Capt. James Rankin Alexander, CSA

James Rankin Alexander (1828-1873) was born in Aug 12, 1828, in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina to Rankin Alexander and Margaret M. Alexander. James R. Alexander married Frances Small Sanford on Dec. 8, 1858 in Tipton County. Frances, was the daughter of Robert Walker Sanford and Frances Downs, and sister to

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Reunion at Brighton was a Magnificent Success

As printed in The Commercial Appeal, July 27, 1894 Veterans Greeted Each Other Assemblage was the largest yet had since the organization of the association – speeches made by men who were in the thickest of the fray The twentieth annual reunion of the Confederate Veterans of West Tennessee was

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OLUNE WAKEFIELD

OLUNE WAKEFIELD Written by grandson David Eaton Olune Wakefield, born on March 17, 1930, to Bob and Gertrude Wakefield in the small town of Drummonds, Tennessee, grew up with dreams of a simple life. Little did he know that destiny had other plans in store for him, ones that would

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James Alan Wilks

Specialist Four (SP4) James Alan Wilks (10 Jul 1948-27 Oct 1969) was drafted into the United States Army in October 1968, just a few short months after graduating from Frazier High School in Covington. The son of Ruben H. (1912-2005) and Laura N. Wilks (1930-2016) of Covington, SP4 Wilks began

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Jesse G. Hunt (1895-1918)

Corporal Jesse G. Hunt was born May 1895 to Willis Nathaniel Hunt and Annie Blond Strange in the Gift area of Tipton County, Tenn., the third of their four children. Jesse lost his mother at the tender age of 10, when his mother Annie died on Jun 30, 1906 after

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Holmes N. Thompson (1894-1991)

Holmes Napoleon Thompson was born Feb. 2, 1894 in Mason, Tipton County, Tenn., the son of William Thompson and Martha Adams and the oldest boy of six siblings. Federal census report that he completed four years of high school and could read and write, which at that time was quite

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Gone but not forgotten: Remembering those whose lives were lost in Vietnam

By Sherri Onorati, The Covington Leader,  May 22, 2014 Two veterans mourn fallen soldiers at the Celebration of Service and Sacrifice event’s traveling Vietnam Memorial in October 2013. Nearly a dozen Tipton Countians were killed in action during Vietnam. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, the day we honor

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Remembering Tipton County’s fallen servicemembers on Memorial Day

By Echo Day, The Leader, May 29, 2023 Tipton County Veterans Memorial/Tipton County Museum Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who died in service to the country. The following men from Tipton County died while serving the country during wartime. A memorial commemorating their sacrifice is at

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Mason’s Ahmid Doggett served and died during World War I

By Sherri Onorati,  The Covington Leader, May 23, 2019 During the First World War, Tipton County lost both Black and white sons to the ravages of war, as grief knows no color, and death does not discriminate. Ahmid D. Doggett of Mason was born on Sept. 15, 1886, one of

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Men of Valor: A Tipton County Museum exhibit honors the Wakefield and Wherry brothers

By Sherri Onorati, The Covington Leader, November 11, 2020 The Wakefield/Wherry brothers. A family’s legacy – a torch of honor and patriotism – which started with a father and uncles serving in the United States Navy and Army during World War II, was passed down to sons and now grandchildren and

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