Since 2021 is the Year of Gratitude and Thanksgiving for the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, it is fitting for all Mayflower descendants to be grateful for those who have gone before us to open our eyes to the heritage that we have as Mayflower descendants. We should be thankful for those who have done the painstaking research to show our families that we should honor our Mayflower ancestors and be thankful that they had the courage to take that treacherous journey to the New World in 1620. We can also tell the story of that landing over 400 years ago and the years that followed, and their courage to undertake such a journey with so many unknowns.
My journey to prove my Mayflower lineage took me from Mississippi to Maine. My Chipman/Chipley journey has proven that I am a Mayflower descendant from John Howland, William Bradford, Richard Warren, John Tilley, Joan Hurst Tilley, and Elizabeth Tilley. It is amazing how all these connections eventually came through the Chipman family. In particular, the connections all came through Daniel Chipman (1771-1855). Daniel Chipman is the father of my second great-grandfather, John Chipley/Chipman (1799-1880). Daniel and his wife, Anna Tripp Chipman, were the parents of nine children. They are buried in Village Cemetery in Raymond, Maine.
Tracing my Mayflower ancestor, John Chipley/Chipman, was no easy task. Learning the possibility that my second great-grandfather was thought to be descended from six passengers on the Mayflower in 1620 took me by surprise when my cousin, Joyce Williams Sanders, told me what she suspected. She had been researching for years and shared all her information with me. She told me she had run into the proverbial “brick wall,” and the wall was in the State of Maine.
The headstones of Daniel Chipman and Anna Tripp. Photo submitted.
According to a Chipley family record — From Maine to Mississippi with the Chipleys — written by Joyce Williams Sanders, John Chipley told family and friends in Mississippi his true age and place of birth. Family tradition holds that the tale he told of his former life in Maine was that his family died from cholera when he was small. John was “farmed-out” to another family to learn the masonry trade. He suffered ill-treatment and ran away from the family. He served as a drummer boy in the War of 1812. Later, at the age of 14, he stowed away on a ship from Maine to New Orleans. There he fell into the hands of robbers, who kept him overnight, fed him and sent him on his way. That is the tale he told his family. He went to Mississippi, married and raised a family. From all this, we know the following:
• John Chipley was born in Maine about 1799.
• He said he was a drummer in the military.
• He had learned the brick mason trade by serving an apprenticeship.
• He left Maine at some point.
• He came to Hinds County, Mississippi and married Joanah Rachel Kitchens.
• After marrying, John and Joanah moved to Attala County, Mississippi because he had a brick mason job.
• All clues led to Maine and John Chipman, the son of Daniel Chipman.
I began my search in 2008 to try and break down that “brick wall.” A search of all census records of Heads of Family in Maine between 1800 and 1870 revealed no Chipley families living in Maine during the time John Chipman was living there. However, Daniel Chipman is listed as a Head of Family in Cumberland County in 1790, 1800 and 1820. In fact, a search of all records of the Chipley surname in Maine on American Ancestors and Family Search revealed no results. This search showed that the John Chipley living in Mississippi who listed his birthplace as Maine could not have been a Chipley but had another surname. The similarity of the spelling made it likely that his surname was Chipman and correlates to the date and birthplace of John Chipman. Now that I had the name of John Chipman to check records, I continued my search.
I persisted for a while and then would stop. No matter how many times I would start and stop, I always came back wanting to discover how I could prove John Chipley was John Chipman from Maine. I felt the census records that revealed no Chipleys in Maine was not enough proof. I needed more proof even though I believed John Chipley and John Chipman were the same man. Never completely giving up, I found a document of John Chipman’s enlistment in the army in Boston, on Nov. 19, 1825. This document also shows his age, year of birth, place of birth, occupation of “musician” and his desertion from the army on Oct. 13, 1827. This does substantiate Joyce Sanders’ tradition story which mentions him being drummer in the Army. The abrupt departure from the Army would be a reason to cause him to leave Maine and Massachusetts, change his last name from Chipman to Chipley, come south, and settle in Mississippi. This document of his service in the Army is probably one of the only records of John’s existence after his birth until records were found in Mississippi.
There are some interesting facts about John that I will mention here. The Chipman family in Maine apparently lost all contact with John Chipman. John’s younger brother, Jesse, had apparently been in similar circumstances and his path closely paralleled John’s. Jesse left Maine and went to Georgia, where he changed his name to Joseph Chapman. Jesse worked as a brick mason, just as John did. There were several names connecting the Chipley and Chipman families. John Chipley had two daughters, Lucinda and Susannah. It is reasonable to believe that he named them after his sisters, Lucinda and Susan. His son John’s middle name was Royal. His daughter, Susannah, named her son Royal. His brother, Jesse, had a son, Royal, and a daughter, Ann Tripp, named for his mother Anna Tripp. John and Jesse had a brother, Lyman. Jesse had a son named Lyman, and John had a grandson named James Lyman. The similarity occurrence of these names connects John Chipley to Chipman family members.
The record of John’s marriage to Joanah was found in Hinds County Records in storage in Raymond. Tax and census records for John were found in Hinds County. Land, tax, and census records of John and Joanah were found in Attala County. I learned from the Kosciusko-Attala Record Book that John was the first brick mason in Attala County. His first job here was to help build the first brick jail. He also helped build the second jail. According to an old ledger of the minutes of the Board of Police, John was hired to supervise the brickwork on the new courthouse in Kosciusko. This record showed that John was paid $157 for his work. The work on the building began in 1860 and was finished in early 1861 before the Civil War.
A story in the Southern Sun, Attala County Newspaper, on Feb. 24, 1855 reported:
“We regret to learn that the dwelling house of our old friend John Chipley was consumed by fire last week. Mr. Chipley is an honest, upright and hard-working man and not by any means able to sustain so great a loss. We hope that his neighbors and friends will aid by assisting in rebuilding his home. Editor.”
After gathering all the documents needed for applying for membership to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Mississippi, I submitted the application on Sept. 26, 2014, with the help of Diane Coleman-Horne, who was Historian of the Mississippi Mayflower Society at the time. My thanks go out to Diane for the support and encouragement she gave me. My application through John Howland was approved on Jan. 14, 2015, accepting the proof that John Chipley was John Chipman. I also received acceptance through William Bradford on Feb. 9, 2018, and plan to evidentially apply for the other four passengers.
I never knew John Chipley/Chipman, but after researching and reading all about him, I am proud to say that he is a Mayflower descendant. He may never have known that.
Attala County Courthouse 1861-1896. Photo submitted.
Last, if it had not been for the encouragement of Joyce William Sanders, I am not sure I would have done any of this. She was such an inspiration to me, and I knew of her love for ancestry. Without her work in the past on the Chipleys and discovering that “brick wall,” I would have never known about the possibility of being a descendant of the Mayflower. Unfortunately, Joyce died before my approval for the Mayflower was realized, but I did have the opportunity to tell her of the military record I had found.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that I had support and encouragement during this project from two cousins, Ken Chipley and James Golden. They were helpful in keeping me focused and helping me with research. Since we do not know where John Chipley is buried, the two cousins and I had a memorial footstone placed in memory of John Chipley/Chipman and his six Mayflower descendants in the Singleton Methodist Church Cemetery in Singleton, in Leake County, where many Chipley (Chipman) ancestors are buried. The memorial was placed at the foot of the grave of his daughter-in-law, Margaret Smith Chipley.
The inscription on the footstone:
“Mayflower Descendant, John Chipley (1799-1880) was the father of James Polk Chipley (1845-1923), the husband of Margaret Smith Chipley whose body rests in this grave. John Chipley was born John Chipman on October 25, 1799 in Poland, Maine to Daniel Chipman and Anna Tripp Chipman. Changing his name to John Chipley, he made his way to Mississippi and married Joanah Rachael Kitchens in Hinds County. John and Joanah made their home in Attala County and were parents of four children: John Royal Chipley ((1838-1858), Lucinda Matilda Chipley Anthony (1839-1895), Mary Susannah Chipley Finley (1842-1912), and James Polk Chipley. He died about 1880 and is probably buried in a lost family cemetery along the Attala-Leake County line. His wife is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery, Chestnut, Louisiana. He is a direct descendant of six of the passengers who arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1620: John Howland, William Bradford, Richard Warren, John Tilley, Joan Hurst Tilley and Elizabeth Tilley.”
I believe that John Chipley never forgot his Chipman name. I can imagine that every time he met someone new and he gave his name as John Chipley, he remembered his Chipman name. John Chipley did not completely disown his past life in Maine. I believe he left the family hints through the years that thankfully today allow us to know John Chipley was John Chipman. Some of the hints may have been exaggerated but were close to what really happened. We do not know all the hardships he endured up until we found him in Hinds County. We do not know why or if the family he was “farmed-out” to treated him badly. We do not know why he deserted the Army. If he did stow away on a ship from Maine to New Orleans, he certainly was not 14 years old. We know that his parents did not die of cholera when he was small. We know that he persevered and made a good life for his family and extended family. We know he was an honest, hardworking man and was respected by his Attala County, community. We know that he showed that Pilgrim spirit. May he rest in peace.
In keeping with the General Society’s Year of Thanksgiving and the approaching 400th Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620. I praise God that He instilled in them a desire to have a life of freedom. I am thankful that John Chipley/Chipman came to Mississippi. I am thankful for those who helped me in this journey: Joyce Williams Sanders, Diane Coleman-Horne, James Golden and Ken Chipley. I am thankful for the General Society of Mayflower Descendants for preserving our history. I am thankful for the Mayflower Quarterly Magazine for continuing to inform the Society of the happenings of our organization. May we continue to celebrate our ancestors.
