Josiah Shipp (1770 - 1843)

Born 1 Apr 1770 in Lunenburg, Lunenburg, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Ester (Joice) Shipp — married 13 Apr 1790 in Stokes, North Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Sep 1843 at age 73 in Holly Springs, Marshall, Mississippi, United States

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Biography

Josiah Shipp and Ester Joyce's daughter Sarah married William Cotham.^[1]

Shipp's Bend, just below Centerville and on the north side of Duck River was first settled by a man of English parentage, Josiah Shipp, for whom the bend was named. His wife, prior to her marriage, was Esther Joyce. He settled here in 1806 with his family, consisting of three sons and three daughters.

His eldest son, William, was then but ten years old. The other sons were Josiah and "Zid". The three daughters were Polly, Sally and Esther, two of whom married Cothams.

This bend was then a dense wilderness, abounding in game, while the streams contained large numbers of fish. All of this suited the fancy of this hardy pioneer and great lover of sport.

Shipp located at the place where John P. Broome now lives. In 1822 he killed an elk near where David Huddleston now lives. This was an animal that was seldom seen here, even then.

In addition to his being a lover of hunting and fishing, he was also an industrious farmer and a sportsman of the higher order. He was a breeder of fine horses, and tradition has it that he was not averse to giving all comers a race for their money. That he might engage in this to the full extent of his desires, he, with the help of his slaves, of which had a number, opened and established a straight mile track in the bend, one end of which was near where the railroad trestle now is -- near where Robert Griner, Sr., once lived. Griner owned the upper end of the bend in after years.

After many years of hunting, fishing, working, and horse racing, Shipp divided the larger portion of his property among his children and removed to Mississippi, leaving behind him evidences that a man of spirit and energy had once resided here. He died in Mississippi.

The lands of Shipp were divided among his sons, his daughters receiving as their portion his slaves. Thus the lands of Josiah Shipp passed into the hands of William and "Zid" Shipp, their brother, Josiah, having sold his interest to them.

The middle portion of this valuable bend became the property of these two brothers, who were quite different in disposition. So different were they that there was no point of similarity, save that of "family favor". Yet both were good citizens and prosperous farmers, who were noted for the hospitality of their homes.

William Shipp, born in 1796, married Bethenia, the daughter of Robert Griner, Sr., and was the father of Josiah Horton Shipp, of the Seventh District, and Dr. John E. Shipp, of Buffalo, Humphreys County. Other sons were Ira, Albert, Robert and Moore, all of whom are dead.

Dr. John E. Shipp, who is a successful physician and farmer, was the eldest son, being born in 1823. Josiah H. Shipp was born on April 18, 1827. The daughters of William Shipp were Emeline, Martha, and Tera Ann. The last-named is yet living, near Little Lot, and is the wife of J. W. Shouse, a farmer of that neighborhood.

Josiah Shipp, brother of William and "Zid", married Eliza Griner, daughter of Robert Griner, Sr. He removed with his father to Mississippi, where he died. "Zid" Shipp, unlike his brother William, was of a fun-loving disposition and was much given to jesting. He was never better pleased than when perpetrating some practical joke at the expense of his brother William -- a quiet man, who seldom engaged in merriment or jesting. He married Peggy Kimmins, and was the father of Frank Shipp, who now lives in Obion County, and of Joseph and James, who gave their lives for the "Lost Cause".

Joseph died in a Northern prison; James, a gallant boy, died at his post of duty on the field of battle. His daughters were Caroline, Ann Jane, Margaret, Elizabeth, and Mary. Ann Jane, who married Josiah Scott, of Humphreys County, and is now a widow, lives on a portion of the old Josiah Shipp lands.

William and "Zid" lived each to a good old age within a few hundred yards of each other, and died on the lands settled by their father when this bend was the home of deer, the wolf, the panther, and the bear, and when he could stand in the door of his lone cabin and see the camp fires of Indians across the river. It was from this cabin that William Shipp, at the age of nineteen, shouldering his flint-lock rifle and carry the blessings of his pioneer father and mother, went with other Hickman Countians to New Orleans, where he took part in the preliminary skirmishes as well as in the final fight of January 8, 1815 [from The History of Hickman County, Tennessee by W. Jerome D. Spence and David L. Spence. Chapter IV- The First District, (1900)].

Family

From the "More named Cotham" book by the late Verby Lee Cotham Balinas:^[2]

Josiah Shipp b. 1 Apr 1770 Va d. 6 Sep 1843 Marshall Co Ms m. Ester Joyce b. 13 Jan 1774 Stokes Co Nc; they mar.13 Apr 1790 in Stokes Co Nc. They had 5 ch:

1. Sarah/Sally Shipp b.16 Jan 1792 Stokes Co. Nc m. William Cotham.
   
2. Mary Shipp b. 3 Dec 1793 Stockes Co. Nc m. Stephen Cotham
3. William Shipp b.1796 Nc m. Parthenia Griner
4. Zerah/Zid Shipp b.1797 Sc m. Margaret Kimmins
5. Josiah Shipp b.16 Mar 1799 Davidson Co Tn(became Hickman in 1806)m. Elizabeth Betsy Griner.

Sources

1. ↑ Hickman County Times - 2 May 1994 - "...[Josiah] Shipp's daughter Sarah married William Cotham..."
2. ↑ . Josiah Shipp/Ester Joyce - discussion

• The History of Hickman County, Tennessee by W. Jerome D. Spence and David L. Spence. Chapter IV- The First District, (1900); W. Jerome D. Spence and David L. Spence, A History of Hickman County, Tennessee (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate Publishing Company, 1900); digital images, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/historyofhickman00spen/page/n6/mode/1up).