Table of Dates:
- 1670 - August John Lederer explores vicinity of Front Royal
- 1705 - Virginia Assembly encourages trade with Valley Indians
- 1707 - Louis Michelle explores the lower Shenandoah Valley
- 1716 - Spotswood & his knights visit the Valley
- 1720 - Spotsylvania County formed
- 1722 - Michael Wohlfarth goes from Pennsylvania to North Carolina through the Valley
- 1727 - Adam Miller at Massanutten
- 1728 - William Russell & others take up land near Front Royal
- 1729 - beginning of Masanutten Colony
- 1731 - Jost Hite & others settle in the lower Valley
- 1731 - John Fishback & others granted 50,000 acres in limits of present Warren & Page Counties
- 1732 - William Russell granted 20,000 acres in & about the forks of the Shenandoah
- 1733 - Adam Miller & others petition against Beverley
- 1734 - Orange County formed
- 1734 - Jost Hite appointed a magistrate
- 1736 - Ferry on Shenandoah River provided for near Front Royal
- 1741 - Adam Miller settles at Bear Lithia, near Elkton
- 1743 - Courts first opened in Frederick County
- 1744 - Act passed to survey the line between Frederick & Augusta Counties
- 1745 - Courts first opened in Augusta County
- 1748 - George Washington hired by Lord Fairfax
- 1750 - Squire Boone & family pass up the Valley, towards Carolina
- 1752 - April 2 - Jacob Miller gets grant of 400 acres from Fairfax at Woodstock
- 1753 - Hampshire County formed
- 1757 - Sept. 28 - Indians fall upon the Valley settlements
- 1758 - Indians & French take Fort Painter - near Hamburg, George Painter's Fort was a log house with deep vaulted stone cellar, located at the head of Painter Run.
- 1761 - Woodstock established by law
- 1762 - April 26 - Jacob Miller sells 44 lots in Woodstock
- 1762 - Nov. 3 - Christly Bumgardner buys a lot in Strasburg
- 1764 - George Miller & John Dellinger killed by Indians near Strasburg
- 1765 - John Sevier acquires land at New Market
- 1766 - Jacob Miller, founder of Woodstock, dies
- 1772 - March 24 - Dunmore County created by the General Assembly of Virginia
- 1772 - April 25 - Rev. Peter Muhlenberg ordained in London
- 1772 - May 15 - Act creating Dunmore County becomes effective
- 1772 - Jonathan Clark, brother of George Rogers Clark, locates in Woodstock
- 1772 - summer or fall, Rev. Muhlenberg locates in Woodstock
- 1774 - June 16 - Muhlenberg presides over revolutionary meeting in Woodstock
- 1774 - September 26 - Rev. Peter Muhlenberg made arbitrator between Isaac Hite & John Tipton
- 1776 - January 12 - Muhlenberg appointed colonol of 8th Regiment
- 1776 - January - Muhlenberg preaches his famous farewell sermon
- 1777 - Name of Dunmore County changed to Shenando
- 1778 - February 1 - Act renaming Dunmore County Shanando becomes effective
- 1778 - April - Courts first opened in Rockingham County
- 1778 - July 30 - Major Joseph Bowman Writes letters from Kaskaskia, Illinois
- 1779 - Conquest of the Northwest by George Rogers Clark & Bowman completed
- 1782 - Rev. Paul Henkel settles in the Forest
- 1783 - Alexander Hite takes first census of Shenandoah County
- 1783 - Rev. Paul Henkel called to Rader's, Pines & other churches
- 1785 - Hardy County formed from Hampshire [now in West Virginia]
- 1786 - Ambrose Henkel born near Solomon's Church
- 1788 - May 1 - Paul Henkel confirms class at St. Paul's Church, Page County
- 1788 - Aug. 24 - Paul Henkel confirms class at Powell's Fort
- 1788 - Oct. 22 - Paul Henkel confirms class at Gomer's Church on Hawksbill
- 1788 - Front Royal established by law
- 1790 - March 30 - Rev. Paul Henkel locates at New Market
- 1790 - August 18 - Bishop Francis Asbury preaches at Woodstock
- 1791 - Old stone courthouse in Woodstock built
- 1801 - September 3 - Francis Asbury preaches in Woodstock; text Luke 19:10
- 1802 - January 12-13 - William Otterbein & Christian Newcomer preach at Jacob Funkhouser's
- 1802 - Ambrose Henkel, aged 16, starts from Forestville on foot for Hagerstown to learn printing
- 1802 - August 26 - Francis Asbury lodges in Woodstock
- 1806 - Henkel Press founded in New Market
- 1807 - October 7 - First German newspaper in Virginia printed in New Market
- 1809 - March 8 - Bishop Asbury & Bishop McKendree lodge in Woodstock
- 1809 - June 7 - last issue of Ambrose Henkel's German newspaper
- 1810 - Ambrose Henkel prints Mennonite Confession of Faith at Nw market; So the newly set up hymn book
- 1811 - Chid's primer printed (in German) & illustrated by Ambrose Henkel at New Market
- 1816 - Church hymn book, 546 pages, compiled & composed by Rev. Paul Henkel, printed at New Market
- 1816 - Constitution & Canons of Protestant Episcopal Church printed at New Market by Solomon Henkel
- 1817 - February 21 - Warrenton & New Market Turnpike Company chartered
- 1817 - Valley Turnpike Company chartered to build road from Salem to Winchester
- 1817 - Woodstock Academy chartered
- 1818 - Flood at Winchester
- 1836 - April 28 - Christian Miller, Revolutionary soldier, dies at Woodstock, aged 92
Shenandoah County today has an area of 510 square miles, and lies midway from northeast to southwest of the great Shenandoah Valley. Bounded on the northwest by the Alleghanies and on the southeast by the Masanutten range . . .
From 1720 to 1734 the territory that finally became Shenandoah County was a part of Spotsylvania County. From 1734 to 1738 or later it was included within the limits of Orange County. In 1738 that part of Orange County which lay west of the Blue Ridge was cut off and designated as two new counties Frederick & Augusta but courts were not opened in Frederick before 1743 nor in Augusta until 1743 and later. From 1738 to 1753 the frontier area that became Shenandoah County was partly in Augusta and partly in Frederick, but in 1753 the line dividing those counties was moved up the Valley and made identical with the Fairfax Line, and thenceforth until 1772 the territory of Shenandoah County was wholly within the limits of Frederick. In the year last named our county was established by law and given its own boundaries and its own name - not Shenandoah at first, but Dunmore.
In colonial days and until the second quarter of the 19th century the county's area was much greater than at present, for then it included about half of Warren County and almost or quite two-thirds of Page County. In 1831 the latter county was formed from Shenandoah and Rockingham, and in 1836 Warren was formed from Shenandoah & Frederick; therefore prior to 1831 the area of Shenandoah was upwards of 800 square miles. . . .
Shenandoah County is drained & watered by the north branch of the Shenandoah River & its numerous tributaries; Smith Creek, Holman's Creek, Mill Creek, Stony Creek, Narrow Passage Creek, Pugh's Run, Toms Brook, Tumbling Run, Cedar Creek, & Passage Creek . . .
By the time of the Indian wars in the Shenandoah Valley & bordering regions westward, which began in 1754 or thereabouts, a few stone houses had been erected here and there, and these served as improvised forts in emergencies. Frequently, after a year or two of hostilities, such houses were surrounded by small stockades into which a few cattle and other domestic animals might be driven when the cry of danger was carried by fleet messengers from clearing to clearing. Faithful dogs often gave warning of lurking foes before their masters were aware of them. Kercheval narrates at least two instances in which human lives were probably saved by keen-eyed and keen-nosed dogs. One was at Wolfe's Fort, on Stony Creek, evidently in the vicinity of Edinburg or Lantz Mills, where Mr. Wolfe's dog by persistent signs of uneasiness revealed the presence of an Indian ambush and thus enabled his master to get back to the fort in safety . . .
As already noted, emissaries from the Ohio Valley came among the Shenandoah Indians in 1753, and the latter shortly withdrew westward across the Alleghanies. Their going was looked upon by the whites as an ominous sign. This was the year in which Governor Dinwiddie sent young George Washington to Lake Erie with a polite note to the French commander asking him to withdraw from the Ohio country. The Frenchman was even more polite, but said very plainly that he would not withdraw. Next year Washington was sent out to Wills Creek (Cumberland) and beyond with a small force, with inadequate support, and had to surrender at Fort Necessity. In 1755 came the bloody defeat of Braddock, a few miles this side of Pittsburgh. After that the whole frontier of the Virginia settlements was left exposed to the fury of the Indians and the enmity of the French. Not all of the Indians took sides with the French, but a great many of them did. The nine years of the French & Indian War were a long night of disaster and terror to the frontier families. Washington built Fort Loudoun at Winchester in 1756, and was charged with the defence of the frontier. A line of forts were erected from the south branch of the Potomac far down into the southwest, but the line was too long and Washington's men too few to keep the stealthy savages and their cunning French leaders from slipping through. Fawcett's Gap, Scheffer's Gap, Brock's Gap, Cedar Creek, Stony Creek, and Mill Creek presented openings on the western side of the Valley that were rugged and sinuous, but sufficiently passable for small war parties that carried little "impedimenta" - little except rifle, tomahawk, and scalping knife. No doubt scores of the Indian warriors who now invaded the Shenandoah settlements had been residents of the same cherished land and were familiar with every trail and hiding place. However, no records have been found of any raid into the Valley before 1757; but in that year, and especially in the next, raids were frequent and deadly. They continued from time to time until 1766 - three years after the war between the French & the English was ended.
On Wednesday, September 28, 1757, Indians fell upon the settlements east and southeast of Brock's Gap. This immediate section lies just above the Fairfax Line, but it is probable that this incursion spread alarm if not destruction into the upper parts of what is now Shenandoah County. New Market, Quicksburg, Forestville, and Moore's Store are now in this region. The definite date of this raid is preserved in the records of the Linville Creek Baptist Church, which was organized in 1756. In the same records we learn that other raids came in the spring of 1758. In the graphic words of the eye-witness who wrote the record we can see the arrow that flew by day and the terror that waked the night. He says:
"The Spring coming on, the Indian Troubles continued, and all Opportunities of Meetings were taken from us; and not only so, but the whole Neighborhood forced either to go into Forts or over the Mountains (Blue Ridge), to escape their Rage, in the Month of June following."
It was also in 1758, according to best information, that Fort Seybert was captured and most of the inmates slain. Fort Seybert was directly west of Brock's Gap, and in a straight line only eighteen miles distant.
The Linville Creek chronicler continues:
"These Disconveniences continued and got no better, till the Summer of the Year 1759, when it pleased God to make our Armies victorious in the North Part of our Continent, (which drew the Enemy from us) so that the Forts that harboured them to our Hurt, fell into our Hands without Blood shed." . . .
About 1758, says Kercheval, some fifty Indians and four Frenchmen came into Shenandoah, to a populous community nine miles south of Woodstock, and attacked the house of George Painter. Painter had a large log house, with a good-sized cellar, and many of his neighbors had assembled there upon the alarm. The attack came late in the afternoon. Mr. Painter, for some reason not stated, tried to get away, but was shot and killed, pierced by three bullets. The others then surrendered. The Indians plundered the house of what they desired, dragged Painter's body back to the house, threw it in, and set fire to the house. While the house was burning they seized four infant children, wrenched them from their mothers, hung them up in trees, and shot them in savage sport. They then fired a stable and burned up in it a lot of sheep and calves. After those atrocities they marched away with forty-eight prisoners. Among the latter were Mrs. Painter, five of her daughters, and one of her sons; a Mrs. Smith and several of her children; a Mr. Fisher and several of his children, one boy of twelve or thirteen, large for his age and fleshy. . . .
Map of Shenandoah County, 1926
Fredericktown was the old name for Winchester. From 1743 it was the county seat of Frederick County. . . .
The records at Woodstock are generally complete and in good condition, but unluckily the minutes of the court for the first year or two seem to be missing. From the archives at Richmond, however, it has been possible to secure a list of the justices of Dunmore County, date April 17, 1772. This list is doubtless the original one for the county, and it is as follows:
Burr Harrison, Taverner Beale, Joseph Pugh, Francis Slaughter, James McKay, Henry Nelson, Abraham Keller, John Tipton, Caleb Odell, Jonathan Langdon, Abraham Bowman, William Moore, George Ruddell, Jacob Holeman, Alexander Machir . . .
John Tipton, it is said owned land at or near Toms Brook.
From the Richmond archives another list of the justices for Dunmore County is secured, this of date October 26, 1773. This contains only fourteen names, those of James McKay, Caleb Odell, William Moore, George Ruddell, and Alexander Machir being omitted . . .
Referring now to the old minute book at Woodstock, we find that at a court held for Dunmore County on Tuesday, September the ---, 1774 . . . Various matters of ordinary routine - probating deeds, appointing appraisers for estates, docketing cases for trial, etc. were taken up. Among the names of persons who appeared before the court or were affected or named in one capacity or another, were the following . . . Abraham Denton (dec'd.) . . . Mary Denton . . .
A bargain and sale for land from John Sevier to john Brown was acknowledged and ordered to be recorded. A lease and a release for land from Joseph Tipton and wife to Nathan Davis were acknowledged and ordered to be recorded. . . .
At a Court held for Dunmore County on Tuesday, November 22, 1774, . . . some of the parties named in the record . . . P.I. Tipton . . .
At a court held in the county of Dunmore on Friday the 20th day of January, 1775, for the proof of public claims and certifying propositions and grievances; present . . . John Tipton . . . The law was read usual; but no claims, &c. being offered the court rose up. Signed by Joseph Pugh.
On February 18, 1775, at a called court . . . John Tipton . . . were presentand heard the charge against Philip Bessinger(?) for horse-stealing. He was adjudged not guilty and was discharged. . . .
At a court held for Dunmore County on Tuesday, September 26, 1775 . . . John Tipton . . . gentlemen justices, were present . . .
At a court held Tuesday, May 28, 1776, was presented . . . the last will and testament of Adam Darting, Sr., dec'd. was proved by Jacob Holpholt, Lawrence Woolf and William Webb, and sworn to by Henry Fravell and Adam Darting, exrs. . . .
Dunmore County, The Commonwealth of Virginia, Agreeable --- --- Ordinance of Convention:
John Tipton and Jona Langdon, Gent, named in the Com. of the Peace for this County administered the Oath prescribed in sd. ordinance (to be taken by a Justice of the Peace) to Joseph Pugh Gent. first in sd. Commn. and the sd Joseph Pugh Gt. Adminis. the sd. Oath to John Tipton, Jonathan Lagdon and Alexander Machir Gent. as, also the sd. Oath of a Justice of the Peace.
These four were the only justices present that day. . . .
November 27, 1776 . . . Caleb Odell [sworn] as a justice of the peace . . .
March 25, 1777 . . . Michael Rinehart, James Fox, Jacob Huddle, Brian Breeding, or any three of them, were to appraise the estate of Benj. Williams, dec'd. . . .
July 22, 1777 Evan Jones, Gent., was appointed to take the list of tithables in the district of Capt. Filsmoyers and Capt. Rouse; . . . John Tipton, Gent., in the district of Capt. Hoofman and Capt. Watson . . .
January 27, 1778 . . . Joseph Pugh, Esq., Sheriff of this County being dead, on a motion made it is ordered that Henry Nelson Junr., Abraham Keller & John Tipton Gent. Justices be recommended to his Excellency the Governor to serve as Sheriff for this County. . . .
April 30, 1778 Here the name Shanando first appears in the records of the court as the name of the county. Present . . . John Tipton . . . John Tipton was sworn in as county lieutenant of militia of the county . . .
May 1, 1778 Here the name of the county is written Shennandoah. . . .
May 29, 1778 Present, . . . John Tipton . . .
August 27, 1778 There was produced and read a commission from Gov. Patrick Henry, dated June 29, 1778, directed to the following, authorizing them to qualify as justices: . . . John Tipton . . . Some of the men named therein were dead; others living were not present; but the following were present and took the oath of a justice of the peace: John Tipton . . .
December 2, 1780 The court fixed the prices for ordinary keepers as follows:
- Dinner £3.12.0
- Supper or breakfast £3.0.0
- Rum per tin (?) (gill?) £0.18.0
- Whisky per tin (?) £0.18.0
- Cider or Bear [beer] per Qt. £1.10.0
- Lodging £1.4.0
- Stableage & hay £3.12.0
- Oats or Corn per Gal. £2.8.0
- Pasturage £1.10.0
- Peach Brandy per gill (?) £0.18.0
- Apple Brandy per gill (?) £0.18.0
These prices stated in pounds, shillings, and pence, appear enormously high; but we must remember the date was 1789 by which time the Continental and local paper money had markedly depreciated. . . .
Photo of Lantz Mill, Near Edinburg, VA. [with caption] A more charming rural landscape, even int he famed Shenandoah Valley, can rarely be found. In the foreground is Stony Creek, a beautiful, sparkling stream, which furnishes power to drive the mill, shown in left of picture, and from which the village gets its name. In the background are the Alleghany Mountains, and all about are fertile farm properties. The settelment of this section began about 1740. Near here Jacob Wolfe, a pioneer, built a fort to protect the settlers, and upon one occasion he himself was saved from a lurking Indian by the watchfulness of his faithful dog. . . .
Following is a list of Revolutionary pensioners who were living in Shenandoah County in 1835. This list was compiled in Washington City in 1907 by Hon. Chas. E. Kemper, and was furnished to the author by that gentleman's kindness . . .
Invalid Pensioners - William Tipton, Parker's Regt. . . .
In a manuscript volume called the "Romney & Winchester Pay Roll," pages 29 and 30, is a list of the men in Capt. John Tipton's company, who were in service early in the revolution. John Tipton was a very prominent citizen of Shenandoah County; and it is probable that most of his men were from the same county. The author is indebted to the manuscript collections of Hon. Boutwell Dunlap of San Francisco for a copy of Captain John Tipton's Roll:
John Tipton, captain . . . Joseph Hopkins, Joseph Denton (deserted), Thomas Denton . . . John Hunt . . . Jonas Denton . . . Samuel Odel . . . Benjamin Bruice
The pay given John Tipton and his men was for terms of service from 22 to 158 days, on October 25, 1775, and they were paid off at Romney or Winchester. . . .
[George Rogers] Clark and all four of his captains were native Virginians. Bowman's & Helm's companies were composed almost entirely of Virginians; the bulk of the soldiers and officers in the Illinois campaign were Virginians; the Illinois campaign originated with Virginians; it was authorized, prosecuted, and entirely paid for by Virginia, and the Old Dominion should have the credit which rightfully belongs to her. [W.H. English, Conquest of the Northwest, Vol. I, p. 124]
Following is the roll of Captain (later Major) Joseph Bowman's company, dating from January 24, 1778. It was copied by Mr. W.H. English from an old manuscript found with Bowman's papers, which purported to be a copy of the pay-roll of his company.
Name - When Listed 1778 - When Discharged - Miles to go Home
- Captain Joseph Bowman - Jan. 23 - Aug. 18 - 1200. . .
- Jacob Speers, sergt. - July 5 - Aug. - 1100
Heads of Families in 1785 - In 1790, in accordance with the requirements of the new federal constitution put into effect in 1789, a census of the several states was compiled. This first federal census in Virginia consisted largely of enumerations already recently made under state or county authority. By a rare piece of good fortune for the student of Shenandoah County history and genealogy, two counts of the inhabitants of this county had recently been made: one in 1783, another in 1785. In the former of these, three items were tabulated regarding each family in the county: 1) the name of the head of the family; 2) the number of white members of the family; 3) the number of black servants or slaves. The total number of families enumerated was 1302. The number of black persons listed was only 362, distributed among 110 white families. . . .
Among prominent citizens of Shenandoah in 1783, not already mentioned, who were credited with four or fewer blacks, were . . . John Tipton with four . . .
So much for the census of Shenandoah County taken in the year 1783. We shall now give more particular attention to the enumeration of 1785.
In 1783 the whole county was canvassed by one man, Alexander Hite; at any rate the whole long list of names is credited to him; and at that time Shenandoah County was almost twice its present size; but in 1785 sixteen different men, including Alexander Hite, made the numeration, and the list taken by each one is preserved under his name. By this lucky circumstance it is possible to locate each group geographically with more or less certainty. Below, each of these sixteen lists is presented, together with such explanatory notes and observations as are deemed justified or helpful. Instead of slaves in 1785, dwellings and other buildings were enumerated.
1. List of Abraham Keller - Mr. Keller, according to information given by Mr. P.S. Rhodes, lived on the river at or near Front Royal. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that a number of the family names given in Keller's list have long been familiar in the Front Royal region.
Name - Whites - Dwellings - Other Buildings
- Breding, Spencer - 10 - 1- 0
- Odle, Jonithen - 9 - 1 - 0
- Odle, James - 8 - 1 - 0
- Overall, John - 10 - 2 - 3
2. List of Abraham Bird - Abraham Bird probably lived at Red Banks, the splendid homestead between the Valley Pike and the north Shenandoah River, midway between Edinburg and Mt. Jackson. his territory likely extended from Red Banks up to Rude's Hill and westward to the Middle Road. It will be observed that his list of names is a short one, bu the reason is also apparent. His neighbors were mostly men of wealth, owning large farms and numerous buildings.
- Soltsman, William - 3 - 1 - 0
- Taylor, Christn. Chas. - 5 - 0 - 0
- Taylor, Charles - 8 - 1 - 2
3. List of Edwin Young -- Edwin Young evidently lived on the east side of the Massanutten Mountain, within the limits of the present Page County. His territory was a considerable area centering, apparently, around the site of Luray. Most of the names in Young's list are still familiar in this region.
- Breeding, James. Sr. - 9 - 1 - 1
- Tyler, William - 4 - 1 - 0
4. List of Thomas Allen - Thomas Allen's list consists of families in the Fork District of Warren County:
- Robertson, William (Tyl) 12 - 1 - 2
- Taylor, Lazarus - 4 - 1 - 2
7. List of Richard Branham - Branham's list was probably made in the upper end of the Page Valley, in the district including Marksville, Stanley, Leaksville, Alma, Honeyville and Newport.
- Coomer, John - 5 - 1 - 1
- Coomer, Michael - 6 - 1- 2
- Coomer, Philip - 3 - 0 - 1
- Coomer, Augustine - 3 - 0 - 2
- Coomer, Martin - 12 -2 -1
- Coomer, Adam - 3 - 1 -1
- Coomer, Frederick - 10 - 1 - 2
- Grove, Christian - 12 - 1 - 1
- Howbert, Nicholas - 4 - 0 - 2
- Robinson, John - 6 - 0 - 2
8. List of Jacob Rinker - The families listed by Rinker were about his home, Conieville, and in adjacent sections - Hudson's Cross Roads, Jerome, Liberty Furnace, Mt. Clifton, etc.
- Baughman, Jacob - 7 - 1 - 1
- Fox, Catherine (widow) - 4 - 1 - 1
- Stout, John - 8 - 0 - 0
- Woolf, Mary (widow) - 7 - 1 - 0
- Woolf, Jacob, Senr. - 2 - 0 - 0
10. List of Samuel Porter - Samuel Porter covered a section that probably extended from the North Mountain to the Massanutten, including Mt. Olive, Tom's Brook, and the adjacent portion of the river.
- Crisel, Nicholas - 5 - 1 - 0
16. List of George Keller - George Keller's list was evidently made up in the Powell's Fort Valley. Many of the same family names are still to be found there. The spelling of some of the names in this list should be improved. This is true of a number of names throughout the census.
- Odelle, Elige - 8 - 1 - 2
- Odelle, Jeremiah - 4 - 1 - 1 . . .
Denton - Capt. John Denton was militia captain for the Shenandoah area during the French & Indian war. His widow married John Odell. Abraham Denton, died 1774, left: Abraham; Phoebe, married William Plumley; and Martha, md. 1) Dr. James Moore of Shenandoah, and 2) as his second wife, Col. John Tipton.
Some of the Dentons joined the Shenandoah group in East Tennessee. James Denton was justice of Washington County, Territory of the United States of America South of the River Ohio (now Tennessee), 1791.
It is thought John Bernard Denton, born 1806, in Tennessee, noted Methodist minister of the Texan frontier of 1836, orator, and Indian fighter, killed by Indians may be descended from East Tennessee Dentons. Denton county, Texas, is named in John Bernard Denton's honor.
Tipton - The records of Shenandoah and other counties disclose a number of Tiptons, probably all related, other than the following. The family came to Shenandoah from Baltimore county, Md. It seems certain that Col. John Tipton, Joseph Tipton and Maj. Jonathan Tipton were brothers.
Col. John Tipton was justice and vestryman of Beckford parish of Dunmore and Shenandoah; Shenandoah captain in Dunmore's war; Revolutionary officer, county lieutenant and sheriff of Shenandoah; representative of Dunmore in the Virginia constitutional convention of 1776 and in the Virginia house of delegates 1776-1777, and of Shenandoah in the Virginia house of delegates, 1778-1781; representative of Washington county, NC (now Tenn.), in the Jonesboro or Franklin conventions of 1784 and 1785; representative of Washington county, now Tennessee, in the North Carolina senate; justice, clerk and militia colonel of Washington county, NC (now Tenn); representative of Washington county, now Tennessee, in the North Carolina convention of 1788 for considering the federal constitution; representative of Washington county in the house of representatives of the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio, now Tennessee; representative of Washington county in the Tennessee constitutional convention of 1796; representative of Washington county in the Tennessee senate. There is some evidence he may have been a Shenandoah burgess in 1776.
While in Shenandoah he lived south of Maurertown. he sold Shenandoah farms to Abraham Bidler, William Bauserman and another known as the Dr. Jacob Coffman farm.
The character of Col. Tipton, as result of his contest with Col. Sevier over the State of Franklin, has suffered from unjust writings of Tennessee historians. Col. Sevier has been glorified. There is no real stigma on Col. Tipton.
Col. Tipton married in Shenandoah 1) Mary Butler and 2) Martha (Denton) Moore. Mary Butler was daughter of Thomas Butler, killed by Indians on Cedar Creek. The assertion has been made - how correctly it is unknown - that Thomas Butler was of the well known border family of the name. Pierce Butler appears as defendant in a suit in Frederick county, Va., 1751. The second wife of Col. Tipton had a son who died at about thirty. By his first wife, Col. Tipton had children, all natives of Shenandoah, as follows, who themselves have left hundreds of descendants:
1) Samuel, born 1762 was representative of Carter county in the Tennessee legislature. He md. 1) Jemima (Suttee) Little & 2) Susannah Reneau (Reno). By the second wife he was father of Maj. Abraham Tipton, representative of Johnson, Carter & Sullivan counties in the Tennessee state. . .
2) Benjamin, born 1755, was Shenandoah Revolutionary militia lieutenant and went to Blount county, Tennessee.
3) Capt. Abraham, born 1761, was 2d Lieutenant of the 12th Virginia regiment, 1776, captain in the Virginia regiment in Clark's expedition, and killed near Louisville, Ky., 1782.
4) William born 1761, was in Capt. Wall's company, Col. Richard Parker's regiment, and received three wounds at Savannah, 1779.
5) Isaac, born 1763, was a Revolutionary soldier and father of Isaac P. Tipton, clerk of the circuit court of Court county, Tenn., 1846-1854.
6) Capt. Jacob, born 1765, raised a company and was killed at St. Clair's defeat, 1791. Thirty years later, Tipton county, Tenn., was named in his honor. He married Mary Bradford, leaving one daughter and one son, Gen. Jacob Tipton. . . .
7) Thomas married 1) (--?--) Broyles & 2) (--?--) Jobe
8) John born 1767, was at the battle of New Orleans, and represented five counties in the Tennessee house of representatives (of which he was speaker) and Tennessee senate. He married Elizabeth Snapp.
9) Col. Jonathan, born 1776, was colonel of a light horse regiment of East Tennessee counties, 1822.
Hopkins Family Notes - Contributed by Mrs. Harry A. Hunt, Portsmouth, VA - The first Hopkins of whom I have record was an Englishman and married a daughter of Sir Arthur Johns of Wales. They and six sons came to America in 1632 and settled in Maryland. Eventually two sons went north, two west and two remained in or near Baltimore. Very probably the Hopkinses listed in the first census of the US were descended from some of these brothers. Gerard T. Hopkins, the first settler, was an English gentleman and brought the coat of arms with him. It is a sable shield decorated with three pistols and a gold chevron on which there are three roses, the whole surmounted with a tower in flames. The motto is vi et animo [strength & courage].
Gerard T. Hopkins, great-grandson of the immigrant was born in 1692 and married margaret Johns, daughter of Richard Johns and Elizabeth Kinsey Sparrow, and lived in Ann Arundel County, Md.
The family became members of the Society of Friends and remained in Baltimore until Philip, born 1749, grandson of G.T. Hopkins, born 1692, married Catherine Evans, daughter of Lewis Evans, and removed to Staunton, VA. Catherine Evans was also sought in marriage by Philip Hopkins' cousin, Johns Hopkins, founder of Johns Hopkins University & Hospital. It is a tradition that her parents objected, she refused him, He never married.
Philip, born 1791, son of Philip born 1749, married three times: 1) mary Kisling, mother of G.T. Hopkins of McGahysville, VA; 2) Mary Hughes; 3) Johannah Hunton Carter, daughter of Edward Carter, who became the mother of Johns E. Hopkins of New Market, VA. . . .
A list of births & baptisms in Shenandoah County, VA from Court Records:
Person - Children - Born - Baptized
- John Robeson & Elsabe - Elisabeth - 7 weeks - 1/8/1773
- Margaret Barnes - John a B[astard] - 8/14/1772 - 2/3/1773
- William Robinson & Milly - Mary - 12/18/1772 - 2/28/1773
- Benjamin Breedin & Elisabeth - Sarah - Jan. 29 - 3/22/1773
- Daniel Stout & Catharine - G. Peter - 8 months - 8/3/1773
- Joseph Hopkins & Jane - Nathan - 8 weeks - 8/10/1773
- James Denton & Elizabeth - Joseph - 8 months - 8/15/1773
- John Barnes & Hannah - Rebecca - July 14 - 9/19/1773
- Lorentz Wolff & Hester - Daniel - 3 years - 9/23/1773
- Augustine Wolff & Margaret - M. Margaret - Feb. 21 - 4/12/1774
- Daniel Stout & Catharine - Magdalene - Jan. 6 - 4/12/1774
- John Overall & Elisabeth - Abraham - June 11 - 10/9/1774
- James Fox & Elisabeth - Enoch - July 3 - 10/9/1774
A List of Early Marriages in Shenandoah County, VA from the Court Records:
- 1784, Feb. 25, James Breeding md. Hannah Naling
- 1782, Dec. 22, Jacob Lotz md. Sarah Woolf by Simon Hart
- 1782, Aug. 6, Jeremiah Odell md. Rachael Walters by James Ireland
- 1783, Feb. 26, Nathaniel Overall md. Ann Thomas by James Ireland
- 1784, Feb. 3, Conrad Reader, son of Adam & Mary Wolf, daughter of Jacob
- 1785, Oct. 17, Benjamin Hinkle md. Mary Lung by Paul Hinkle
- 1786, Feb. 28, Samuel Comer md. Elizabeth Pence by John Koontz
- 1786, Oct. 31, Riley Robinson md. Cathe. March by . A. Moffitt
- 1788, Apr. 29, Jeremiah Breeding md. Elizabeth Hust
- 1789, Aug. 6, John Jordon md. Molly Breeding
- 1791, Oct. 25, Augustin Wolf md. Elizabeth Look by Simon Harr
- 1791, Oct. 28, John Tipton md. Elizabeth Snapp by Simon Harr
- 1793, Sept. 9, John Tipton md. Polly Dotson by Simon Harr
- 1793, Sept. 11, Alexander Ross md. Sarah Tipton by Simon Harr
- 1793, Sept. 16, Daniel Stout md. Catharine Hammon by Simon Harr
- 1794, Jan. 21, Casper Miller md. Eve Comer, by John Koons
- 1794, Dec. 14, Jacob Wolf md. Elizabeth Lear by Simon Harr
- 1796, Nov. 14, Philip Comer md. Barbara Daker by James Huffman
- 1798, Feb. 20, Jacob Odell md. Sarah Hurst by John Coons
- 1798, Feb. 27, Wm. Cunningham md. Sybilla Denton by James Hoffman
- 1798, Nov. 29, Jacob Overall md. Elizabeth Hammet by John Coons
- 1799, Sept. 10, Abram Overall md. Hannah Leeth by John Coons
- 1799, Jan. 10, Henry Fertigh md. Anna Overhaul by James Hoffman
Members of the Virginia House of Delegates (Burgesses) from Shenandoah (Dunmore) County 1772-1927
- Tipton, John, 1778-1781
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