The Tapscotts of Ohio

James Tapscott, born in Monmouth County, New Jersey, to William Tapscott (see blog of 4 Apr 2016) was, like his father, active in the Upper Freehold Baptist Church (the Old Yellow Meeting House). Most of his church activities were routine—working to settle church property accounts with James and Ashur Cox, admonishing Bro. Joseph Stephens, a church elder and preacher, who was excommunicated because he believed in universal Salvation, and on 18 Sep 1791 being appointed by the church as a member of “ye Association.” But Wait! The last was definitely not routine, and neither was “ye Association.”

After the end of the Revolutionary War, Monmouth County was victimized by what were termed “desperate and vindictive Tories, Refugees, Renegades, Pine-robbers, and a miscellaneous scum of pestilential outlawry.” The “Refugees,” Loyalists who had returned after being driven from New Jersey during the war, were particularly hated. Limited documentation indicates that the situation was not nearly as serious as believed by Monmouth County citizens. Nevertheless, in the spring of 1790 James Tapscott and his brothers-in-law John Longstreet and David Baird, were among 436 citizens of Monmouth County who signed the Monmouth Articles of Association to combat “disaffected” persons, those who did not support government imposed law and order. There were three articles: If Associators were held captive, an equal number of disaffected would be held captive and treated with “British rigor.” If the house of an Associator were burned, the house of a disaffected would be destroyed. If property were stolen, it would be replaced with property taken from disaffected individuals. And in 1791 James was appointed, by a Christian church, to be a member of that most unchristian-like organization, “ye Association.”

On 28 Jan 1772 in Monmouth County, James took out a license to marry Sarah Baird. On exactly the same day Richard Derrick Barkalow (sometimes “Barcalow”) obtained a license to marry Ann (or “Anne”) Baird. It is likely that Sarah and Ann were sisters, who had a joint wedding. On 26 Mar 1786 “Sarah Tapscott wife of James Tapscott” was received by baptism into Upper Freehold Baptist Church.

Shortly after the turn of the century, James and Sarah, accompanied by most of their eight children, traveled to Warren County, Ohio. Sarah died shortly thereafter, 11 Sep 1803, perhaps as a result of the arduous trip. Derrick Barkalow died at very nearly the same time, on 10 Nov 1803, leaving Ann free to marry, and marry she did, to widowed James Tapscott. How did all this happen? We don’t know. Perhaps Ann traveled to Ohio after Derrick’s death. Perhaps James returned to New Jersey to wed Ann. But we know that they did marry, sometime between 1803 and 1805.

Tapscott Meeting House. (Municipality of  Carlisle Web Site.)

In the town of Carlisle in Warren County, James Tapscott deeded an acre or so of land on which was constructed a Baptist Church, the Tapscott meeting house (aka Tapscott Primitive Baptist Church). The church was organized in 1814 with eleven members. A year later, on 3 Nov 1815, James died. Ann was still living when James made his will on 7 Aug 1815. The churchyard, the Tapscott Cemetery, near the meeting house contains the graves of James and Sarah Tapscott and many of their descendants and in-laws. These Ohio Tapscotts are descended from James and Margaret Tapscott of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Whether they are descended from or related to William the Rebel (or, for that matter, Henry the Immigrant of Virginia), we don’t know.

DNA testing could help answer these questions, and that is something I am promoting. If you are a Ohio (or New Jersey) Tapscott, particularly a male bearing the Tapscott name, and would be interested in DNA testing, please contact me.