Jackson Polk Tinch's version of the Tinch family history
The following account is typed exactly as Jackson Polk Tinch wrote it in a document dated May the 18th, 1931. (NOTE: Polk was an elderly man when he wrote this and there are errors and omissions. We have corrected as many as we could in parentheses.)
My grandfather George Tinch came from England. * He was a thoroughbred Englishman. I don't know the date he came to this country. He was a young man. He settled in Virginia in Roanoke County on Roanoke River and married a girl by the name of Jensey Short. They raised 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls, by the name of John and one by the name of Anderson Tinch. The two girls -- Mary Ann and Nancy Tinch. He lived in Virginia till 1810. My grandfather fought all through the Indian Wars under Andrew Jackson.
In 1810 my grandfather George Tinch moved to Anderson County Tennessee, lived there awhile and moved to Fentress County in 1828 and settled in 8 miles of Jamestown on Scott's Old Turnpike road.
My grandfather George Tinch, his first wife died in Virginia in 1810. His last wife was by the name of Norman was Mary Jane. They raised a family of 6 children, 5 boys and one girl, Henry Franklin Tinch, Alexander Tinch, Wiley Y. Tinch, George Washington Tinch, Allen Tinch, and Poly Ann Tinch. I don't know how old my grandfather George Tinch was. He must have been over 80 years. He died in Morgan Co. He was laid to rest in Palestine Cemetery in Morgan County (near or in the present community of Shadeland).
My father Anderson Tinch was born March the 30, 1810 in Roanoke County, Virginia. His mother died when he was 3 weeks old. Her name was Jensey Short before she married George Tinch. My grandfather moved from Virginia in 1810 to Anderson County, Tennessee, not far from Clinton, left there and came to Fentress County in 1828 and settled 8 miles south of Jamestown on Scott's Old Turnpike road leading to Jamestown and Wartburg.
Anderson Tinch was about 18 years old. His first wife was Grandfather James Spirling's daughter Sallie Spirling. They was married about April 26 day, 1832.
Anderson Tinch tended some land and went to making tar and turpentine. He learned the cooper's trade, made his own barrels. He done nothing else for 7 years, made boats to get the tar and turpentine and still rosen to Nashville. Then put it on a steamboat and shipped it to Terre Haute and Vincennes, Indiana and sold it. After he tried it 7 years he thought he could beat that by farming. He cleared up a 75 acre farm 6 miles south of Jamestown, lived there a few years and bought a 300 acre tract on the Clearfork, cleared up 2 farms and built a house and moved to that place in 1847 and lived on that farm till he died in 1892.
When my father was a young man, they drilled and mustered at Jamestown one day out of every month. Colonel John Boles of Overton County was colonel of a regiment. He appointed Anderson Tinch captain. They drilled with old rifle guns. They had a regimental muster every 3 months.
Anderson Tinch drove 25 fat hogs to Chattanooga and butchered them and salted them down and sold the meat. That was before any railroad run to Chattanooga. Tinker Dave Beaty went with him and helped.
My father's 2nd wife was Thomas Crabtree's daughter, Winney Crabtree. He never raised but one boy, so I never had any brothers or sisters. He named me Jackson Polk. I was born the 17th day of Decenber, 1848, was married in October 1867. My wife's name was Sarah Epsum. She was born March the 18th,1849, died December, the 7th, 1930. She was the mother of 7 children, 6 boys and one girl, 38 grandchildren, 71 great grandchildren, and 4 great great grandchildren.
My sons names is Timothy Grant Tinch was born July the 28th day, 1868, Anderson Colfax Tinch was born February 27th, 1870, Titus Franklin Tinch was born February the 2nd, 1872, Mary Alice Tinch was born the llth day of April 1874, Alexander Tinch was born October the 21st day, 1880, John C. Tinch, June the 13th day 1883, William Harvey Tinch was born June the 7th, 1885.
I served 10 years as Justice of the Peace on a straight and 7 years in the Secret Service as a detective. When General Sherman and his
men went to Knoxville they was 5 thousand on our place. (General who? Sheridan?)
The came the 3rd day of August in 1863 and staid 2 days and nights. I went with the captain and 100 rnen out toward Crossville on picket, came back at night. They had headquarters in one room of my father's house and tried several men, paroled some prisoners. On the night of the 3rd they send these pickets down 3 miles this side of Gatewood Ford on the Clear Fork and along after Midnight they captured 3 Confederate dispatched men on fine horses. They learned all about where they was stationed at. They paroled 2 of the men. One of the 3 said he would not take the oath at all. I wanted to volunteer and go with them. The captain said I was too young and had not been trained.
Timothy Grant Tinch's wife as A.J. Brown's daughter, Huldy Brown: three boys and two girls -- John Patrick Tinch, Arther Tinch, and Hugo Tinch, Clary Tinch, and Sada Tinch. I have no marriage dates or birthdates at hand. (Era was the eldest girl who died about 1910.)
Anderson Colfax Tinch married James Short's daughter Amanda Short. She raised 9 children, 6 girls and 3 boys - Sanford Tinch, Ferry Tinch, Huey Tinch, Etta Tinch, Stella Tinch, Roxy Ann Tinch, Hazel Tinch, Eska Tinch, and Juanita Tinch.
Titus Franklin Tinch married William Blair's senior daughter (Rhoda). She raised 4 boys and 3 girls (??) -- William Anderson, Hobart, Etha and Earria and Walter Tinch. (Lydia, Dora, Ruth, and Loma.)
Alexander Tinch married Thomas Owens daughter Abigail Owens. She
raised 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls -- Procter Lawten and Truman
Tinch, May Tinch, and Charlotte Elva Tinch. (One girl, Bertha, died
as a young woman.)
John C. Tinch, his wife was Joseph Evins daughter, Mahala Evins. She raised 4 children, one boy and three girls -- Orville Edison Tinch, Vera 0. Tinch, Dona Tinch, and Gladys Tinch.
William Harvey Tinch his wife was Aron Brooks' daughter Ada Brooks. She raised 3 children -- 2 boys and one girl, Everett Tinch, Ivin Tinch, and Violet Tinch.
Vera Tinch and Dona Tinch was educated at Athens, Tennessee, 2 years
in high school and 2 years in college.
(Polk's last child, Andrew Jackson Tinch was born in 1888. His birth mother is said to be Victoria Owens, sister of Abigail Owens. He was raised in Polk and Sarah's home. He married Flossie Brooks, and they had nine children, Jessie Opal Tinch, Bethel Ernest Tinch, Delbert Leroy Tinch, Bradford Andrew Tinch, Haskell Archie Tinch, Dorothy Jewell Tinch, Mary Beatrice Tinch, and Herman Benjamin Tinch.)
** According to John C. Tinch, George Tinch was not the one who came from England. George's father, whose name is not known came from England and married a Cherokee Indian maiden, perhaps a princess. That would have made George half Indian. Anderson would have been one-quarter Indian. And Polk would have been one-eighth Indian. This Indian heritage was well known in the family and we don't know why Grandpa Polk left it out of his account.
