Christopher Baylor Tapscott or Christopher Tapscott Baylor

As I proof the 2nd edition of Henry the Immigrant, I often run across still-unsolved mysteries. One of these, of course, is the ancestry of Robert Francis Tapscott of Clarke County, Virginia. Another concerns a son (or supposed son) of William Tapscott son of Capt. Henry Tapscott. His name was "Christopher Baylor Tapscott" or "Christopher Tapscott Baylor," said to the the child of William Tapscott and his second wife, Catherine Baylor. Much of his story comes from proceedings of a Spotsylvania Chancery Court action, "Baylor &c vs Harrison Admrx & Others," recorded in 1830. The case has to do with the inheritance of slaves from Catherine Baylor's father. The courtroom materials, incredibly difficult to obtain were kindly sent me by Richard Voter. Below is a synopsis of what is in the 2nd edition (without references or images).

 In the chancery court action, a  number of documents name “Christopher Baylor Tapscott, only son and heir of Catherine Baylor, deceased, and of William Tapscott”; however, in at least two records, Christopher’s last name, “Tapscott” has been crossed out and a “T.” entered as a middle initial. Most of the later records in the file show Christopher only as “Christopher T. Baylor.” A record in the court file dated 15 January 1813 gives his name as “Christopher Tapscott Baylor.” Of particular interest is that in a record dated 11 April 1811, the phrase “and of William Tapscott” is crossed out in giving Christopher’s parentage.

Christopher served as a private in the War of 1812. His regiment, the 4^th, Virginia Militia, was in Norfolk, Virginia in 1815, when he received a letter, addressed to “Christopher Baylor” from a friend, Thomas Walker. In addition to comments about “wellness,” a usual concern among Virginians, news included visits by Thomas:

I was at Mr. Tapscotts the other day when they were tolerably well. I was at your Uncle Baylor’s 8 or 10 days since, when they were as well as usual; the neighbours generally speaking, are well at this time.

“Mr. Tapscott” was William, and “your Uncle Baylor” was Richard Baylor, Catherine’s brother, who had secured William’s marriage bond and would later hold money for him as payment for his land purchase from James Madison. Thomas’s use of “Mr. Tapscott,” rather than “your father” may be an indication of Christopher’s parentage.

On 12 September 1826 Christopher T. “Bayler” of Jefferson County married Alice Pendleton of King and Queen County, daughter of Benjamin and Catherine (Gatewood) Pendleton. In 1830 the family was living in Caroline County, Virginia, where they were shown with two boys under five and fifteen slaves, a sizeable number. In 1850, Christopher and Alice were living in St. Stephen’s Parish, King and Queen County, Virginia, and in 1860, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. As a farm family, they appear to have been doing well. The censuses show $7,000 in real estate in 1850 and $10,000 in real estate and $8,270 in personal property in 1860.

Ages shown in the 1850 census correspond to a birth year of 1795 to 1796 for Christopher and 1805 to 1806 for Alice, and this presents a problem. Christopher could not have been born after William and Catherine’s marriage in 1801 if his census age is close to correct. Nor could he have been born after the 1801 marriage if he had served in the War of 1812 as a private. Though a few boys undoubtedly evaded the age limit of eighteen for regular service, Christopher, if born after his supposed parents had married, would have been at best eleven or twelve at the start of the war and thirteen or fourteen at war’s end. And his 14 June 1814 letter from Thomas Walker was written to a young man, not a boy.

Christopher could have been born out of wedlock, he could have been a product of William’s first marriage, or he could have been a child of Catherine from an unknown earlier marriage, but he most assuredly was not a legitimate offspring of William Tapscott and Catherine Baylor. That he was a product of an earlier marriage of Catherine is unlikely since numerous records as late as February 1798, after Christopher is believed to have been born, show Catherine with only the name “Baylor.” It is even more unlikely that Christopher was a son of William Tapscott’s first marriage since he would not have been considered Catherine’s heir, nor would there have been an obvious inducement for a name change. One problem with an illegitimate birth is that Christopher would not have been Catherine’s legal heir, unless explicitly named in her will, yet he did inherit her slaves without a known will.

Alice (Pendleton) Baylor died 6 December 1866 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. In January 1869, Christopher died of a beating he received near the small town of Dinwiddie in the county of the same name. The culprit was Essex Jones, one of Christopher’s former slaves, who claimed he was owed a debt. Alice and Christopher left two children, Mary (“Nancy”) Ellen Baylor, born 1832 to 1837, and Robert A. Baylor, born 1834 to 1839.

Is anybody out there interested in Christopher? If so, contact me. With two children, he may have present-day descendants. Unfortunately, however, the rather common name “Baylor” makes descendants difficult to trace.
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