Winnie and Lawcie, and all of them were intelligent people. James Edward Chipman’s wife Allie died in the 1930s due to complications stemming from an automobile accident, and it was a great blow to the family. I have a large collection of letters touching on family matters written by people who actually knew the individuals under discussion. I was fortunate to correspond with Gusta Ramsey Chipman, a daughter-in-law of James Washington Chipman (whom I mentioned above); a member of the Koonce family that James Edward Chipman’s sister Cynthia (Sinthy) married into, and who knew some of their Miller relatives. And of course, Jewell’s wife Ruby: “The new clipping you [Pauline Page] sent was quite interesting because when we attended Charley Chipman’s sisters funeral at Ripley Tenn when we were living at West Memphis we met some Drumwrights they are a part of Papa Chipmans [James Edward Chipman] family. “Papa Chipmans mother was a Miller Cynthia and the Millers at Kennett and Cardwell are his relatives also the Wilborns at Senath and Cardwell but I do not know how the Wilborns are connected.* Charley Chipmans sister married Frank Miller and she was Mollie Chipman. She still lives at Kennett. While we were at W. Memphis we went to visit Jewell [Jewell Vester Chipman, son of James Edward Chipman] cousins at Ripley and and Memphis. They are Aunt Cynthia Koons or (Coons) Children: Duprie, Gertrude? And Mrs. Cecil B. Keltner 645 Pope. (This is Lily Mae Koons)” {Letter, dated 12 October 1962, to Pauline Aquilla (Chipman) Page and Carl Davis Page.} *The Wilborns were descendants of Deborah Chipman, dau. of John and Mary (Harris) Chipman, of Guilford Co., NC [no. 107-iii in “A Chipman Genealogy]:; she was born 3 November 1787, and married Moses Wilborn. Her father, John, was a first cousin to James Chipman of Bledsoe Co., TN; John’s father Paris Chipman was a son of James and Mary (Minor) Chipman. Binky son of Bongo Sept. 26, 2006