Little Jimmy Tapscott

Jimmy Tapscott, one of the Wabash Valley Tapscotts and son of James Byron and Sabra Ellen Tapscott, was just about lost in the mists of time. Except that in Sabra’s obituary is the statement “to this union four sons were born Omer, Howard, Jimmie and Joe.” And that the 1900 census shows Sabra as the mother of four children, only three of whom were living at the time (indicating that a child had died before the taking of that census). But nothing was known of “Jimmy.” Nothing, that is, until the discovery of a very short article, just two sentences, in the Thu 22 Mar 1900 Clark County Herald:

Freedom Baptist Church, built 1889, 2014.

The remains of little James Tapscott, who died at his home in Edgar county on Thursday, were brought here for interment Friday. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Andis.

So there was indeed a “Jimmy Tapscott,” who died 15 Mar 1900 at home in Kansas Twp, Edgar County, where James Sr. and Sabra were living at the time. And we now have a second article, from the Clark County Democrat of 21 Mar 1900, giving the age at death of 9 yrs, 8 mos, and 3 days, allowing calculation of the birth date as 12 Jul 1890.

The funeral was conducted by Rev. Wiley P. Andis, pastor at Freedom Baptist Church, in Anderson Twp. James Jr. was buried in an unmarked grave in Auburn Cemetery, where his father would one day rest. At last, Jimmy has been rescued from total oblivion.