John Tipton

This article is about the American politician. For other uses, see John Tipton (disambiguation).

John Shields Tipton
John Tipton from Who-When-What Book, 1900
United States Senator
In office 1832–1839
Preceded by	Robert Hanna
Succeeded by	Albert S. White
Personal details
Born	August 14, 1786 Sevier County, Tennessee
Died	April 5, 1839 (aged 52) Logansport, Indiana
Political party	Democratic
Military service
Service/branch	Militia
Unit	Yellow Jackets
Commands	Indiana Rangers
Battles/wars	Tecumseh's War  • Battle of Tippecanoe War of 1812  • Battle of Tipton's Island  • Siege of Fort Wayne

John Shields Tipton (August 14, 1786 - April 5, 1839) was an American politician.

Tipton was born in what is now Sevier County, Tennessee. His father was killed by Native Americans. His great uncle, also named John, was a prominent man in the area. When he was an infant, his uncle's house was besieged by supporters of an attempt to create the 14th state in Northeastern Tennessee called the State of Franklin.

At the age of 17, Tipton moved to Harrison County, Indiana. In 1806 he married Martha Shields.^[1] He became a farmer. Fighting various Native American tribes, he commanded a militia unit of the Yellow Jackets in the Battle of Tippecanoe campaign in 1811, and served as Major in command of two companies of Indiana Rangers at Fort Vallonia during the War of 1812.^[2] When peace was declared, Tipton was promoted to Brigadier-General.^[3]

Tipton's marriage eventually fell apart and he was divorced in 1816.^[4] He eventually entered politics. He served as a member of the Indiana State House of Representatives from 1819 to 1823. During this time, he founded the town of Columbus, Indiana originally known as Tiptonia, he participated in commissions to establish a new state capital for Indiana and to set the boundaries between Indiana and Illinois. In 1823, he became the United States Indian agent for the Potawatomi and Miami tribes. Also a captain in the militia, Tipton was responsible for rounding up the uncooperative Potawatomi and forcibly moving them to Kansas in what became known as the Potawatomi Trail of Death. In 1825, he married again, this time he married Matilda Spencer, the daughter of Captain Spier Spencer who died at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.^[5]

In 1831, Tipton was elected by the state legislature to a seat in the United States Senate from Indiana to fill the unexpired term of James Noble who had died. He was reelected to a full term in 1832. He was a member of the United States Democratic Party and a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson. He served as chairman of the committees on roads and canals and Native American affairs from 1837 to 1839. In 1838, at the behest of Governor David Wallace, Tipton organized the forced removal of 859 Potawatomi from the vicinity of Plymouth and started them on the two-month-long "Trail of Death" to Kansas, which resulted in the deaths of more than 40 of them. He declined to run for reelection due to poor health, and his term expired a month before his death. He died in Logansport, Indiana, a town that he helped to found. The towns of Tipton, Indiana and Iowa and Tipton County, Indiana are named after him.

Affiliations

• Past Grand Master Mason of Indiana

References

1. ^ Indian Treaty of 1826 - Tipton's Quest, by Carl Leiter
2. ^ Allison, Harold (1986). The Tragic Saga of the Indiana Indians. Paducah: Turner Publishing Company. p. 246. ISBN 0-9380-2107-9. 
3. ^ Pershing, Marvin W. Life of General John Tipton and Early Indiana History. Tipton literary and Suffrage Club. http://books.google.com/books?id=ramNGAAACAAJ&dq=Life+of+John+Tipton.  Also on archive.org
4. ^ Indian Treaty of 1826 - Tipton's Quest, by Carl Leiter
5. ^ Indian Treaty of 1826 - Tipton's Quest, by Carl Leiter

External links

• John Tipton Portrait
• John Tipton Biography at Congress.gov

United States Senate
Preceded by Robert Hanna	United States Senator (Class 1) from Indiana 1832–1839 Served alongside: William Hendricks and Oliver H. Smith	Succeeded by Albert S. White

Persondata
Name	Tipton, John
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 14, 1786
Place of birth	Sevier County, Tennessee
Date of death	April 5, 1839
Place of death	Logansport, Indiana