2020 Winter Shipp
Family Newsletter

Dr. Minda Harris Reed, granddaughter of Clara Shipp Harris, and her husband Rojah are expecting the arrival of son Jaxon Harris Reed on June 24, 2020.

Kirk Walker, grandson of Louella Elizabeth Shipp Walker, was selected to officiate the NCAA 2nd Round playoff game between James Madison University and Monmouth University.

Willard King Walker, son of Louella Elizabeth Shipp Walker, is quoted in a front page article of the Lansing State Journal regarding the community's Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission.

Cameron Walker, great-grandson of Louella Elizabeth Shipp Walker, received his enlisted surface warfare specialist pin. He earned his pen faster than anyone in the history of his ship - the USS Campbell.

Dr. Laurie Walker, granddaughter of Louella Elizabeth Shipp Walker, traveled to Puerto Rico for the first time.

Stacey and Laurie Walker, granddaughters of Louella Elizabeth Shipp Walker, visited the 100+ year old grave of their great-great grandmother, Martha Walker, at Fort Benning. Addison Walker, Stacey's daughter, accompanied them.

Chonita Ditto, granddaughter of Louella Elizabeth Shipp Walker, retired from FedX after 33 years of service.

At the 2018 reunion in Columbus, many of us noted the deterioration of Porterdale Cemetery. While we cannot fix the whole cemetery, we can do something about the family plot. The walls around the plot need to be replaced. All of this costs money and every little bit helps. If you are interested in helping, please contact Laurie Walker.

Mack Charles Alexander, Sr. was born into slavery around 1847 in South Carolina. By 1870, he resided in Oswichee, AL with his wife, Lydia Alexander. They had many children including Clara Alexander Shipp. In Alabama, he worked as a farmer. Around 1894 he relocated his family to Columbus, GA where he worked on a steamboat. He passed in 1906 of dropsy. His was the first grave in what would become the family plot. His grave was bricked as was the turn of the century style. Courtesy of Stacey Walker, his grave is now marked.

Leonidas Henry Shipp, Jr. was born in Columbus, GA on February 17, 1905 to Leonidas Henry Shipp, Sr. and Clara Alexander Shipp. In Columbus, he worked as a ship clerk and chemical mixer. Around 1930, he relocated to Florida where he married Lillie Wade Shipp. While they had no children, they adopted Clifton Shipp. In the late 1930s, he traveled with the circus working as a porter. He died on January 30, 1941 in Philadelphia. Clara Alexander Shipp brought her son home to Columbus and laid him to rest.