Plato, the Coachman

And now we come to Elizabeth Percifull’s second line of descendants,

A Fauquier Tapscott family story relates that before her marriage to James Tapscott, Elizabeth Percifull had a child in Lancaster Co, Virginia with her father’s enslaved coachman “Plato.” In 1781, Elijah had but two slaves, Molly and Grace, no Plato. His 1814 will, mentions just three slaves, Judith, Daniel, Leroy. Again no name resembling that of the fabled coachman.

One might ignore this story of a coachman’s child,  but Elijah is known to have owned eleven unnamed slaves in 1810, and Plato could have been among them.  More important is that on 27 Feb 1832, a “Tellham Platoe” was registered in Fauquier County, a requirement for free Blacks. His age was given as twenty-one, corresponding to a birth year of 1810 or 1811, exactly what one might expect for a child of Elizabeth prior to her marriage. And he was said to be “born free.” Under Virginia law, the slave status of a child followed that of the mother (doctrine of partus sequitur ventrem). Offspring of Elizabeth would have been born free, whether the fathers were slaves or not. Perhaps most significant is that his descendants show DNA matches with Elizabeth’s known descendants. As a son of Elizabeth, “Tellham” would have lived with James and Elizabeth Tapscott as a child, taking James’s last name (on occasion).

Tellham used or was given numerous names during his life in Fauquier Co. Contemporary records show him with first names “Telem,” “Telum,” and “Tilum,” in addition to “Tellham.” And last names “Tapscott,” "Topscott," “Tapsco,” “Tapscon,” “Pearson,” and “Plato,”  in addition to “Platoe.” And we are omitting the obvious errors “Teland”  and “Caleb,” found in two documents.

Every year between 1835 and 1850 “Telum Tapsco” (“Telum Tapscon” in 1838) paid Fauquier Co taxes, much more often than any of Elizabeth’s other children. The taxes ranged from eight cents to thirty cents, always for one male over age sixteen and often for horses and mules, up to three. Telum Tapsco was doing well for himself, as will be seen.

In the 1840 Fauquier County census, “Tilum Topscott” is shown as the head of a household comprised of a man and woman, both aged 24 to 36 (birth year 1804 to 1811), and five children under 10 years old (three boys and two girls, birth year 1830 to 1840). The family, which appears in the census only one line away from Elizabeth Tapscott’s listing, also had two slaves, a case of Blacks owning Blacks. This was not uncommon. Sometimes the ownership was “benevolent” (to avoid the higher taxes faced by freed slaves) and sometimes it was strictly “commercial.” A death record for Telem the younger gives his parents as Telem (the  first name we will use) and Peggie Tapscott.

The elder Telem and his family is missing from the 1850 census, but he and his wife, “Peggy” (“Margaret Pinn” according to the death certificate for their daughter Ann Virginia), appear with their eleven children in the Fauquier Co census of 1860 with a surname change to “Pearson.” The name change was probably due to the the census enumerator recording the name he thought he heard from a client unable to check the spelling. Though the Pearson name was not uncommon in Fauquier Co we find no connection between the Pearsons and the Tapscotts, We know that the Pearson family in the 1860 census is the family of Telem Plato Tapscott because seven of the eleven “Pearson” children (Robert, Ann, Telem (Jr.), Mack (“Mac”), Elizabeth, William, Nancy, Maggie, and George) can be readily identified bearing the surname “Tapscott” in the 1870 Fauquier County census. Only Frances and Rodolph are not immediately apparent. The age of Telem “Pearson,” sixty-seven, in the census, corresponding to a birth year of about 1793, is almost certainly incorrect. Peggy’s birth year is 1814 or 1815 according to her age of forty-five in the 1860 census.

The congressional act of 4 July 1864 recognized the Federal Government’s debt to loyal citizens for property losses suffered during the Civil War and arranged reimbursement. At first claims were allowed only by northern states, but eventually, after animosity toward the south subsided, the act was extended to those southerners demonstrating Union loyalty. Following the death of their father in 1863 and their mother in 1865, Telem and Peggy’s children asked Robert R. Tompkins (a white farmer) to administer the estate of “Telam Plato Colored” and to file a claim for losses suffered during the Civil War. By the end of his life, Telem’s surname had been changed one more time, to “Plato,” likely what it had been originally and the name I have chosen to use.

In depositions, Telem the younger claimed that milk cows, sheep, oats, and corn had been taken by Union troops, some of them under the command of “Genl Blenker” (General Louis Blenker, who died in October 1863 of injuries he had received much earlier when he commanded troops in Warrenton, Fauquier County). The younger Telem’s brother Robert stated that

All our family were in favor of the Union during the war. My father was a strong Union Man. We all thought it would better for all colored people to have the north [unclear] and we were always glad when they did [unclear], The rebels forced some of us to work on the fortifications at Manassas when the war first broke out., but after that we all kept clear of them. One of my brothers, Rodolph went off with the Union Army and we all done all we could for the Union officers and soldiers…

As administrator, Robert Tompkins claimed $1,646, of which $582.50 was allowed.

In his deposition Robert Tapscott made a strange statement:

My father was a colored man and my mother was a white woman; and the children all go by the name of Tapscott because that was my mother’s name.

The only white Tapscotts known to be in Fauquier County around the time of Robert’s birth were Elizabeth Tapscott and her daughter Harriet. Elizabeth is believed to have been the mother of Telem Plato and Harriet, his half sister. We know of no white Peggy Tapscott in Fauquier County. It sounds like Robert was speaking of his grandparents, rather than his parents. Could we have it all wrong? Perhaps, but probably not.

What do you think?

The Cundiff Line (If It Exists)

 Our last blog shows Elizabeth’s first children to have probably been the twins fathered by Richard Cundiff Jr. We don’t know when this occurred, but the birth was likely to have been around 1807 based on the date of Elizabeth’s suit and her age (about 18 in 1807).

Earlier, on 2 Feb 1788, Richard Jr. had married Ellen Forester in Lancaster Co, but she appears to have been deceased by the time of the Lancaster Co 1810 census (no earlier census exists for Lancaster Co). That census, in addition to an adult aged 26 to 45 (presumably Richard), shows only two other white household members, a male and a female aged 16 to 25. That age range is far too young for the female to be Ellen, and far too old to be the twins Richard was accused of fathering with Elizabeth Percifull.

Richard appears once again, in the 1820 Lancaster Co census, living with two household members. The age range of 26 through 44 for Richard in that census was probably due to him understating his age, as likely for men as for women.

But we have still not identified Elizabeth and Richard’s twin offspring. Of course life was short in 19th-century Virginia. Perhaps they died young. But if they did survive, what became of them? They almost certainly did not end up with Richard. Not only were males extremely unlikely to end up with illegitimate offspring, but the 1810 and 1820 censuses show no family members of the correct age living with Richard. And we find nobody in Fauquier Co who could likely have been one or both of the children, whose names would have likely been “Percifull” or, possibly, “Tapscott” or, unlikely, “Cundiff.” If one or both of the children survived, they likely ended up living with Elijah Percifull and his wife at the time. The 1810 census for Elijah shows one white male and two white females aged 0 to 9, the probable age range for the twins who were the subject of the 1808 Lancaster Co court proceedings.

And it is just possible that as a grandfather, Elijah felt close to Elizabeth’s children, despite their origin, and treated them as his children. Could some of those named as Elijah’s children in his will have actually been Elizabeth’s twins fathered by Richard Cundiff? Three of the children listed in Elijah’s will have birth dates in the required range—Thomas, Catharine (“Caty”), and Rebecca. Were any of these one of the twins? Extensive research on these three children fails to answer this question. (You’ll have to read the book to see what we know of these three.)

If any of these were in the Cundiff line, is it proper to introduce them in a book on the Fauquier County Tapscotts? Research shows that none of them ever lived in Fauquier Co. (My biased answer is “yes.”)

The Cundiff Connection

 As we know, Elizabeth Percifull, who would one day become Elizabeth (Percifull) Tapscott, was strongly attracted by the opposite sex. And we have proof about who was the first (that we know of) on her list of paramours. The following proceedings were published for a Lancaster Co, Virginia, court held 15 Feb 1808:

Richard Cundiff who is charged on oath by Elizabeth Percifull of the parish of Christ Church in this County single woman with being the father of her bastard twin Children & Stands bound by a recognizance to appear here this day and abide by and perform the order of this court concerning the same appeared Accordingly, whereupon it appearing to the Court that the proceedings which have been had herein are illegal, it is ordered that the same be quashed and the said Cundiff discharged from his said recognizance

We do not know what Elizabeth was asking for, but it was probably child support. Nor do we know why the proceedings were declared illegal. Since it was a man’s world at the time (some say it still is), one suspects bias.

The following year proceedings of a Lancaster Co court held 20 March 1809 included the following

The Commonwealth of Virginia

vs

Elizabeth Percifull Deft.

Upon an information for Having two bastard Children & filed her Information afsd.

This day came the attorney for the Commonwealth, and thereupon came also a Jury . . . who being elected tried and sworn the truth to speak when the information aforesaid upon their oaths do say that the Deft. is guilty in matter & form as in the said informational is alleged against her and they do assess the amercement of the of the said deft to ten dollars besides the Cost, therefore it is considered that the Commonwealth recovers against the said deft the said ten dollars by the Jury aforesaid assessed and also their Costs by them about this prosecution expended and the said deft may be taken &c.

Richard Cundiff got away with his misdeed, but Elizabeth was fined $10 for bearing two “bastard Children.” The major concern was not morals, but order and economics. An illegitimate child might be a financial burden to the local parish. Elizabeth’s father, Elijah, paid the fine, but his 1814 will stated

there is seven pounds ten Shillings to be Reducted out of my Daughter Betsey proportion for money I paid for her.

Elijah was not happy with his daughter.

Signature of Richard the elder on deed of

 trust. (Ancestry.com.)

Two Richard Cundiff’s were connected with Lancaster Co around that time, father and son. But since Richard the elder died by 17 May 1781, when his Lancaster Co will was proven, we can safely rule him out.

More about Richard the younger and his illegitimate offspring in the next blog.

Elizabeth Percifull, an Overview

 

What do we know about Elizabeth Percifull, mother of the Fauquier Co Tapscotts, beyond her many male companionships?

Well, she was a child of Elijah and, almost certainly, Elizabeth (Carter) Percifull. In fact, as the first girl born to that couple, it is likely that Elizabeth got her name from her mother. Her date of birth has been reported by Beverley Fleet in his usually reliable Virginia Colonial Abstracts, to be 6 Feb 1765. But no source is cited, and that date is certainly incorrect. Were that the date of her birth, Elizabeth would have been in her 50s or 60s when some of her children were born. Besides, with that date of birth, Elizabeth would have been a daughter of Elijah’s first wife, Winifred Wildey, and thus would have had the name “Winifred.” (That’s a joke, Readers. At least, sort of.) The 1850 census gives Elizabeth’s age as 60, corresponding to a birth year of 1789 or 1790, and that appears reasonable. Since a year or two are often knocked off census ages, we will take Elizabeth’s birth year as c1789.

Elizabeth was probably born in Lancaster Co, the home of her parents and grandparents (both sides), but she lived most of her life one hundred miles northwest in Fauquier Co.

Virginia with Lancaster and Fauquier Counties in red. (Wikipedia, public domain.)

Lancaster Co, home of the Percifulls, was also homelands for the Tapscotts. In fact the Tapscott family lived in Wicomico Parish, which ran along the border between Lancaster Co and the next county to the north, Northumberland. And that is where Elijah, and for a while Elizabeth, lived.

Elizabeth probably left Lancaster Co to escape her father, with whom she is known to have had a falling out, undoubtedly due to her unconventional life style. But why Fauquier Co? It may have been due to less-restrictive race relations there, compared to other Virginia counties, at least according to some scholars. At the time Elizabeth moved to Fauquier Co, she is believed to have had at least one mixed-race child.

We don’t know when Elizabeth died, but it was probably between 1850, when she appears in the Fauquier Co federal census, and 1860, when she does not. For convenience I often give her date of death as c1855.

What do I think of Elizabeth? Unlike some, I think Elizabeth was a plucky, loving woman, who had to make do with what she had after the early death of her only legal husband. But wasn’t she a slave owner? Probably. But slavery in Elizabeth’s household appears to have differed from that found elsewhere, though we will never know for certain. Disagree? I would like to hear your opinion.

The Percifulls

 

The Tapscotts of Fauquier Co, the book now in writing, must start with the Percifulls, not the Tapscotts. And it has to start with Elijah Percifull, Elizabeth’s father. Elijah had four wives (Winifred Wildey, Caty Yerby, Elizabeth Carter, and Elizabeth Rivers Davis) and thirteen children, at least thirteen who lived long enough to be named in Elijah’s will. But we have no concrete evidence about which children had which mother. Since we know the dates of marriage or approximate dates, we could connect children with mothers were we to have the dates of birth. But reliable dates of birth are available for almost none of Elijah’s children. I might note that the date of 6 Feb 1765, which has been given for Elizabeth, is assuredly, badly incorrect. I will discuss this in the future.

We can get dates of birth or approximates from a some census ages or age ranges and a grave marker, and a couple of guardian bonds. Some must be estimated. And one way to do this is to use the dates of first marriage for Elijah’s children, at least those for whom we have dates. Between 1800 and 1900, women generally married for the first time between the ages of 20 and 22. Less is known about the average age of first marriages for men during the 19th century; however, in 1890, when the U.S. Census Bureau started collecting marriage data, it was recorded that the average age of a first marriage for men was 26 years. So we can use 21 (female) and 26 (male) to estimate dates of birth unavailable from other data, as long as we have marriage data. The son Neddy is the one child for which we have insufficient data to do any reasonable estimate. Using this combination of data and estimates I have come up with the table below.

Children of Elijah with Marriages and Dates of Birth (Some Estimated).

Child	First Spouse	Date of First Marriage	Date of Birth
Nancy	Gideon Marsh	12 Sep 1785	c1764
Judith Tayloe	Thomas Potts	bef 17 Oct 1797	13 Feb 1771
Ruth	William Sims	28 Jun 1804	c1782
John Y.	Margaret Dunnaway	14 Apr 1812	c1786
Robert	Nancy Sutton	30 Dec 1812	c1786
Elizabeth	James E. Tapscott	20 Dec 1811 (bond)	c1789
Edward	Alice Desilvey	26 Jun 1820 (bond)	c1794
Polly C.	Robert Davis	16 Oct 1816	c1795
Neddy			by 1814
Sarah D.	John Pitman	21 Sep 1824	1790-1800
Thomas	Sarah Glidewell (2nd marriage)	1 Dec 1840 (2nd marriage)	30 Sep 1802
Catharine (“Caty”)	Daniel Pitman	24 Nov 1824	1804-1807
Rebecca	James R. Webb	1805 - 1810	c1803

 

And from these numbers we can attach Elijah’s children to Elijah’s wives. (Neddy is just a guess.)

Look all this over. If you see errors, disagreements with others, etc. let me know.

What’s in a name?

 

Bertha Mae’s letter requesting a name change, if needed.

While working on a history of the Fauquier County Tapscotts, I ran across Marion Douglas Tapscott,  a great granddaughter and also a great great granddaughter of Elizabeth Percifull, founder of the clan. Why two relationships? Because Marion’s parents, Walter Wallace and Bertha Mae, were both Tapscotts, a case of cousins marrying, or in this case first cousins twice removed marrying. Now this is not what intrigued me about Marion. It was her name. How in the world did she get what most would consider a male name? The answer is simple, and oh so lovely, at least most of it.

The Department of Health Response.

When Marion was born, in 1916, her mother, Bertha Mae, was, in her own words, “very ill.” The doctor in attendance at the birth, who helped Bertha through the difficult time, was Morton Douglas, a Fauquier Co physician. Since he was so much help, it was decided to name the new born girl “Marion Douglas” after the doctor’s wife. But the birth certificate was accidently submitted with the child’s original name, “Florence.”

Years later, in 1944, concerned that the birth certificate might have mistakenly given the name “Florence,” rather than the name “Marion,” which her daughter had used throughout her life, Bertha Mae wrote the Registrar of Vital Statistics, to change the name, if needed, to “Marion Douglas Tapscott.” The name “Florence” was struck out and the requested name inserted.

“Florence” struck out and “Marion Douglas” inserted.

But there is one more part of our tale, the unlovely part. Take a careful look at the registrar's signature on the Department of Health letter -- “W. A. Plecker.” That’s right, the rabid racist author of Virginia’s   “Racial Integrity Act of 1924.”

The Fate of the Schooner Fair American

 

On 8 Feb 1819 the Alexandria Gazette reported the loss of the schooner Fair American on a voyage from Fredericksburg to New York with a cargo of wheat and flour. And the report included the tale of the mishap related by the ship's occupants, one of them a great grandson of Henry The Immigrant:

“On the 20^th of January, (instant,) 20 minutes before 8 P. M. we had the misfortune to run ashore on Absecum Bar, on the Jersey side of the Delaware Bay, and after making every exertion to get off, but without success, we turned our attention to the means of preserving our lives—At 12 o’clock at night the vessel bilged and filled, when we (7 in number, including Mr. James V. Fraser, a passenger) secured ourselves on the quarter-deck suffering all the horrors of an awful ship-wreck. At about 2 in the morning the schooner severed at the break of the quarter deck, when little remained to us but the assurance of a watery grave. The quarter deck, however, holding together, a ray of hope dawned from the reflection that this our last resting place, might remain entire until the return of day, when some friendly sail might snatch us from impending destruction. About the dawn of day, our sufferings were for a moment mitigated by he sight of a sail, with an old shir attached to an oar, we made a signal to attract their attention; but from the heaviness of the weather and increasing thickness of the fog, they soon disappeared to our view, perhaps without having observed our signal of distress. At this moment, hope seemed to abandon us forever, but in a short time the fog began to dissipate, the land became visible, and discovered to us the welcome sight of some vessels, which had made a harbor, about two miles distant—we also saw some persons walking on the beach, but soon discovered that they were much more intent on saving the ruins of our vessel and cargo for their own benefit, than on procuring the means of rescuing us from our perilous situation.—Some of the crews of the vessels in the harbor, seeing our deplorable condition, came with great difficulty to our relief, and conveyed us to their vessels, where we were received with the greatest kindness and treated in a manner which merits our eternal gratitude.

“Having lost every thing except what we had on our backs, the benevolence of these strangers it may be supposed was a cordial to our bosoms. But while we acknowledge with hearts overflowing with thankfulness, the good offices of these our seafaring brethren, we want language sufficiently strong to depict the base and inhuman conduct of some of the inhabitants of Absecum and the adjacent country, who although apprised of our misfortunes and destitute situation, refused even to deliver up our cloathing which they had picked up on the beach, after it had drifted on shore, and treated us in other respects so much like savages, that we had just reason to believe, that but for the humanity and generosity of the masters and crews of the vessels in the harbor, we should have been abandoned to all the horrors of shipwreck, on a coast where the claims of humanity were stifled by the sordid and unmanly consideration of self aggrandizement. 

E. L. B . TAPSCOTT, one third owner.

BENJAMIN GEORGE, Master.

JAMES V. FRASER, passenger.

And the CREW of the Fair American

And who was E. L. B. Tapscott? He was Ellis L. B. Tapscott (middle names unknown), son of Rawleigh and Ann (Shearman) Tapscott and grandson of Capt. Henry Tapscott. We have met him once before in this Blog as a purchaser of half interest in the schooner Dispatch from his uncle Martin Shearman (Chicanery, Monday, August 25, 2014). Although he escaped from the shipwreck, Ellis was soon deceased, dying by 20 May 1822, when a bond was issued to administer Ellis's estate. Ellis, seemingly a well-to-do business man, died young, less than forty years old, without widow or descendants.

The ship’s master, Benjamin George, was probably Ellis’s second cousin, son of first cousins Nicholas Lawson George and Susanna Tapscott. Benjamin and Ellis had the same great grandmother, Ann Edney. And not only were they related, the two had served in the same regiment and company during the War of 1812.

Tapscott Project

Here is an update on the Tapscott Project at FamilyTreeDNA.

Most Tapscotts in the United States can be assigned to one of two major lines, one originating in Lancaster and Northumberland counties, Virginia, and the other, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The progenitor of the Virginia Tapscotts was Henry Tapscott (Henry the Immigrant), born in 1685, probably in or near Somerset County, England, and emigrating as a teenager to Virginia in 1700 (1699 Julian calendar). The New Jersey Tapscotts possibly originated from William Tapscott (William the Rebel), a rebel in the Monmouth Rebellion, from Devon, England, who was transported as a prisoner to Jamaica around 1686 and is believed to have emigrated to New Jersey around 1691. Note, however, that the earliest documented New Jersey Tapscott was not William the Rebel but James Tapscott (b abt 1690) and William Tapscott (b 1718), believed (but not proven) to be descendants of the Rebel. Extensive genealogical research has been done on the Virginia Tapscotts, who later spread into North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Less research has been done on the New Jersey Tapscotts, many of whom later ended up in Ohio.

Despite an abundance of classical (non-genetic) genealogical research, particularly for the Virginia group, many questions remain that seem insoluble using classical methods. Specific problems involve Tapscott groups who separated in England, in many cases before good records were available, to go to separate countries and separate U.S. regions. A major question is that male Tapscotts show close yDNA matches with persons having the name Bowling/Bolling/Bolin/Bolding. Could the split have occurred in England, possibly before last names became common. It is hoped that DNA testing will help answer some of these questions.

The Tapscott Project emphasizes y-DNA testing (tracing paternal ancestry) using STRs (short tandem repeats), but also considers autosomal test results. It is possible that mitochondrial studies will one day be included; however, the use of mtDNA to show Tapscott relationships would be, at best, difficult.

Below are listed the questions to be answered by the DNA studies of the Tapscott project.

Questions

1. Are the New Jersey/Ohio and Virginia Tapscotts related? (There is some belief that William Tapscott the Rebel may have been the father of Henry the Immigrant, or at least a close relative.)

2. Are one or both groups related to present-day Exmoor-area Tapscotts?

3. Are the U.S. Tapscotts related to the sizeable groups in both Canada and Australia

4. Classical genealogical research has shown three main branches of Virginia Tapscotts descended from the three sons of Henry the Immigrant--Edney, Capt. Henry, and James. Can we confirm this?

5. What is the connection between the Bowling/Bolling/Bolin/Bolding Family and the Tapscott Family?

Who Can Join the Tapscott Project?

Any descendent of a person having the Tapscott surname, or a variant thereof (e.g., Tabscott, Tapscot), is encouraged to join. In addition persons having close DNA matches with Tapscotts are also invited to join.

How Do I Get Started?

The following website provides information on joining the project. Tapscott - Background | FamilyTreeDNA

Elizabeth's Children - Edmond/Edward Tapscott

One of the children of Elizabeth (Percifull) Tapscott is claimed to be named “Edmond Abraham Tapscott,” but we some problems with this.

1. Contemporary records show his name as “Edward” as often as “Edmond.” But that is a minor problem.

2. The middle name “Abraham” is found only in family trees, not in a single reliable record. (Does anyone know how this name arose?)

3. Edmond/Edward Tapscott is found in the 1850 census, living with his mother, Elizabeth, and his siblings, including Harriet. And he is found in the 1870 census as a married man. But Edmond/Edward cannot be found in the 1860 census -- at least until recently (see below). The 1860 census, however, does show a John Tapscott living with Harriet. 

Because Harriet and John are found together in the 1860 census, it has been assumed that they were mother and son. But Elizabeth had died by this time and it is likely that her unmarried children would be living together. Moreover, if John was Harriet’s son, why does he not appear with her in the 1850 census? The 1860 census, the only place John is found  John with an age corresponding to a birth year of about 1829, very near to that of Edmond/Edward, whose grave marker shows a birthdate of 3 Sep 1828. (Census data indicate a birth year for Edmond/Edward between 1827 and 1831.)

I once proposed that Edmond/Edward Tapscott and John Tapscott were one and the same. That Harriet had no son named “John.” Either the 1860 census enumerator had made an error in the name, as all too often happens, or Edmond/Edward’s middle name was “John” not “Abraham.” This nicely explains John's seeming absence in the 1850 census and in other records, and nicely explains Edmond/Edward's seeming absence in the 1860 census. 

But it turns out that I was wrong, wrong, wrong about John and Edmond/Edward. Edmond/Edward is found in the District of Columbia 1860 census, as "Edward Tapscoe" (a spelling he often used) living with 3-year-old "Mahaly A. Tapscoe," presumably a daughter from Edmond's first marriage to Frances Hughs (who was apparently deceased by 1860). A 10-year-old Nancy A. "Hues" in the household is probably a relative of Frances.

And who was the John Tapscott in the 1860 census? It is beginning to look like he was one of Cordelia's paramours and that "Tapscott" was just an assumed last name. But I am still working on that.

Elizabeth''s Children, the Fauquier Tapscott Lines

 Elizabeth Percifull (c1790 - c1855) had a large number of male companions, both before and after her short marriage with James E. Tapscott, who died young, around age 30. Her many descendants comprise the Tapscotts of Fauquier Co, Virginia. Below is my working chart showing origins of the various lines. Is it correct? Almost certainly it is not. That's why I call it a "working chart." There is very good evidence for the twins from her union with Richard Cundiff. Though we don't know what became of them. There is excellent evidence for Harriet being a daughter of James Tapscott, though many people believe otherwise. There is good DNA evidence for Robert Francis Tapscott being the son of a "Holder," though the evidence that it was Taliaferro Holder is weak. There is fair evidence for William Tapscott being a descendant of a "Phil Tapscott" though we know little about Phil, except that his birth name was almost certainly not "Tapscott." The other unions, particularly that involving Plato (who may not have even existed) are somewhat questionable. But this chart is a start. Now let's see if we can prove or disprove portions. Maybe we can name the "Unknown" partner, or more likely partners. But I need your help is doing so. Don't be afraid to criticize. I have very thick skin. But try to provide evidence. Trees produced by others without sources, are not evidence. And if you are a male descendant of Elizabeth or Harriett with the name "Tapscott," your yDNA might provide names or connections for the unknown(s).

..

Elizabeth’s Children, The Tapscotts of Fauquier Co

Those I often term “Fauquier County [Virginia] Tapscotts” are not all descended from a male Tapscott. But they are all descendants of Elizabeth Percifull, either through her 1811 marriage to James E. Tapscott, son of Ezekiel, or through relationships with others, which produced children she named "Tapscott." Those not descended from James sometimes express disappointment since they feel they cannot claim Revolutionary War soldier ancestry.  (Ezekiel Tapscott was a Colonial soldier.) But that is not true. In fact all Fauquier County Tapscotts (or descendants thereof) are DAR- or SAR-eligible, for Elizabeth’s father, Elijah, was a Revolutionary War combatant. On 17 Jun 1779 Elijah signed an oath as an ensign (the lowest ranking military officer) in the Lancaster Militia.(1) The war would continue for well over two more years.

(1) John Hastings Gwathmey, Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, 1775-1783, The Dietz Press, Richmond Virginia, 1938, p. 617.

Palace Revisited

When I spoke of Palace Tapscott, great grandmother of Horace Tapscott, in my previous blog, I stated “we will probably never know Palace's origins with any certainty.” We may be coming closer. Terry Bullock, a family history collaborator, who has been of immense help to me over the years, has found a delayed birth certificate for Valentine Tapscott, one of Palace and James R. Tapscott’s ten children. Not all the information in the certificate is trustworthy since the document was created in 1941, sixty-eight years after Valentine's birth and over three decades after the deaths of Palace and James. Nevertheless, that the information was supplied by sons John and Valentine provides some reliability. The certificate states that James R. Tapscott’s full name was “James Robert Tapscott,” very likely since his father was "Robert Tapscott." More important is that the certificate gives Palace’s maiden name as “Palace Matilda Pettus.” Now that’s very interesting since in Kemper Co, Mississippi, where James Robert Tapscott had lived in 1850 before moving to Washington Co, Texas, were three families with the slightly unusual name “Pettus,” and all three owned slaves. (In Ancestry.com the name in the 1850 Slave Schedule is incorrectly transcribed “Petters.”). One slave owner, J. J. Pettus, owned 24 slaves. J. J. Pettus was “John Jones Pettus,” who would twice be the governor of Mississippi, once when the state seceded from the Union.

It is not unlikely that Palace was once a slave of a Kemper Co Pettus family, was sold to the Tapscotts, and was taken with the Tapscotts to Washington Co, Texas, during the 1850s. At some point Palace may have assumed or been given the name of her former slave owner. John Jones Pettus is known to have spent some time in Alabama, where Palace claims to have been born. J. J. spent his childhood in Limestone Co, Alabama, and studied law in Sumter Co, Alabama.

Palace

I can’t stop thinking about Palace and James R. Tapscott, Horace Tapscott’s great grandmother and great grandfather (previous blog). Who was Palace? Where did she come from? It is almost impossible to determine the origin of a slave, as Palace almost certainly had been. Treated as property, slaves were usually nameless in documents. But I can’t stop thinking about her.

In 1850 thirteen-year-old James was living in Kemper County, Mississippi, with his mother and father, Robert and Olivia (Degges) Tapscott, and with two sisters and three brothers. The Tapscotts were farmers and owned slaves, eight to be exact, five male and three female. And next door to the family lived Olivia’s sister Harriet. who had married Nathaniel R. Crump (who usually went by “N.R.”). And the Crumps also owned slaves, ten.

1860 Slave Schedule, Washington Co, Texas.

Then Robert Tapscott died and for some reason the Crumps, the widow Olivia, and James and his two brothers Rodolphus Curry Tapscott (who almost always went by “R.C.” and who, like his brother James would become a Confederate soldier) and Jonathan R. headed to Washington County, Texas. By 1860 Olivia had remarried and the three boys were living in Washington County with their aunt and uncle Harriet and Nathaniel. There, Nathaniel continued owning slaves, probably most brought with the Crumps and Tapscotts from Kemper County. Nathaniel had eight slaves of his own and six more that he held as an “Agt for 2 Heirs of Tapscot.” These had probably been owned by the deceased Robert. James, Robert's eldest son, was likely one of the two heirs.

Among the slaves belonging to the Tapscott heirs and living on the plantation where James was staying in 1860 were a twenty-year-old woman and a two -year-old boy. Could these have been Palace and her and James’s oldest child, Lewis? The ages are certainly right. Palace had been born in 1840 and Lewis was born in 1858 or 1859. But, we will probably never know Palace's origins with any certainty. 

Horace Tapscott

 

Anonymous, Find A Grave

This past Christmas my niece Kirsten gave me a book Songs of the Unsung by Horace Tapscott, a pianist, composer, and educator. The book is his autobiography, the story of a "powerful, highly individual, bop-tinged pianist with avant-garde leanings; a legend and something of a father figure to latter generations of L.A.-based free jazz players" (L.A. Times). At last, a famous Tapscott.

When he died on 28 Feb 1999, his obituary took up half a page in the Los Angeles Times (Tue 2 Mar 1999, p. A16).  Now I must admit that I don't really care for Horace's music. I am more a fan of Thelonious Monk, to whom Horace was sometimes compared. But you must read his autobiography. Horace was shockingly truthful about his life as a musician in what was often (always?) a racist society. An outstanding book by an outstanding man.

And how is Horace related to the Tapscott clan? He is descended from Henry the Immigrant through Henry's son Edney. He is a member of the Edney line, as I am. In fact, Horace and my dad (my niece's grandfather) were fifth cousins.

But, can this be correct? Edney was of European descent; Horace, of African descent. And therein lies a fascinating tale. In 1870 Horace's great grandparents James R. (Edney's great great grandson) and Palace Tapscott were living in Washington Co, Texas, with six children, including John Robert Tapscott, Horace's grandfather. In 1880 James and Palace were still living in Washington Co, but now the family had nine children (a tenth appears to have died). And the 1880 and 1900 censuses specify Palace as James's wife. This would not be surprising except that all three censuses show James as white and Palace and all their children as black or mixed race.

Between at least 1870 and 1900 James and Palace lived as a married couple in Texas, an exceedingly racist state where marriages between blacks and whites were banned by law between 1834 and 1969, except briefly during reconstruction. James and Palace did not have to report that they were married in the censuses. James could have declared himself single and Palace could have claimed to be the housekeeper, a common ruse used to hide relationships from census takers (and prying neighbors). But they didn't.

And equally surprising, James had enlisted in the Confederate Army on 1 Aug 1862. He and Palace were apparently living together or at least were having children while James was a Rebel! Their youngest child was born around 1860. And Palace, who was born in 1840 in Alabama, almost certainly began life as a slave.

Was it a loving union between a Johnny Reb and a former slave? It certainly appears so. They proclaimed to the world that they were married. In the 1900s, probably while visiting her daughter Amelia, Palace died in Oklahoma and was buried there. In his will, James wrote 

Fourth I further direct that should I be unable to remove the body of Palace Tapscott from Oklahoma, when it is now buried before my death, then I direct and request the above devisees and legatees, who are the children of said Palace Tapscott to remove her remains from Oklahoma and bury the same by the side of my own body on my farm whereof I now reside in Washington County Texas.