Fauquier County Tapscotts - Cordelia

We have spent several weeks reviewing the history of Harriet’s firstborn daughter, Maria Ann Tapscott. Now it’s time to do the same for Harriet’s only other known child, Cordelia Tapscott.

Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier Co.

All records indicate that Cordelia (also called “Delia” and “Adelia,” though the latter may be due to error) was born well before 1850 (the most reliable year is 1835 from her grave marker and the 1860 census), but she does not appear in the 1850 Fauquier County census with her mother, Harriet. Or does she? For in Harriet's household in that census is a ten-year-old girl named Susan Adams. Could Susan be Cordelia, with her surname that of her otherwise unknown father? It does not seem unlikely, particularly since names among the Fauquier Tapscotts were often changed.

In 1860 Cordelia was living in Fauquier with her mother, Harriet, and Cordelia’s first-born known child, Tasco. Also in the household is 30-year John Tapscott. John and Cordelia appear with Harriet in the 1860 census with ages that correspond to a birth year c1830 for John (listed as a laborer) and c1835 for Cordelia (listed as a weaver). Some people assume John to be a son of Harriet, but it is far more likely that he was Cordelia’s paramour. Strong evidence of this is in Tasco’s death certificate, which gives his parents as John and Adelia. John may well have been one of Elizabeth’s slaves, now in Harriet’s household. If so, “Tapscott” was probably an assumed surname. We do not see John again.

Cordelia had five known children, all born out of wedlock, all given the surname “Tapscott,” and all raised in the Cedar Run District of Fauquier County—James Tasco, William, Murray, Elizabeth, and John, Descendants claim that the father of the middle three was Marcus A. (“Mark”) Russell, the Baptist minister who married Cordelia’s cousin, Mary Frances Tapscott. There are no contemporary records showing this to be true; however, in this case I am going to take the word of relatives, something I very seldom do. There is evidence that the final child, John, had a father named “Thomas,” likely another one of Elizabeth's slaves.

Cordelia died young, around age 47, and was buried in the Tapscott Family Cemetery in Fauquier County. The marker, which gives a death date of 1882, appears to be a recent addition and may not, for that reason, be completely reliable for the death and birth dates, or, for that matter, the burial location.

Have any of you descendants of Cordelia found records or other evidence indicating that Mark Russell fathered some of Cordelia's children?

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Elizabeth without James

In a much earlier post, we discussed James and Elizabeth---James Tapscott and Elizabeth Percifull. James died young, leaving Elizabeth in Fauquier County with just her kids. She would soon have more. Immediately after that earlier post we should have posted something about Elizabeth without James. But we didn't. Let's do it now.

It is shocking to see that in Fauquier County, Elizabeth owned slaves. In the 1840 census, her household included six male slaves and two female slaves. Some of the male slaves were almost certainly Elizabeth’s paramours. In addition, the 1840 census shows both free white and free colored people in the household, primarily Elizabeth’s children and grandchildren. 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. The numbers and age distributions of the free occupants are almost exactly what would be predicted:

1840 Fauquier County Census, Elizabeth's Household

Only the free colored males show a discrepancy from what is expected, likely because the oldest, William, had moved out. By 1840, Elizabeth’s son Telem Plato was married and living in a separate household. And her son Robert Frances was living in Warrenton, probably in the blacksmith shop of James Mclearen. More on Robert Frances, later.

Elizabeth, who arrived in Fauquier County around 1810 apparently lived out her life there, dying sometime between 1850, when she appears in the census, and 1860, when she is missing from the census.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Carrie Martin

Carrie Martin, the only known child of Maria and her second husband, Alfred Martin, appears to have been born in 1870; however, birth dates for Carrie (and her offspring) are highly questionable. Carrie apparently knocked off years as she grew older. Around 1890, Carrie married Isaac Chichester. whose ancestry is far too complicated to discuss here but was a descendant of Richard McCarty Chichester. The union has resulted in a lot of confusion, for a few years earlier, on 30 Mar 1882, Isaac had married, Catharine Collins, who went by the name “Carrie.” And, of course, the two Carries have been confused and often merged by family historians.

The first Carrie was born in October 1869 to Amanda (“Mandy”) Morton (Oct 1830–11 Jul 1933) and Henry Collins (Jun 1840–by 1910), probably in Fauquier County, where her parents were married (on 13 Apr 1873). Catharine and Isaac had a single known child, Samuel Chichester, who was born on 5 Jul 1884 in Fauquier County and died 7 Oct 1916 in Warrenton. Isaac’s first marriage did not last. On 28 Dec 1895 in DC, Catharine married Jerry Hughes and then went on to marry Johnson Addison in Fauquier County on 3 Oct 1917. Catharine died 14 Jul 1961 in the village of Casanova in Fauquier County.

Carrie Martin and Isaac Chichester, who may have died by 1910 (he does not appear in that census or thereafter), had four known children, all boys and all having gaps in contemporary records.

William Henry Chichester was born 5 Feb 1892 in Warrenton, and married Florence Scott in DC on 18 Aug 1920, a marriage that ended in divorce on 1 Feb 1941 in Arlington Co, Virginia. William died in October 1958, probably in DC where he had been living. He left no known descendants.

James Robert Chichester Sr.
(Kim D'Addario)

James Robert Chichester Sr. was probably born 3 Dec 1897, as given in the 1900 census, with the day taken from other records. The dates of 3 Dec 1893 on his death certificate and 3 Dec 1892 in his Social Security application are obviously incorrect. Might he have made himself look older to collect social security? James may have had a criminal element. In 1920 he was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison for theft of liquor seized in raids from the Fauquier County Clerk’s office, where it was being stored. He escaped from the Warrenton jail before he could be transferred to the prison but was soon recaptured. It is strange that James escaped since it was likely that he would have been pardoned. A majority of the jurors had petitioned his pardon after the principal witness against him had recanted his testimony. James was recaptured after having been seen as a pallbearer at the funeral of a relative. (Could the relative have been his father, Isaac?) That escapade may have helped end his marriage to Virginia Kathleen Tyler, who he married on 12 Sep 1917 and divorced on 29 Mar 1932, both actions in Fauquier County. After marrying one more time, to Ethyl Penny, James died 18 Jan 1950 in Charlottesville, Virginia. He had a single known child, James Robert Jr., from his first marriage.

The next child born to Carrie and Isaac was the mysterious Lee Ellsworth Chichester, who was born in Warrenton on 5 Jun 1900. We say “mysterious” because there are large gaps in his history. Despite being born in 1900, he is missing from the 1910 census record of his mother and his three brothers. And he cannot be found in census records after 1920. The latest we see him is in a 1942 WWII draft card, when he is shown as living in DC. No record is found of his date of death. Despite being married twice, to Virginia Arabelle Butler on 5 Jul 1922 in Fauquier County and Aleta Franklin on 5 Sep 1935 in DC, Lee left no known descendants.

Carrie and Isaac’s final child was Claude Leonard Chichester, born in Warrenton 4 Jul 1901. On 7 Jun 1922, Claude married Lillian Tomes in Fauquier County. The marriage resulted in two children, Louis Robert Jones and Carrie Virginia Chichester, but ended in divorce on 21 Jul 1937 in Baltimore, Maryland. Claude died in DC around May 1957.

And this brings us through the last of Maria Ann Tapscott's descendants, as far towards the present as we are willing to go. (I actually have 211 in my database, and that count is undoubtedly far too few.) The next stop on our journey through the Fauquier County Tapscotts is Maria's sister Cordelia and her children.

Stupid errors? Typos? Complaints? Let me know.

 

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Louisa Martin

Louisa Martin, born c May 1860, was Maria and John Martin’s final known child. Louisa is seen with the name “Lou,” “Louise,” and even “Mary” in various records. In later years, Louisa claimed to have been born in May 1864, but she had obviously knocked some years off her age since she appears in the 1860 census. Louisa was about age 36 when, on 1 Oct 1896 in Fauquier Co, she was finally married, to John L. Preston. Born in June 1867 to John Preston and Harriet Brown, John was about seven years younger than Louisa, which may have prompted her age reductions. Mark Russell, who would father three of Louisa’s cousins, performed the ceremony. John L. Preston’s brother Hamilton had earlier married Gertrude Tapscott, Telem Plato’s granddaughter.

John and Louisa soon ended up with three children—Lillian (“Lillie”) B. Preston (b. Sep 1878), Louise A. C. Preston (b. c1900), and Lee E. Preston (b. c1901). But Lillian was born years before John and Louisa were married. When Lillian was born, John was only around age eleven, which makes him a highly unlikely father, though there are uncertainties in the birthdates of all the characters in our story. Louisa, on the other hand, would have been around age 18. Lillian may have been a child of Louisa, but not of John.

On 31 Dec 1895 in Fauquier Co, Lillian married George Chalmers Russell, who had been born 12 Mar 1866 to Mark Russell and Mary Frances Tapscott, Lillian’s first cousin twice removed. The couple had a single known child, Selena Russell, born November 1896. Selena is not seen after 1900 and presumably died. The same is true of Lillian. George married Nannie Roberta Mann in DC on 12 Sep 1921, though the two were living together well before that time and claimed to have married in 1901. This implies that Lillian had died around 1901. Like Lillian, her two siblings, Louise and Lee, had unknown fates. Neither are seen after 1910 and presumably died by the time of the 1920 census. Louisa Martin passed away 5 Jul 1912 in Warrenton, Virginia.

John L. Preston, remarried, with Lucy L. Miller in DC on 4 Nov 1919. Lucy had been born in March 1886 to Ashley (“Ash”) Miller and Lucy (Ferguson) Scott, probably in Culpeper County, where her parents had been married 11 Jun 1882. Ashley had died in Culpeper just a few years later, 7 Oct 1890. Her mother had apparently also died around the same time for Lucy is found in 1900 in Fauquier County living with a brother, Ernest, and a half-sister, Kate. Before her marriage to John, Lucy had at least six children from one or more complicated relationships.

John Preston and Lucy had five known children. Lucy is last seen in the 1920 census. John died in DC on 4 Mar 1937.

I have spent (wasted?) a lot of time investigating the life and relationships of Lucy Miller, but since she is not a Fauquier Tapscott, I have decided to not include the details in the book Elizabeth's Children. If you are interested or have a connection through Lucy's Hughes or Chandler associations, contact me. If there is sufficient interest, which I strongly doubt, I will blog what I have.

Have any photos I might use in the book? See questionable blog information or obvious errors? Have reliably sourced additional data? Contact me.

 

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Jefferson D. Martin

Jefferson D. Martin (a middle name of “Davis” is possible, but seems highly unlikely) was born in Fauquier County February 1858 to Maria Ann Tapscott and John F. Martin. On 17 Dec 1883 in Fauquier County, he married “Saeny” E. Martin. Saeny, who is found in records with the name “Sena,” “Scenia,” “Saeny,” and, most often, “Seney,” was likely named “Senia,” when she was born June 1857 in Fauquier County to Charles and Elizabeth (Anderson) Martin. “Senia” is a much more common name that the others, though the use of a Hebrew/Slavic name seems strange. Were the two Martins—Jefferson and Seney (the name we chose to use)—related? With the same surname and birthplace, Fauquier County, it seems likely, but it remains to be proven.

Jefferson and Seney lived out their married lives in Coles Distr, Prince William Co, Virginia, where Jefferson farmed. Jefferson died c1910 and Seney, sometime between 1910, when she appears in the census, and 1920, when she did not. The couple had no children.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - James Henry Martin

James Henry Martin was born to Maria Ann Tapscott and John F. Martin in Jan 1856, and grew up in Fauquier County. It was there, on 24 Dec 1877, that he married Texanna Proctor. Born c1859 in Virginia, probably in Loudoun County, where she spent her childhood, Texanna was one of nine known children of Samuel K. Proctor (birth year, highly variable) and Margaret A. Johnson (born Jan 1839).

Margaret A. (Johnson) Proctor
Smith Tapscott (Photo
supplied by Cortez Marks)

Following Samuel’s death in May 1870 from an accident involving a plow and a thrasher, Margaret married James Henry Martin’s granduncle, William Tapscott, in Fauquier County on 1 May 1872 (more on that, later). When that marriage didn’t pan out, she married William H. H. (Henry Harrison?) Smith on 3 Feb 1887 in Baltimore, Maryland. William’s first wife, Martha Jane Davis, who he married in DC on 29 Dec 1866, had died in DC 19 Feb 1886. William and Margaret lived for a while in DC, where William had a rather good job as a clerk in the Bureau of Pensions. Like Margaret’s previous marriage, this marriage also failed, ending about 1901 in a rather nasty divorce, with Margaret declaring desertion and demanding support. Margaret may not have succeeded in her demands since William died in DC on 8 Feb 1903. By 1910, Margaret was working as a dressmaker, while living in Atlantic City, New Jersey with her daughter Texanna. Margaret is not seen again.

After living for a while in Fauquier County, James Martin and Texanna ended up in Washington, DC, where James worked for the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind, which would become Gallaudet University. It may be that eventually James and Texanna were not living together at least part of the time since they appear in two separate records in the 1900 DC census—James was shown at the Columbia Institution and Texanna is shown at home with their six (at the time) kids. It was in DC that James met a tragic end. On 4 Jul 1908, he drowned in the Potomac River during an outing with two male friends. It was claimed that when a small boat carrying the three men careened, the passengers were thrown overboard. Two made it to shore. James did not, because, it was claimed, he was exhausted from swimming earlier in the day. But, according to a great grandson, Cortez Marks,

My Grandmother Etta V. Martin [one of James's daughters-in-law] told me that James didn't come home for dinner and his wife, Texanna, sent some of the kids to go down where he was supposed to be, but couldn't find him. Then somebody said that he had drowned. When the police searched the body [not found until the next day], he only had a penny on him. But he had been paid the day of the drowning. The family always said he was robbed and pushed overboard.

James left seven children: James Mallel (8 Dec 1878–31 Jul 1947), Earnest Winfield (15 Sep 1879–aft 1918), Henry Otto (31 Mar 1883–3 Oct 1952), Landon Marvlyn (Sep 1884–12 Nov 1981), Olive Fately (Sep 1886–21 Jun 1972), Ivy Wade (6 Jan 1892–22 May 1968), and Haywood Trimble (8 Sep 1892–1 Aug 1971).

Texanna. who used the name “Texas” more and more as she grew older, lived out her life in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area. She died in Absecon, New Jersey, 23 Dec 1939.