Joseph F. Shipp

       
      Joseph F. Shipp was born on February 3, 1845, in Jasper County, Tennessee. On April 12, 1861, he ran away from home and enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private. His father was able to find him and take him home, but Shipp was later allowed to rejoin the Army of Virginia.

      In the Battle of Melvern he was severely wounded. For his numerous acts of gallantry and bravery in the face of danger, Shipp was promoted to the rank of captain, a title he held throughout the war. Later in his life he joined the United Confederates Veteran's Association and served as the organization's Quartermaster General until his death.

      At the end of the Civil War he was discharged from the Army and returned to his home in Georgia. There he became involved in many successful business ventures.

      On August 12, 1866, Shipp married Lily Eckles, and they moved to Chattanooga where he became involved in the manufacturing business. By 1893 Shipp was known as one of the wealthiest citizens in Hamilton County.

      In the early 1890s, Shipp was appointed coal oil inspector by Tennessee's Governor Peter Turney. In 1900, he was elected as tax assessor, serving until 1904, when he was elected as sheriff of Hamilton County. Shipp also served as a member of the Board of Alderman and of the Board of Education, though he had little formal education. In addition, Shipp was active in the Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce. After serving two terms (1904 to 1908) as Hamilton County Sheriff, he was again appointed Coal Oil Inspector on April 18, 1923.

      After a brief illness, Shipp passed away on September 18, 1925, at his home on Lookout Place. He was laid to rest in his Confederate uniform.

  Joseph F. Shipp was born in Jasper County , Ga. , February 3, 1844 , and is a son of Gustavus V. and Caroline (George) Shipp, natives respectively of North Carolina and Georgia . Joseph F. was reared and educated in his native State, and in 1861 enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving with the Fourth Georgia Regiment two years. He then served in the transportation department until the close of hostilities, when he followed the mercantile business in Social Circle, Ga. , until 1873, when he and Maj. Temple established the present business in Chattanooga . He has also been largely engaged in real estate transactions in Chattanooga . August 12, 1866 , he married Lillie E. Eckles of Walton County , Ga. , who bore him nine children-six sons and three daughters. He is a Democrat, and has served on the board of mayor and aldermen. He was the Democratic candidate for mayor in 1883, and is a member of the city school board. He is also commander of N. B. Forrest's camp of Confederate Veterans. Singularly enough the firm of Temple & Shipp is composed of an ex-Federal soldier and an ex-Confederate soldier, each having faithfully served the cause he deemed right. They dwell in harmony together notwithstanding this fact and are reasonably prosperous.
Goodspeed's History of East Tennessee, 1888; Page 1001.