Fauquier County Tapscotts - Mary Cornelia Tapscott

Mary C., Henry and Elizabeth (Sowers) Tapscott’s first known child, was born in Clarke Co, VA, on 4 Apr 1882. On 3 May 1899, the following was published in the Clarke Courier:

In Memorial.
In loving remembrance of my dear father, HENRY C. TAPSCOTT, who died March 10th, 1899: 

Rest in peace, my noble father,
For God's will must be done,
Thou art gone, but not forgotten
In the mind of every one. 

How sadly we grieve for the loss of our father.
And many are the tears we shed;
Our home is so dreary which was once so bright,
Since our poor father is dead

Though the world is full of trouble,
Full of sorrow and pain;
Yet to us it would be heaven.
If he were only here again.

By his daughter,
MARY C. TAPSCOTT 

Mary's name has the middle initial “C” in a number of records but has the initial “E” in only one, a marriage record, where it was probably entered in error. Despite this, nearly all family historians give Mary the name “Mary E.” On 24 Oct 1899 in Clarke County, “Mary E. Tapscott” married Holmes E. Lloyd.

There were two people with the unusual name “Holmes E. Lloyd” living in Clarke County at the time. According to the marriage record, the Holmes E. Lloyd who married Mary was born c1880 to Nathaniel and Rose Lloyd in Clarke County. His parents were Nathaniel Lloyd and Rose E. Everhart, who had been wedded on 1 Oct 1879 in Berryville, Clarke Co, Va. Nathaniel died by 1900, when Rose Lloyd appears as a widow in the Clarke County census. The other person with the name “Holmes E. Lloyd” living in Clarke County was Holmes Edward Lloyd (also, “Edward Holmes Lloyd”), born Jan 1888 (dates of 3 Jan and 22 Jan are given) to John Letcher and Mary Frances Lloyd. (Warning! Numerous family trees mix the two Holmes E. Lloyds.)

In the 1900 census we find Mary and Holmes married and living with Mary’s widowed mother, Elizabeth, and Mary’s four living siblings, in Baltimore City, MD. But the census enumerator has entered Mary’s name incorrectly as “Mary C. Cornelia” and, therefore, her husband with the name “Holmes E. [Cornelia].” The enumerator may have misunderstood the name “Cornelia” as Mary’s last name, rather than her middle name, which it may well have been. (Another warning! Numerous family trees give Holmes the last name "Cornelia".)

The marriage did not last. In Baltimore on 9 Mar 1902 Mary filed for divorce claiming that Holmes had abandoned her and had been unfaithful. And then Holmes seems to disappear. Three years later, Mary married a second time, in Baltimore on 1 Feb 1905, to William Floyd. This marriage was also short. In October 1905, William was taken to court in Baltimore for deserting his wife. He pleaded guilty and was released. But then he discovered that he hadn’t been legally married to Mary Tapscott Lloyd after all, because her divorce from Holmes Lloyd had not been finalized. The two were still married. On 3 Jun 1906, a Baltimore newspaper printed the following story: 

ARRESTED ON BIGAMY CHARGE

Mrs. Mary C. Floyd Accused By Alleged Second Husband.

Mrs. Mary C. Floyd, 24 years old, who gave her address as 204 East Woodberry avenue, will be given a hearing tomorrow afternoon before Justice White, at the Northern Police Station, on the charge of bigamy, preferred by her alleged second husband, William Floyd.

William Floyd, the alleged husband, was arrested October 24 last on a warrant sworn out by Mrs. Floyd charging him with non-support. In default of $500 bail imposed by Justice White, who heard the case, Floyd went to jail. When tried before Judge Phelps he was paroled for one year.

Immediately after his release he says he heard his wife had another husband, from whom she had never been divorced, and after a search of the records of the Circuit Court he says he found that while a divorce was granted the woman the decree was never signed, as the costs had not been paid. Floyd says he consulted State's Attorney Owens and procured the warrant for her arrest.

Mrs. Floyd appeared before Justice White yesterday afternoon and asked for a postponement of the case until Monday, so as to give her time to secure an attorney.

Then a few weeks later, another news article announced that Mary had been paroled.

MRS. LLOYD-FLOYD PAROLED

Was Charged With Bigamy, But Thought She Was Divorced.

Mary C. Tapscott, arrested several weeks ago on the charge of bigamy, pleaded guilty in the Criminal Court yesterday and was released on parole by Judge Harlan, as the evidence showed that she believed she was divorced from her first husband when she married again, and that the divorce decree would have been signed upon the payment of court costs.

Tapscott was her maiden name. The charge of bigamy was made against her after she had her second husband arrested on the charge of not supporting her. She married her first husband, Holmes E. Lloyd, October 24, 1899, at Berryville, Va., where she was born. In her bill for divorce filed March 9, 1904, she alleged that her husband had abandoned her in December, 1901, and that she had lived here five years. On February 1, 1905, she married her second husband, William Floyd.

It took several years, but Mary’s divorce from Holmes Lloyd was finalized 21 Jun 1919. The following year Mary appears in the 1920 Baltimore census, living by herself and working as a seamstress in a shirt factory. Mary is probably the “Mary Jones” seen in the inscription with her mother and two brothers on the Tapscott marker in Ivy Hill Cemetery, Laurel, MD. If so, she was evidently married at least one more time, to a Jones. Mary Cornelia Lloyd Floyd Jones had no known descendants.

Did Mary Tapscott marry a Jones? Who was he? Was her middle name "Cornelia"? When and where did she pass on? Did she have any descendants? Contact me if you know.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Henry C. Tapscott

 The subject of the last blog was Robert Francis and Lucy Tapscott’s first-born, Joseph Baker. Today it is their second oldest, Henry C.

Henry’s middle name is claimed to be “Carter,” but a reliable record showing this remains to be found. According to notes by his brother Beverly Alexander, Henry was born 1 Oct 1845, presumably in Clarke Co, VA, his parents' residence. On 17 Nov 1880 at the Baptist parsonage in Berryville, Clarke Co, Henry was married to Elizabeth F. Sowers, daughter of William B. C. and Lucy Sowers. Elizabeth Sowers was born September 1858 in Kansas, presumably in Douglas County, where her parents were living at the time, though records also give Elizabeth other birthplaces.

And why were Elizabeth’s parents, both natives of Virginia, in Kansas when Elizabeth was born? William B. C., whose middle name is said without evidence to be “Brodus Crawford,” and Lucy Bonham were married in Clarke Co 16 Sep 1850, and William, still living in Clarke County, was an exhibitor at the 1855 State Agricultural Fair. But the following year, “Wm. B. Sowers” appears in the 1856 census for Kansas Territory. In 1859 he appears in the Kansas census, this time specifically in Willow Springs Twp, Douglas County.

In 1830, The Indian Removal Act had set aside land now in Douglas County as Indian Territory. The U.S. government promised that these lands would be “secured and guaranteed… forever” to the tribes. But, of course, it was a falsehood. In 1854 the land was opened to non-indigenous settlement by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. New land was probably what attracted William to Kansas.

On 10 Aug 1860 William purchased approximately 160 acres, PLSS (Public Land Survey System) NE¼ S14 T15S R19E, in Douglas County from Reyes Maldonado, who had obtained the land owing to his military service as a teamster for the New Mexico Militia during the “Apache Indian Disturbances.” That same year W. B. Sowers and his family appear in the census for Willow Springs Twp, twice. But duplicate record entry was not the only error. In both records, the family name is given as “Jones.” The inclusion of Lucy and their three children (at the time), Clayton, “Lizzie,” and Robert, with ages corresponding to birthdates found in other records, leaves no doubt that the record is for William B. Sowers, father of Henry Tapscott’s wife. It seems strange that William was given the wrong name twice and one wonders if it had anything to do with the forced sale of his property at NE¼ S14 T15S R19E for nonpayment of 1858 taxes. Did he lie about his name, or was it an enumerator error?

William is last seen living in Willow Springs in 1863, when he registered for the Civil War draft. By 6 Nov 1866 he was back in Clarke Co, VA, where, listed as widowed, he married Catherine K. Turley. It is not unlikely that his first wife, Lucy, had died while they were in Kansas. William would marry one more time. Following the death of “Kate” on 21 Jan 1878, he married Julia Avery Lucius on 10 Feb 1880 in Loudoun County, VA. When William died in Clarke County on 20 Aug 1884, he was buried in Green Hill Cemetery in Berryville with his second wife, Catherine. The grave marker, which gives an erroneous death year for Catherine, includes an inscription for Albert Sowers, William’s brother.

Following their marriage, Henry and Elizabeth Tapscott lived in Clarke County until 10 Mar 1899, when Henry died of pneumonia, leaving Elizabeth with five children to care for. Neither her father, who had died in Clarke County on 20 Aug 1884, nor her stepmother Julia, who had died in Shepherdstown, WV, 30 Nov 1897, were around to help. She needed a place where the kids could find jobs, and the area near the little communities of Berryville and Millwood, where she lived in Clarke County, was not it. Elizabeth headed to Baltimore, MD, which had a dense chain of water‑ and steam‑powered textile mills. There, in 1900, she was living with all five children. (A sixth child, Herbert Tapscott, born around Jan 1887, had died near Millwood of typhoid fever on 26 Mar 1889.) Her oldest son, Henry K., found a job as a cotton weaver. Benjamin H. was a sweeper. And, at age ten, daughter Lillian was a doffer, a person (often a child in the 1800s) who removed full bobbins from spinning frames and replaced them with empty ones in a fabric mill. Elizabeth’s oldest child, Mary, had gotten married, and her husband, who lived in the household with his in-laws, worked as a cotton weaver. At age 5, Elizabeth’s youngest, Thomas M., was as yet too young to work, but would eventually work as a doffer. Child labor may have helped the family survive, but the resulting impact on the children's education coupled with their impecunious environment may have led to their unusual life stories.

By 1910, Elizabeth and her three sons were living in the small mill town of Laurel, MD, about twenty miles southwest of Baltimore. Laurel would become the family hometown. She was also living there in 1920, but then she vanishes, apparently having died.

About that time an obituary for Elizabeth Tapscott appeared in the 11 Aug 1921 edition of the Baltimore Sun newspaper. Elizabeth! Wife of the late Henry Tapscott! Died in Baltimore! She had to be Elizabeth Sowers. But she wasn’t. She was Elizabeth Jane Masdon, wife of Henry Tapscott Jr., grandnephew of Ezekiel Tapscott. There are a lot of trees out there stating that Elizabeth Sowers died in Baltimore on 9 Aug 1921. She didn’t as far as we know. We don’t know when or where she passed away, though the location was likely Laurel, MD.

In Ivy Hill Cemetery, Laurel, MD is a marker, without dates, for Elizabeth and three of her children: Mary, Benjamin, and Henry. Separate stones are found in the same cemetery for two other children of Henry and Elizabeth, Lillian and Thomas. Elizabeth’s husband Henry and their infant son, Herbert, both of whom died in Clarke County, are interred in Green Hill Cemetery, Berryville, VA, though no marker is found for Henry.

Several of the six children of Henry and Elizabeth led extremely interesting lives, but we face a major problem in researching those lives. Only one of the six, Lillian, is known to have had children. and her children had few descendants. The limited number of descendants means few family members were keeping track of their family history. Moreover, Elizabeth and her immediate descendants were destitute following Henry’s death. There was little money for obituaries and gravestones. All this leads to many uncertainties as we will see.

Do you know of any reputable source showing that Henry's middle name was "Carter" or that William's middle names were "Brodus Crawford"? Do you know a death date and/or death location for Elizabeth Sowers Tapscott or for Lucy Bonham Sowers with proof? Do you see obvious errors or stupidities? Contact me.

 

By the way, a family tree is neither proof nor a reputable source. Information provided by a very, very close relative (sibling, child, spouse, or, possibly, grandchild) might be.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Joseph Baker Tapscott

     Continuing our investigation of the Holder branch of the Fauquier Tapscotts.........

According to his brother Beverly, Joseph Baker Tapscott, Robert and Lucy’s oldest child, was born 5 Jan 1844. His middle name probably came from the name of the minister Joseph Baker, who had conducted his parents’ marriage.

Joseph was raised in a slave-owning environment. His grandmother, Elizabeth, had owned slaves, eight in 1840. His presumed grandfather, Taliaferro, who of course Joseph did not know, owned seven slaves in 1850. His grandfather Alexander Wood had owned three slaves when he died in 1830. And Joseph saw slavery in his own home, for his father, Robert, owned three slaves in 1850, when Joseph was a child. Thus we may understand why on 25 Sep 1862 at Bunker Hill, VA (today WV), Joseph enlisted in Company I, 2 Regiment, Virginia Infantry, Confederate Army for the duration of the Civil War.

Military records report that on 24 Jul 1863, Joseph deserted from the Confederate Army, but that was not true. He had actually been captured by Union forces, on 1 Aug 1863 according to Union records, at Brandy Station, VA. He was confined at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington DC between 1 Aug and 15 Aug 1863. He was then transferred to Point Lookout, MD, followed by imprisonment at Elmira, NY. On Aug 7 1865 at Elmira he signed an oath of allegiance to the United States.

By 1870, Joseph Baker Tapscott was back home, working on the family farm in Clarke County. In that county, on 28 Jan 1875, Joseph married Amanda R. Alexander. Amanda Rose (also “Rosalie,” “Rosa,” “Rose Lee”) had been born 8 Nov 1852 in Loudoun Co, VA, to James Franklin Alexander and Lydia Jane Boggess. Amanda fit well into Joseph's family. Her father, like Joseph, had served in the Confederate Army and records showed that he had deserted. But in James’s case, the records appear to be correct. He really did desert.

Joseph Baker Tapscott, c1926 ( Source: Laura Chasty.)

Born c1835 in Loudoun County, Lydia Jane died there on 14 Dec 1878, just a little over three years after her daughter Amanda and Joseph were married. Following his wife’s death, James took off to Marshall Co, KS with his youngest four children. James had little choice about leaving the house in which he and Lydia had lived, though why he chose Kansas is unknown. He had to move because his wife had inherited a right of occupancy  of their house, from Jemima Reed Trussell (apparently a friend). Upon Lydia Jane’s death the property was to go to all her children. To divide the property it was sold, leaving James homeless. Born 1 Feb 1829 in Virginia, James died near Axtell, Marshall Co, KS, on 3 Sep 1907.

Joseph and Amanda lived out their lives in Clarke Co, VA, where they had eleven known children, six of whom died young. Two of the latter were unnamed male stillborn infants delivered on 10 Feb 1887 and 10 Feb 1888. Yes, brothers stillborn on the same date one year apart does sound suspicious, but the records appear to be correct. Louisa V., born Dec 1880, died 24 Aug 1889 at age eight of cancer of the eye. And three children who appear in Clarke County birth records for the 1870s and 1880s are not found in the 1900 census, nor in any record after that, indicating deaths prior to June 1900: Robert A. (b 2 Nov 1875), Daisy (b Aug 1882), and Thomas (b 4 Oct 1884). Only five children are known to have reached adulthood: Beverly Wood Tapscott (17 Apr 1877–15 Jul 1948), Flora (also “Florenda”) Martin Tapscott (26 Oct 1885–9 Dec 1967), Gertrude Virginia Tapscott (18 Feb 1889–18 May 1975), James Clifton Tapscott (26 Jan 1891–31 Oct 1966), and Charles William Tapscott Sr. (24 Dec 1892–23 Jul 1962).

Amanda died 27 Jun 1915 in Battletown Distr, Clarke Co. Joseph Baker lived several years longer, dying, it is claimed, on 10 Mar 1932.

Disagreements? Suggestions? Complaints? Corrections? Please let me know.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Robert Francis Tapscott

 

DNA test results have now revealed, at least to a limited extent, Robert Francis Tapscott’s origins. Two living male descendants (names are kept private here) of Robert Francis have yDNA matches showing conclusively that Robert Francis was not a descendant of Henry Tapscott, the Immigrant, at least by an all-male line. The name “Tapscott” may have come from Robert Francis’s mother, but not his father. In fact, the DNA results provide extremely strong evidence that Robert’s father was named “Holder.” The two descendants show strikingly close matches to a number of males with the surname “Holder,” with genetic distances as close as an exact match for 111 markers. Because yDNA follows only all-male lines, the same line that passes the family name, all yDNA matches are expected to have the same family name. Of course, owing to adoptions and births outside of marriage, that seldom happens.

In addition, four descendants of Robert Francis have autosomal DNA matches to eight different descendants of Elizabeth Percifull. And one descendant of Robert Frances Tapscott shows autosomal matches to the Percifull family of Lancaster Co, Va. Thus, DNA provides strong indication that Robert Francis Tapscott of Clarke Co was the son of Elizabeth Percifull and a Holder. And what about “paper-trail” data? It turns out that reliable records are consistent with the DNA results.

Robert Frances's 1843 Clarke County wedding license gives his residence as Fauquier County, a location verified by property tax records in which Robert Tapscott appears in 1839 (when he had just turned 22) and in 1840. In 1834 a Robert Tapscott, “child of Betty Tapscott” was indentured to Robert Gordon in Fauquier County to learn the trade of blacksmith. Robert Frances Tapscott was a blacksmith, among other things, when he was living as a married man in Clarke County. “Betty” is, of course, a name often used by those with the name “Elizabeth.” One concern about the contract is that in the database of indentures maintained by the AAHA, Robert Tapscott is listed as a “Free Negro,” which Robert Francis was not. But this was likely a transcription or clerical error.

An 1842 Chancery Court case shows “Bob Tapscott” running the blacksmith shop of James McLearen in Warrenton, Fauquier Co, Va. Court records reveal a most interesting story:

In 1840 James McLearen paid William Chichester $37.50 to hire a slave named Beverly with the understanding that Beverly would be taught the art of blacksmithing. Chichester claimed that he did not get what he contracted for. In McLearen's deposition he said

This respondent having in the year 1840 a Blacksmith shop in Operation in the Town of Warrenton was repeatedly applied to by the sd Complainant to take his boy Beverly in the sd shop as a stacker for Bob Tapscott with whom he wished him to work a year to require a better knowledge of the trade; sd Tapscott having bargained to carry on my shop for a year & whom I at length consented to take tho reluctantly sd Tapscot also seeming very desirous that i should take him & executed the Sd penal Bill for the price which was agreed on

The slave’s name, “Beverly,” an unusual male name, is particularly interesting since that name was used by Robert Francis for one of his sons. Might there be a connection?

Thus, historical records and DNA results provide strong evidence that Robert Francis Tapscott was born in Fauquier Co to Elizabeth and a white male by the name of “Holder.” and later moved to Clarke County, where he raised a family and worked as a blacksmith. Among the ten or so male Holders living in Fauquier County at the time of Robert Francis's birth, only one stands out as having an appropriate age and location. Taliaferro Holder Sr., who would have been around 25 (date of birth c1792) when Robert was born and in later years was living in Turner's District, where many of Elizabeth's descendants were living. Taliaferro was married twice, both times in Fauquier County, to Sarah Hunton on 29 Dec 1816 and to Jane Ball on 1 Dec 1828. He had at least eight children, including Taliaferro Jr., from the second marriage. Taliaferro died around 30 May 1872, the date his will was probated.

In Clarke County, where they lived out their married lives, Robert and Lucy raised seven children, while Robert worked as a blacksmith, a wagon maker, and a farmer. Even with several sources of income, the family may have found difficulty in making ends meet. In 1871 Robert claimed homestead exemptions, which reduced property taxes and protected against creditors.

Robert died of “paralysis” in Clarke Co on 24 Jun 1874. (His cemetery marker gives a death date of 25 Jun.) Lucy is last seen in the 1880 census living with her son Henry in Battletown Twp, Clarke Co, Va  (i.e., near Berryville).

Robert and Lucy's P&P (Parentage and Progeny).

The next few weeks, we'll be looking at Robert and Lucy's kids.

Questions? Complaints? Suggestions? Contact me.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Lucy Wood Tapscott

Here is a transcription of Robert Tapscott’s marker in Old Chapel Cemetery:

ROBERT F. TAPSCOTT

Born

Mar 8th, 1817

Died

June 25, 1874

No known contemporary record gives a middle name for Robert; however, his descendants claim that it was “Francis.” That name will be used here, since some of those descendants had relatively close connections to Robert.

On 4 Apr 1843 in Clarke County an oath was made by Lucy F. Wood’s brother James in preparation for her marriage to Robert:

James T. Wood made Oath before me Clerk of the Court of the County aforesaid that Lucy F. Wood who is about to intermarry with Robert Tapscott of the County of Fauquier is over twenty One years of age and an inhabitant of this county.

Robert and Lucy were wed that same day. As found for Robert, no dependable record gives Lucy’s middle name, but descendants, deemed reliable, claim it to be “Frances,” and we will use that name. Lucy Frances Wood is believed to be the daughter of Alexander Wood Sr. and Elizabeth Kirk. And there is evidence for this. Following his marriage to Elizabeth around 1799 (based on age of oldest child), Alexander and his bride settled down in Frederick Co, Va. In the 1830 census, Alexander was replaced by Elizabeth as the household head. Alexander apparently died that year as a bond was issued on 2 Aug 1830 for administration of his estate. No cemetery marker is found for Alexander, who is said to be buried in Tilthammer Mill Cemetery a little south of Old Chapel Cemetery. A marker is, however, found for his wife. She was interred at Old Chapel, where her presumed daughter Lucy is said to have been buried, though no stone is found, and where her presumed son-in-law Robert was laid to rest. Elizabeth’s stone reads

Our Mother

ELIZABETH

Wife of

Alexander Wood Sr.

Died

April 3, 1853

in the 76th year of

her age

Lucy’s parentage is further evidenced by the 1850 census for Clarke County, which shows 73-year-old Elizabeth Wood, living with Robert and Lucy. Residing next door is James T. Wood, Lucy’s brother. Elizabeth would die three years later. All in all, it appears that Lucy was a daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth Wood. But what about Robert Francis? Who were his parents?

That’s the subject of our next blog.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - The Holders

Clarke Co, which borders Fauquier Co to the north, is the site of an historic Church of England, later Episcopalian, chapel, dating back to about 1747, though the structure has been rebuilt several times. In the adjacent cemetery stands a grave marker for Robert F. Tapscott, progenitor of an extensive line of Tapscotts centered in Clarke Co, mostly near the county seat, Berryville, initially designated “Battletown.” And who was Robert? That is a fascinating question, one which required years of research to answer.

We have already blogged about Robert and Robert Revisited. Now we need to add some new material and consolidate everything for the book Elizabeth's Children being written. And that is what we will be doing over the next few blogs.

Fauquier County Tapscotts - John Tnomas and Reburta

My previous blog showed how Reburta Tapscott and John Thomas Tapscott were first cousins once removed. But a Fauquier County cousin emailed me and said tne chart was confusing. Perhaps it was the representation of a vertical tree using a horizontal chart. I have redone it and added a lot. It may be more confusing now. I also added a 1700s British flag to Henry to show that he is the only England-born person in this chart. This was done because my cousin pointed out that many trees show Elizabeth Perciful as born in England. She was not. 

Years ago, Roberta Estes, a well-known genetic genealogist said  “Proof is not, not, 1000 times not someone else’s tree.” And over the years, I have found that to be correct. The multiplication of errors by “family historians” copying each other without hint of reliable sources is appalling. Elizabeth was born in Virginia, not in England. We have absolute proof of that. Numerous reliable records (not trees) show that Elijah was living in Virginia both before and after Elizabeth’s birth. Tax records and deed transfers show that her father, Elijah, was living in Lancaster Co Virginia in the years before she was born. Surely, he did not go to England so that his daughter could be born there and then immediately come back. And Elijah’s will names his daughter as “Betsey who into married with Tapscott” (Elizabeth was often called “Betsey”). So we know that he was her father. Moreover the 1850 census show that Elizabeth was born in Virginia, not England. A Gallaudet article stating the Tapscotts were from England is more or less correct since the first Virginian Tapscott was from England. Henry Tapscott arrived from England in January 1700, and his descendants through his great great grandughter Harriet formed many of the Fauquier Co Tapscotts. The Fauquier Co Tapscotts, at least those descended from Harriet, were indeed from England because that is where their ancestors had lived. But none of the Fauquier Co Tapscotts were born there.