Jonathan Tipton I (abt. 1657 - 1757)

Born about 1657 in Kingston, Jamaica

Husband of Sarah (Pearce) Tipton — married 1690 in Herring Creek, Anne Arundel County, Province of Maryland

Husband of Mary (Tindale) Tipton — married 15 Dec 1709 in St. Pauls Parish, Baltimore , Maryland

Descendants

Died 2 Jan 1757 at about age 100 in Baltimore County, Province of Maryland

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Biography

Jonathan Tipton I was a Maryland colonist.

According to an article printed in the Maryland Gazette on 27 JAN 1757,^[1][2][3] Jonathan Tipton was born in Kingston, Jamaica. It reads as follows:

"We are informed that at the beginning of this month, died in Baltimore County, Mr. Jonathan Tipton, aged 118 years. He was born at Kingston on 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 memory. His youngest sons are reckoned among the oldest men in Baltimore County."^[4]

No record of Jonathan's immigration to Maryland has been found amongst early patent records which may indicate he arrived in the colony after 1680. The earliest sign of him definitely living in Anne Arundel County comes from him witnessing the will of Robert Goldsborough on 23 NOV 1700.^[5] His name also appears as a member of a jury panel that met 10 JUN 1703 to determine the boundary lines of a property in Anne Arundel County owned by Thomas Crutchley.^[6]

Jonathan died in 1757 in Baltimore, Maryland.^[3]

Baltimore County

According to Baltimore County court records, Jonathan was appointed the overseer of “the forest road leading from the Garrison Ridge by the widdow Stephensons on to the White Marsh” in 1716.^[7] This appointment gives an idea of where the Tipton family settled in Baltimore County. Those curious can find White Marsh on the map and the Garrison was located in the area of today's Owings Mills.

Men of the family can also be found on the 1737 list of taxables living in the Back River Hundred. Men over 21 were taxed and listed on the plantations where they lived. The Tipton men were living in four different households as follows: Jonathan Tipton Jr. & Martin Wright, Thomas Tipton alone, John Tipton & Amos Stokes, and Jonathan Tipton is listed as non-taxable or levy-free (probably due to his age) living with 1 slave.^[8]

Marriage & Children

The church register of St. James Parish, located in southern Anne Arundel County, has the births of the following children recorded all together as one entry: Jonathan Tipton and Sarah parents of:

Thomas Tipton son b. 8 APR 1693

William Tipton son b. 27 JUL 1696

Jonathan Tipton Jr. son b. 29 MAR 1699^[9]

At this time in Maryland, wives were taken to a separate room and asked if they truly approved the sale of their dower rights in land owned by the couple. The earliest deed in which Jonathan sold property reveals a wife named Mary Tipton in 1722.^[10] Two women have been listed by researchers as the wives of Jonathan, but no primary sources have been found in Maryland confirming their surnames. Their surnames should be considered not proven.

We know that Jonathan was the grandfather of at least three children by 17 OCT 1727 when he had the following gift of goods summarized below entered into the land records:

I Jonathan Tipton send greeting in consideration of the love and affection which I bear my well-beloved daughter-in-law, Hannah Tipton do give her goods including: 1 servant boy, 3 head of cattle, 7 hogs, 6 pigs, a small chest, clothing, bridle, looking glass, frying pan, bed, and spice mortor to enjoy until the day of marriage of my granddaughter Sarah Tipton and then the said Hanna shall deliver to Sarah all the aforesaid goods, but in case Sarah Tipton shall die before marriage, the goods to be equally divided between my two grandsons, Samuel and Mordicai Tipton. ^[11]

Property Records

Jonathan Tipton was identified as a cooper living in Baltimore County on 8 AUG 1717 when John Boring of Baltimore County conveyed to him for an unnamed price part of the 900 acre tract called Selsed of which 250 acres was sold and now called Poor Jamaica Man’s Plague. ^[12]

Before the purchase of the tract mentioned above, on 22 JAN 1716/17, Jonathan received a certificate to begin a survey in order to claim unsettled land bordering Poor Jamaica Man's Plague. Several different surveys allowed him to add an additional 929 acres to his original purchase. The new tract was simply called Addition to Poor Jamaica Man's Plague and was not totally finalized until 1727.^[13] This fact becomes confusing because on 2 DEC 1725 Jonathan Tipton, now called a gentleman of Baltimore County, conveyed to Thomas Cockey of Ann Arrundel County for £70 sterling 600 acres including all the tracts called Selsed, Poor Jamaica Man’s Plague, Port Royal & Addition to Port Royale. ^[14] 18th century Maryland deeds are very wordy, but this deed appears to be a mortgage of these lands.

6 DEC 1726 Jonathan Tipton Sr., planter of Baltimore County, conveyed a 40 acre tract called Strife which was part of a larger tract called Port Royal to Thomas Tipton planter for 600 lbs. of tobacco. ^[15] On the next day Jonathan conveyed for £52.13.0 sterling to John Smith of Calvert County a tract called Smith’s Plaines being part of Selsed, Port Royal and the Addition to Poor Jamaica Man’s Plague. The Smith deed also appears to be a mortgage.^[16] Some deeds show that Jonathan gave land to his children as on 28 JUL 1730 Jonathan Tipton Sr. conveyed to his son Jonathan Tipton Jr. for the love and good will I have toward my son a 100 acre tract called ‘’’Molly & Sallly’s Delight’’. ^[17]

Baltimore County land records from 1717 through 1742 contain many deeds for Jonathan Tipton. Many of them appear to be mortgages of his land that he later pays off. One such deed dated 5 AUG 1730 Jonathan mortgaged a tract called Tipton’s Puzzle to a merchant named William Hunt of London for 7,048 lbs. of tobacco plus 1 negro man called Pompey, 1 negro man called Charles, 1 negro boy called Jack for a term of 7 years. ^[18] The last deed found for Jonathan is dated 30 MAY 1740 and is the gift of two tracts, Tipton’s Puzzle and Addition to Tipton’s Puzzle for 50 acres of land to his grandson William Tipton.^[19]

Research Notes

• Needs Research: This profile needs a thorough review to determine what belongs in the Biography and what belongs in the Research Notes. Spratlin-29 23:23, 21 December 2022 (UTC)
• Needs Ref Tags: A large number of sources were added without corresponding Ref Tags. Spratlin-29 23:23, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

Disputed Origins & Ancestry

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.

We have no inkling as to the identity of the parents of Jonathan Tipton, and we can only speculate about how they arrived on the island of Jamaica. Jonathan's father could well have been one of the men in Penn and Venable's Haitian expedition force that conquered Jamaica in the campaign that extended from 1650 to 1655. A scenario (totally speculative) that appeals to this writer is one wherein Jonathan's father was one of the 4,200 to 5,200 men that Penn and Venable recruited in the Windward and Leeward Islands prior to the assault of Jamaica who survived the campaign, saw an opportunity to improve his lot in this new British possession, and settled on the island. Once hostilities ceased he could have either returned to his home island for his wife or sweetheart or bought her passage from there to Jamaica. No English were on Jamaica prior to 1650. The fact that no Spanish given names are found in any of Jonathan's descendants leads one to conclude that his mother was of English descent, probably from one of the nearby Lesser Antilles or some other British West Indies possession.^[1]

Immigration to United States if America: (1671 1676). The year range 1671-1676 puts the age of Jonathan Tipton at the time he entered this country at somewhere between 12 and 17 years. The writer is inclined toward the latter end of this bound for several reasons. First, it is more believable that a 16- or 17-year-old young man would want or need to leave his homeland than it is for a stripling of 12 or 13 years. Second, somewhere along the way, Jonathan learned the art of barrel making, for we find him described as a "cooper" in many of the early Maryland records; and, in 1830, he gave bond that he would have William and Richard Cross taught to read and learn the trade of cooper. How did he learn this trade? We can only speculate, but it seems more likely to this student of the family that he learned from his father or had nearly completed his apprenticeship at age 16 or 17 when he departed the Jamaican shores than it is that a 12- or 13-year-old friendless youth could manage to get taken on as an apprentice in this country.^[1][20]

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:

""Fortunately, new evidence regarding Jonathan's date of birth has surfaced in the past few years that brings Jonathan's lifespan into harmony with history and makes his level of activity more in keeping with his age. Taking all things into consideration, the year 1659 would seem, to this student of the Tipton family, to be the most likely for the date of birth of Jonathan Tipton for the following reasons."^[1]

Another element in Jonathan's obituary that seems to be in error is the statement that he was born in Kingston on Jamaica. Kingston, Jamaica, was not built until after the destruction of Port Royal by an earthquake in 1692, several years after Jonathan's arrival in America.

A 1966 letter from the librarian for the Institute of Jamaica to the writer (Bob Tipton?) contains the following statement:

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

Jonathan Tipton's birthplace was almost certainly Jamaica, not only because it was so reported in a contemporary article in the Maryland Gazette, but also because of Jonathan's strong sense of identity with the island as demonstrated by his naming one of his farms "Poor Jamaica Man's Plague," and another "Port Royal."^[1]

When Jonathan Tipton was born in 1659 in Kingston, Jamaica, his father, Edward, was 42 and his mother, Amy, was 42. He married Sarah Pearce and they had five children together. He then married Mary Chilcoat and they had one daughter together. He died on January 21, 1757, at the impressive age of 98.

DNA Information

I (Bob Tipton) am a co-administrator of the Tipton Family DNA Project. We currently have about 60 male members who have taken Y-DNA tests. Almost all of them have closely matching STRs and are members of the I1 haplogroup. Those that have done SNP testing are confirmed I-L813. So far, we do not have any tested members from England, so have not been able to prove or disprove a connection to either Edward.

The Tipton surname is location-based, so it would not be unusual to find several different DNA signatures, but so far almost everybody seems to be a close match to Jonathan (or a close ancestor of his).^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Tipton : the first five American generations : a short history of the Tipton family. Charles D. Tipton. Baltimore, MD : Gateway Press, c1998.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Bob Tipton,co-administrator of the Tipton Family DNA Project, FTDNA (https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/tipton/about/background), iGenea (https://www.igenea.com/en/surname-projects/t/tipton-3639).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Chronicles of a Nation: Founding Fathers, Families, and Patriots, July 11, 2015 by Joan Wheeler LaGrone (Author), Publisher: WIN Publishers of Colorado, ISBN: 0967923026, WAPI (Tower ID): 136603289, Release Date: July 11, 2015.
4. ↑ Maryland Historical Magazine Vol. 18.2 pg. 151, Baltimore:1923 [1]
5. ↑ Maryland Calendar of Wills Vol. II pg. 217 [2]
6. ↑ Dodd, Rosemary & Patricia Bausell, "Abstracts of Land Records Anne Arundel County, Maryland Vol II pg. 76, Anne Arundel County Genealogical Society, Pasadena, MD
7. ↑ Maryland Historical Magazine Vol. 58.3 pg. 229 [3]
8. ↑ Wright, F. Edward. Inhabitants of Baltimore County 1692-1763. Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books 1999.
9. ↑ Wright, F. Edward, “Anne Arundel County Church Records of the 17th & 18th Centuries” Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books 2002.
10. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber IS G folio 46
11. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber IS I folio 19
12. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber TR A folio 417
13. ↑ Maryland Patents Liber FF 7 folio 432 [msa.maryland.gov]
14. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber IS H folio 210
15. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber IS H folio 306
16. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber IS H folio 308
17. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber IS L folio 25
18. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber IS L folio 10
19. ↑ Baltimore County Deeds Liber HWS IA folio 383
20. ↑ Entered by Bob Tipton; edited slightly by Jillaine

See also:

• Maryland, Church Records, 1668-1995, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4ZN-GRF : 24 February 2016), Jonathan Tipton in entry for Jonathan Tipton, 25 Mar 1699; citing Birth, St. James Parish, Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States, various libraries, churches, historical and national societies, private and public records; FHL microfilm 13,280.
• "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4ZJ-297 : 12 December 2014), Jonathan Tipton in entry for Thomas Tipton, 08 Apr 1693; citing Saint James Parish, Anne Arundel, Maryland; FHL microfilm 13,280.
• "Maryland Births and Christenings, 1650-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4ZJ-2ZX : 12 December 2014), Jonathan Tipton in entry for William Tipton, 27 Jul 1696; citing Saint James Parish, Anne Arundel, Maryland; FHL microfilm 13,280.
• Maryland, Church Records, 1668-1995, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4JM-W5D : 24 February 2016), Jonathan Tipton and Mary Chilcoat, 15 Dec 1709; citing Marriage, Saint James Parish , Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States, various libraries, churches, historical and national societies, private and public records; FHL microfilm 13,280.
• jamerm, (29 Nov 2005) What is the book "Tipton, The First Five Generations In America" all about? RootsWeb post to ESTILLKY-L Archives.
• Stevens, Mary Edith, (1984) "Family History of John Stanley Stevens, with geneaologies of the families who settled in Union and Wayne Counties, Indiana. Route 3, Box 237, Flowery Branch, GA 30542, Note: Most of the Stevens, Tipton side of Marguerite Steven's family researched and listed in book by Margie's step mother, Mary Edith Stevens.
• http://collectornuts.com/tipton.pdf
• Source: S-1492447457 Repository: #R-2139205524 Title: U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data - Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls Note: APID: 1,2204::0.
• Repository: R-2139205524 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com Note: .