My uncle, Jesse Jepson, had an idea to have people from our community in Simpson County, KY to write family farm history articles to be compiled into a book. The Simpson County Extension Agent Jason Phillips has assisted him in gathering the information from folks. Farm families have played vital roles in developing towns and communities across our state and nation. Hard work and a spirit of community coupled with service through an attitude of selflessness towards one another made this nation great one rural community at at time. Dad and I were preparing our entries today and I thought it would make a nice blog post.
The agricultural heritage in our blood and our land runs deep through what is now 8 generations and 3 branches of the family tree. While it's nice to recall fond memories and reflect on past accomplishments of our family we need to remember the future holds more promise for all of us than in any of our history. It's nice to know where you come from, but it's much more important to think about where you are going!
The Jepson Family story begins in Boston Mass. as members of our family migrated from England.
Lemuel Cox Jepson was born in Boston, Mass. in 1762. He was a fifth generation resident of
Boston. His great-great grandfather
(John Jepson) appeared in Boston about 1638.
Records show John Jepson was granted a lot for 3 people in 1639.
Lemuel Cox Jepson was an assistant to Revolutionary War
Surgeon Dr. William Jepson and was later trained as a doctor and surgeon in
England. Lemuel Cox Jepson arrived in
Kentucky late 1806-early 1807. He moved
from Sumner County, TN where he appears on tax lists.
This date is used in all of the family writings and
histories. It is confirmed by census
that lists his daughter Nancy as born in Kentucky in 1808. The 1815 Logan County tax list has Lemuel Cox
Jepson with 40 acres and his uncle, James Jepson with 100 acres. No deeds have been found for these
tracts. Simpson County was not formed
until 1819.
The KY history for the Jepson Family Farm began around 1806.
Seven generations of the Jepson family have worked these
farms in Simpson County with their families and the 8th generation
is already present. “The Jepsons of the
border-states of Kentucky and Missouri are all descended from Lemuel C. Jepson
(Jesse Jepson) who came to Kentucky from Tennessee in 1806.” (The Jepsons of
the Border States by Professor Willis Linn Jepson).
Lemuel Jepson moved from Sumner County to then Logan County
what is now Simpson County. The last tax
list he appeared on in Sumner County was 1806.
This date is further confirmed by census that lists his daughter Nancy
as born in Kentucky in 1808.
The 1815 Logan County tax list has Lemuel Jepson with 40
acres and his uncle, James Jepson with 100 acres. In Logan County records, we find a survey
transferred to James Jepson November 15, 1815.
A survey was preliminary to a land grant. James Jepson was awarded a land grant shortly
before he died in 1817 and this 100 acres was transferred to Lemuel C. Jepson.
(Logan County Will Book B page 142).
Lemuel C. Jepson is listed on subsequent tax lists owning
land; including 1819 Simpson Co. tax list.
Simpson County was formed in 1819 from part of Logan County.
In the 1820’s only Lemuel Cox Jepson and his son Benjamin
stayed on the “Old Home Place”. The rest
of the children of Lemuel C. Jepson took their families to Missouri. From there they scattered all over the west. (A History and Genealogy of the Descendants
of John Jepson of England and Boston by Norton William Jepson MD). About 1838 Benjamin Jepson built the brick
house that is the home of Ben and Julianna Jepson today.
Benjamin Willis Jepson later built the house that is the
home of Josh and Chelsea Jepson today.
The log house (with weather board and additions) that was home to Lemuel
C. Jepson was torn down and Benjamin Willis Jepson house built on that
site. Josh and Chelsea recently
remodeled this house. Their son, River,
is the 8th generation Jepson to live at least a part of his life not
only on the same farm but on the same house site.
Benjamin Jepson died in 1861. His property was not divided among heirs
until 1867, probably because of the civil war.
According to census records he owned a large amount of land. Benjamin Jepson purchased much of the Jepson
land back from his sisters and half-sisters or their families. Benjamin Jepson’s daughters and
granddaughters married into the: Link,
Gillespie, Wingo, Goins, Grainger, Halcomb and other families in the
community.
Benjamin Willis Jepson’s son, Jesse and his wife Nell farmed
this land and passed it on to their sons James and Harold Jepson. Again land was purchased from other heirs,
Ben and Louisa Jepson Bradley. James’
children, Ben and Jane and Harold’s children Jesse and William grew up on these
farms. They are still owned and farmed
by the Jepson Family.
Our current Family Farm business begins with my parents William and Terry moving to Robertson County, TN in 1978.
William Jepson son of Harold and Frances Jepson grew up on a
portion of the original Jepson Farm.
William and his brother Jesse were raised farming with their father and
mother in the Neosheo Community in West Simpson County. As they grew so did the family business. They developed a quality registered Holstein
dairy herd that was known nationwide.
William and Jesse purchased their own farms and the operation evolved
into 3 separate farm businesses.
In 1978 William and his wife Terry had the opportunity to
purchase a farm in Robertson County, TN and established a base of operation in
Orlinda, TN while still partners with Harold and Frances in the dairy and
renting land to farm in Simpson County as well.
The farm William and Terry purchased belonged to the Shannon family for
3 generations. William’s grandmother was
a Shannon before marrying Jesse J. Jepson.
It had been out of the family at the time William and Terry purchased
the land for several years.
William and Terry later purchased land in Simpson County
from Tom and Claudine Johnson, The Smith Cattle Company, that was part of the
Pepper Farm on Red River and The Pennington Farm from the Smoe Walker Estate
bequeathed to Calvary Baptist Church Franklin, KY. William and Terry inherited part of the farm
and the homestead where William and Jesse were raised upon the death William’s
parents Harold and Frances. That tract
is part of the “Old Jepson Home Place” that has been in the Jepson family for
generations.
William and Terry’s sons David and Willis were raised
farming with them. Rented farm land
played an important role in the development of the farm operation in Simpson and
Robertson Counties. In 2010 Jepson
Family Farm Partnership was formed to include present generations and
accommodate the addition of future farmers from the Jepson Family. The Jepson Family Farm Partnership focuses on
growing corn, wheat, soybeans and tobacco.
While gathering his thoughts for this project William stated
he had seen many changes in local agriculture during his lifetime. When he was young there were many small
extremely diversified farms in the Simpson County community. Families worked these farms growing large
gardens and enough crops to feed their animals and raised livestock to meet most
of their food needs. Most farms would
have milk and beef cows, chickens, hogs, horses and mules.
Today farms are much larger and more specialized. There are only a few dairy farms left in
Simpson County. Most farmers used to
have a small tobacco crop, now a few farmers have large tobacco crops. Migrant labor has replaced most of the family
and tenant labor that lived on the farms.
There are only a very few hog and poultry farms today. The number of beef cows in Simpson County is
lower now.
When William was a boy they still used mules to work the
tobacco crop. The first tractor William
used on the farm was a 1948 Model “A” John Deere 2 cylinder tractor. These tractors were very different from the
machines the Jepson Family uses today with air conditioned cabs and power
steering with GPS auto steer technology.
Farming operations such as planting or harvesting the same fields that would
take days and weeks take hours today.
The farm has entered the digital age today including GPS and real time-cloud
based data storage and analytics. More
information about the modern practices of Jepson Family Farm can be found at
www.jepsonfamilyfarms.com.
The Jepson Family has been farming in Simpson County before
it became Simpson County. David and
Willis both have 2 sons each. We are
optimistic that this family tradition will continue.
