My Old Kentucky Home

On 25 Sep 1825 in Green County, Henry Tapscott, the Traveler, married Susan Bass. We know little reliable about Susan, who, unlike Henry, was literate. She is said to have been the daughter of Josiah Bass Jr. and Ann Moody. Josiah and Ann were married 27 Mar 1799 in Green County, Kentucky, and were there in 1806, around the time of Susan’s birth (probably between 1806 and 1808). But reliable sources showing that these were Susan's parents are lacking..

In 1830 Henry, his wife, Susan, and sons William and John, were living in Barren County, southwest of Green County. The household contained two additional boys, aged 5 to 10 and 10 to 15, too old to be any of Henry’s children and far too young to be any of his still unwed brothers, at least those of whom we have knowledge. The household of Henry’s father, William, who was also living in Barren County at that time, likewise contained unexplained children. Henry may have had siblings about whom we know nothing today, possibly because of childhood deaths. Or perhaps they were offspring of Henry’s second cousin once removed, Raleigh Tapscott, grandson of Henry’s great great uncle James and also a resident of Barren County in 1830. Raleigh (Rawley, Rolley, Rolly, Rolla) Tapscott had a prodigious family and may have been very willing to farm out some of his children.

By 1835 Henry and Susan (and William Sr.) were back in Green County, where Henry is shown landless in tax records for 1835, 1836, and 1837.

Henry’s father was also landless. When William the Preacher died around March 1837 he possessed only a black mare, a cow and calf, and some harnessing equipment, an estate bringing a paltry $63.13. Unlike today’s television evangelists with their crystal cathedrals, nineteenth-century preachers almost never gained wealth and seldom achieved fame. Saving souls from perdition was reward enough.

As a teenager and young adult, Henry lived in Green and Barren counties, Kentucky (U.S. Census Bureau).