Tipton, Capt. A.F. 1837-1895

TIPTON, BRUSH, MILLER

Posted By: S. Ferrall - IAGenWeb volunteer
Date: 5/2/2010 at 20:41:49

Capt. A.F. Tipton, an old former citizen of Elkader, died recently at South Bend, Ind.

~Postville Review, February 23, 1895

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The South Bend, Ind., Tribune announces the death of Andy F. Tipton, one of the first journeymen printers we ever worked with. Old settlers in this vicinity in 1860 may remember his as a long-geared, talkative, light-haired young man of 23, who worked here on the N.I. Observer when Prof. Brush was the publisher. The jours of the office had more fun with and at the typical Hoosier than you could pack in an opera house. It seems incredible that "Tip" as he was mostly called, had reached the age of 58. As he was quite well known hereabouts we copy the published account of his life:

Capt. Tipton had an eventful career. He was born Jan. 31, 1837, not far from Canton, Stark county, Ohio, and in the 40's his parents removed to this county, settling on a farm about three miles south of the city. In this locality young Tipton grew to manhood. He learned the printer's trade and worked in the old Register office for Schuyler Colfax, making his home with the late B.F. Miller, who was foreman of the Register office.

About the year 1857 he moved to Iowa, and in 1860 he became proprietor of a paper at Guttenberg, that state. Later he published a paper at Elkader, Iowa, and from that town he entered the army, enlisting in Co. I, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, Sept. 30, 1863, going out as lieutenant. At the close of the service he was commissioned a captain.

Capt. Tipton participated in the important battles of the army of the Tennessee, and July 30, 1864, at Newman, Ga., he ws taken prisoner while on the McCook raid around Atlanta. His experience while in the hands of the confederates was of the most thrilling kind. Moved about from one point to another he with his captive comrades was subjected to the severest hardships and dangers. They were first taken to Atlanta, then in a few days to Macon, Ga., and shortly afterwards to Charleston, S.C. In the latter place they were kept in a workhouse and jail exposed to the fire of the union forces guarding the harbor and shelling the city. In the fall of that year they were removed to Columbus, S.C. and without shelter of any sort kept out in an open field in a week's continual rain. Afterwards they were moved back to Charleston, then taken to Raleigh, goldsborough and Wilmington, N.C., during the winter. March 1, 1865, Capt. Tipton succeeded in getting into the Union lines and was discharged as a parolled prisoner of war.

While on his way home he was taken seriously ill with hemorrhage of the lungs and remained in the hospital at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, for many weeks. He finally got back to Elkader, and again embarked in the newspaper business. In 1886 he sold out and went into the drug business. In 1868 he was appointed by President Grant as postmaster of the town. He held his position for five years and in 1878 went on the railroad as mail route agent between laCrosse and Dubuque. He served in this capacity until 1884, when he was transferred from Iowa to the south, making the route between New Orleans and Vickburg. In May, 1886, he was removed by the Cleveland administration. In the summer of that year, Capt. Tipton and family came back to South Bend and their home has since been here.

~Iowa Postal Card, Fayette, Iowa, February 28, 1895

Clayton Obituaries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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