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 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.

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.”

Cordelia died 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.