AUBREY OSCAR TIPPS

The following bio was taken from page 413 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

Aubrey Oscar Tipps was born August 29, 1901 in Brachfield. His father was Henry Edward Tipps (1878-1948), a carpenter, who was also born and reared in Rusk County. His mother, Ella Pearl Pinkerton, (1880-1960), was from Tennessee. Both are buried at Maple Grove Cemetery, Minden.

Aubrey’s paternal grandparents were: Colby C. Tipps (1844-1907), who was once a County Clerk of Rusk County, and his wife, Frances Ann Vaughn (1844-1929). They lived in the Blackjack Community and are buried in the Blackjack Cemetery. Aubrey’s maternal grandparents were: John P. Pinkerton (1837-1918) and Margaret R. Templeton (1840-1898). They came from Tennessee to Rusk County and are buried at Maple Grove Cemetery.

Aubrey Oscar Tipps and Lillian Eugenia Harrington were married August 28, 1928. They resided at Brachfield, where he was a farmer and part-time paperhanger. He died August 20, 1976 and is buried in the Shiloh Cemetery. She still lives at Brachfield.

Lillian Eugenia Harrington Tipps was born February 22, 1905, the daughter of William Wylie Harrington (1871-1941) and his wife, Ida Florence Rousseau (1878-1976), both born and reared in Rusk County. Lillian’s maternal grandparents were: Travis Rousseau II (1824-1914) and his wife, Julia Ann Tabitha Iverson (1832-1913). Both came from Georgia to Texas and are buried in the Zion Hill Cemetery. Lillian’s paternal grandparents were William Sideney Harrington (1839- 1918), who came from Mississippi to Texas, and his wife Angie Lee Elizabeth Frances Parker, (1843-1934). Both are buried in the Shiloh Cemetery.

Aubrey and Lillian were the parents of four sons, all born and reared at Brachfield. Their first son, Clyde Lavelle Tipps, born September 19, 1930, married Kittie Clair Keeling, born May 6, 1934. He is employed at L.T. V. in Grand Prairie. Their children are: Gennie Lavone, born April 28, 1956, who married Don Hodge, an art teacher in Maryland; Shereen Gail, born August 20, 1959, who married Michel Sanford, employed by Graphic Postal Instant Press; and Lynda JoAnn, born April 7, 1969, who is an art student.

Grady Wayne Tipps, the second son, was born December 14, 1931. He is self-employed farmer and cattleman at Brachfield and is married to Jan Brooks Tipps. They have one son, Toby Wayne Tipps, born April 4, 1963.

The Tipps third son, William Dale Tipps, born December 14, 1934, is employed by Entex at Huntsville. He is married to Patsy Jo Stepto, who was born March 23, 1947 at San Augustine. They have one adopted daughter, Mandi Gayle, born November 24, 1980.

Billy Don Tipps, the fourth son, was born July 6, 1937. On December 2, 1960 he married Nora Ann Jimmerson, born July 26, 1940. They have no children. They reside at Brachfield where Nora Ann is employed at R.E.A. and Don is employed by the State Highway Department and is also a cattleman.

"Paypa" Harrington served in the Civil War as a soldier. He was captured and held a prisoner in Chicago. After the war, when he was released, he walked from Chicago to Mississippi. The soldiers were poorly fed, and as they came across the camps that had been occupied by the Northern troops, he said the dried bread they found was the sweetest food they had. As they came across dead soldiers, they took their shoes, if they fit, because they had none.

Grandpa Rousseau served in the Civil War as a shoe cobbler. I remember his shoe lasts and tools, the nail punch, awl, tacks, and thread that he kept in a little room at his home. He loved the Sacred Harp singing and would go every Sunday to a singing, even over in Louisiana. He was one of the earlier members of the Zion Hill Baptist church. Going to church was a must. The regular meeting day was once a month, with conference on the preceding Saturday. One of Grandpa Rousseau’s ancestors died on a ship coming from France and was thrown overboard. The son was "bonded out" to the rich tobacco farmers when landed.

Grandpa Iverson came to Texas from Georgia by wagon train and crossed Lake Pontchartrain on a ferry.

Submitted by Mrs. Aubrey O. Tipps