Fauquier County Tapscotts - Homelands

Map of Fauquier County Districts
 (Fauquier Co GIS Department).
 Most of Elizabeth’s descendants lived
in or near the area marked in Red

Sometime around 1811 Elizabeth Percifull moved from Lancaster Co to Fauquier Co, where she married James Tapscott and where she established a Tapscott dynasty. (See Elizabeth Percifull, an Overview.) We can’t give much credit to James since he died just a few years after he married. And where did Elizabeth’s descendants end up in Fauquier Co?

The 1870 Virginia Constitution required that each county in the state be divided into no less than three townships. A constitutional amendment in 1874 changed the townships into magisterial districts. Elizabeth and her descendants lived, for the most part, in what became Cedar Run Distr (sometimes called “Cedar Run Twp”), in an area just south of Cedar Run Creek between the village of Auburn and Double Poplars (today, “Poplar Forks”) Church. In the 1860 census, this area was part of the Northeast Revenue Distr.

Tapscott Lands lay between Auburn and Poplar Forks Church.

Prior to the Civil War, a settlement, Double Poplars, was established by free Blacks just south of the Old Auburn Road. The village was named for the double poplar trees that were used as a site for outdoor worship, probably held in secret since people of color were forbidden to congregate without a white minister present. Elder John Clark led the community in founding Double Poplars Baptist Church in 1870. The congregation purchased land from Philip and Susan Hughs (sometime “Hughes”) in 1874 and erected a sanctuary that doubled as a school in the early years. Later, they erected a schoolhouse on land formerly owned by Minor Grayson. Philip Hughs, about whom we will hear more later, eventually became a preacher at Double Poplars Church. A crude grave marker for “PhiliP houGh” is found in the cemetery alongside the church.

Double Poplar School. (AAHA)

Poplar Forks Church (2019)

Many of Elizabeth’s descendants are buried in one of two Cedar Run Distr cemeteries, just a mile or so apart.

The Poplar Forks Baptist Church Cemetery, which lies alongside and back of the church, is likely the oldest of the two cemeteries. The marker with the oldest date is that for Nancy M. Chichester, who died 14 Nov 1877, though there are undoubtedly many older, but unmarked, graves. Nancy, who took the name of “Chichester,” was Elizabeth’s granddaughter.

The Tapscott Family Cemetery, a beautifully maintained burial site, which lies at the end of Ecoganic Farm Lane (a recent name), is a second major resting place for Elizabeth’s descendants. The cemetery occupies a piece of land once owned by William Doddridge Chichester, but deeded by him on 29 Nov 1865 to Edmond A. Tapscott, one of Elizabeth’s children. Edmond is buried there with under a marker with the oldest death date in the cemetery, 4 Jun 1880, though there are likely older graves. The cemetery is now incorporated and is managed by the Tapscott Family Cemetery Association.

                  Poplar Forks Baptist Church Cemetery.                                                      Tapscott Family Cemetery.