Narrative by Dona Hiser

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TINCH - SPURLING FAMILY
As Told To Me by My Father, John Allen (C) Tinch by Dona Hiser

About the middle of the 1700's, a man by the name of Tinch left England and came to America. He settled on the Roanoke River in Virginia. There, as the story goes, he married a Cherokee Indian maiden and raised a family. One of the children named George married Jensey Short. They raised three children: John, Mary, and Anderson.

Jensey died and George married Mary Jane Norman. They had six children: Wylie, George, Polly, Alex, Frank, and Allen.

Later George moved to Tennessee and settled in Morgan County near Old Palestine Church. Here he spent the remainder of his life and was buried in the Old Palestine Church cemetery. (Near Shadeland?)

The children grew up and scattered. Some of them married and settled in the Fentress County area. Others never married.

John went west and never returned. Anderson married Sally Spurling. They had one son, Jackson Polk. Sally died when Polk was 8-years-old. Anderson then married Winnie Crabtree. They had no children. Josephine, the Negro woman who had been a slave in the household, chose to stay on and take care of the young Polk even though she had been legally freed.

Anderson Tinch, the son of George Tinch, was born 3/30/1810. Sally Spurling Tinch was born 11/4/1814. They were married 4/26/1832. They had only one child, Jackson Polk Tinch, who was born 12/17/1848. Anderson died 3/03/1892. Sally died 11/14/1856. Winnie Crabtree was born 7/7/1817. She was married to Anderson 12/8/1856, had no children, and died 10/14/1890.

Jackson Polk. Tinch and Sarah A. Epsum were married on 10/24/1867. Sarah was born 3/18/1849. She passed away 12/30/1930. Polk passed away 11/7/1935.

Polk and Sarah had eight children. They were: Timothy Grant; Anderson Calfax; Titus Franklin; Mary Alice; Alexander George; John Allen (C) ; William Harvey; Andrew Jackson.

(NOTE: Andrew's birth mother is said to be Victoria Owens, sister of Abigail Owens.)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FAMILY
OF GEORGE TINCH

The third child of George and Jensy Short Tinch who was named Mary, married a Ringler. They moved to Missouri and never returned.

The six children of George and his second wife, the former Mary Ann Norman, were Wylie, George, Polly, Alex, Frank, and Allen.

Wylie married a Robison and raised their family in Fentress County. One of their sons married Libby Walker, and a daughter married Oscar Reynolds.

George married a Scroggins. They raised their family in the Wolf River area of Fentress County. They had a son, Mills, who had a son George who lived in Brooksville, Florida. More info.

Polly was never married but had one son, Alvin, who married and had a son, Dillard.

Alex married and moved to Illinois.

Frank married Charity Hurst. They took their family to Illinois, Mattoon and Eldorado.

Allen married Nancy Hoover. They raised their family in Overton County near Cookeville.