Thomas Cobb Tapscott's Buckingham County Land

Today I received an email from Paige Anderson, a J. D. candidate at the University of Virginia School of Law and Executive Editor of the Virginia Law Review, providing information on what became of the land Thomas Cobb Tapscott left to his children Amanda Davis and George T. Tapscott. Here is her email in full:

I posted on your blog the other week about Thomas Tapscott’s land in Buckingham County, VA; sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you, but I was out of town and just pulled out my notes.

As I know you know, Thomas left land for George and Amanda on his death – 60 acres and 34 acres, respectively.   George died intestate.  The property went to his children and their spouses: George T. Tapscott, Jr. & Kate Allen Tapscott, Adson W. Tapscott, Nannie T. Berkely & Fletcher Berkely, and Malina T. Fields.  The land was not divided, and on Jan 21, 1966, the children sold it to C. Douglas Branch & Clayton C. Bryant.  There are two other transactions after that, but they were essentially paper transactions (or so it appears, because the names on them are of land dealers in the area).  My husband’s late father acquired that tract in 1991.  The deed still refers to it as the George T. Tapscott tract.

Amanda inherited 34 acres, but it was not recorded until 1890.  She and her husband, Enoch, both died intestate; Gay O. Parsons and Edna Parsons Cosby were the heirs.  In 1979-1980, there was a suit, Cosby v. Parsons, in Buckingham County Circuit court regarding the disposition of the land.  I only have the deed resulting from this suit, not any of the court papers.  The deed transferred the 34 acres (as well as 46 acre parcel acquired separately) to Roland & Sharon Parson and Travis & Wanda Parson.  The owners of the 34  acres had been: Gay O. Parsons (1/2) & Dorothy Robinson (1/8), George E. Cosby (1/8), Zack Cosby (1/8), and Edna Taylor (1/8).  [I think I’m correct on this] This deed specifically refers to the 34 acres as being placed in the Buckingham County books in 1890 under the name Amanda Tapscott.  (Which is interesting – this is the only place I have ever seen her using the name Tapscott, not Davis prior to her marriage).  In 1998, Travis & Wanda Parson sold the land to C. Douglas Branch.  (I’m not sure what happened to Roland & Sharon’s share—they may taken land on the 46 only?)  My husband’s father purchased the land a few months later.

I hope this information is helpful to you!

Harriet Tapscott and Harriott Tapscott

Today, a Fauquier County relative contacted me arguing that Harriet and Harriott Tapscott are the same person because Elizabeth would not have adopted her own daughter. She has a good point, but I believe the following argument from my book shows that they were different persons. (Forgive footnote numbering and formatting problems since I just cut and pasted from a Word docuemnt.) 

Harriet Tapscott was one of two people with similar names associated with James. That the Harriet of Fauquier County was not James’s sister Harriott (as assumed by some researchers) is unquestionable. She is designated as “Harriet Tapscott Orphan of James Tapscott” in Elizabeth’s guardian bond, issued at a Fauquier County Court of 23 June 1817, at which Eppa (Epaphroditus) Porter gave evidence that “Harriet Tapscott is the Legitimate daughter and only Heir at law of James Tapscott.”[i] Like James, Porter was a veteran of the War of 1812, but in the Virginia Militia, 41^st Regiment, rather than the U. S. Army.[ii] The 3 (or 9) July 1817 notification of the issuance of a bounty land warrant designates the recipient as “Harriet Tapscott only Daughter & Heir at Law of James Tapscott deceased.”717 That the final land patent was to be sent to “Post office at Fauquier Ct. House Va.” shows that it was for the Harriet living with Elizabeth. Some years later, on 27 August 1834, a Fauquier County court declared

It having been this day proved to the satisfaction of the Court, that Elizabett [sic] Tapscott is the widow of James Tapscott deceased a private in the Army of the United States in the late war - that said Tapscott died in the service of the United States in the Corps of Artillery leaving the said widow and Harriott Tapscott his only child - On the motion of the said Elizabett and Harriett Tapscott, the same is ordered to be certified.

The Fauquier County 1850,725 1860,726 and 1870727 censuses show Harriet with ages corresponding to a birth year between 1809 and 1820,[iii] well past 1798, the year of Ezekiel’s death. Moreover, as shown earlier, Harriott the sister of James was born no later than January 1796, which means that she would have been 21 or older when the guardianship bond was made by Elizabeth, and thus would have been of legal age and would not have been made a ward. In fact, the guardianship bond states that “Elizabeth Tapscott her executors or administrators, shall well and truly pay and deliver to Harriet Tapscott Orphan of James Tapscott deceased all such estate or estates, as now is or are, or hereafter shall appear to be due to the said orphan when, and as soon as she shall attain to lawful age,” a ridiculous clause if Harriet were already of legal age.

Thus, the Fauquier County Harriet is a daughter of James and, probably, though not certainly, Elizabeth and was doubtless named after her aunt Harriott, who may have died relatively young. Since a widow was not automatically a legal guardian (i.e., financial administrator) of her minor children, the guardian bond posted by Elizabeth provides no information about her relationship with Harriet. A parent of either sex was often made guardian of his or her child when that child had inherited property or was entitled to real or personal property (such as the bounty land discussed below).[iv] It is, however, just possible that Harriet was one of Elizabeth’s two illegitimate children claimed to have been fathered in Lancaster County by Richard Cundiff. James could have adopted one or both, legally or otherwise, and given them his name.

At this point, we need to take a closer look at the bounty land awarded for James’s military service. Sometime around 1817, a notification was sent to “Mrs. Harriet Tapscott only Daughter & Heir at Law of James Tapscott deceased” notifying her that a warrant dated 3 July 1817 (the actual warrant was dated 9 July 1817) had been issued with a note to send the final patent to the “Post office at Fauquier Ct.” A facsimile is shown below:

WAR DEPARTMENT

SECTION OF BOUNTY LANDS.

To - Mrs. Harriet Tapscott only Daughter & Heir at Law of James Tapscott deceased

SIR-Pursuant to the Law of the united States, of the 6^th of May, 1812, appropriating certain Tracts of Land, to satisfy the Claims of the Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates of the late Army, and in conformity with the preceding Regulations, you are hereby notified that the Land Warrant No. 10033 has been issued in your name, under date 3 July 1817, and will be deposited in the General Land Office; at the Seat of Government, where the Patent must issue--there to await your order for its location, which may be made so soon as the survey of the appropriated Lands can be effected; public notice of which will be given in all the Newspapers authorised to publish the Laws of the United States.

Nat Cutting

To be located in Missouri North and the patent to be sent to the Post office at Fauquier Ct. House Va.

Two years later on 6 March 1819, a patent was issued to Harriott Tapscott (the bounty land records give names of “Harriet,” “Harriott,” and “Harriot”) for 160 acres of land, the SW quarter of Section 35, Township 54N, Range 22W (today, Carroll County, Missouri). This patent causes no end of confusion. Why was Harriet (no matter what her relation to James) awarded land when Elizabeth, James’s wife, was still living? Under Virginia intestate succession statutes, a surviving wife would be a co-heir with any children, even if the children were not hers. Moreover, had a will been made (and none has been found), Elizabeth would still be required by law to receive a dower (one-third) portion. Despite this, Harriet is said to be the “only Daughter & Heir at Law.” There are no satisfactory explanations. Perhaps Elizabeth and James, despite the bond, never married (though a Fauquier Court of 27 August 1834 determined that Elizabeth was the widow of James). Perhaps the Elizabeth in the Fauquier County censuses of 1840 and 1850 was a different Elizabeth (exceedingly unlikely).

Harriet died unmarried at the age of 58 (birth year 1812 or 1813) on 12 August 1871 near Warrenton in Fauquier County.[v] Cordelia Tapscott, the informant in the death register, is named as her mother, an obvious error. Cordelia, in fact, is believed to be a child of Harriet, along with John and Maria Tapscott. John and Cordelia appear with Harriet in the 1860 census with ages that correspond to a birth year of 1829 to 1830 for John (listed as a laborer) and 1834 to 1839 for Cordelia (listed as a weaver). John is not found in other records.

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[i].          Joan W. Peters, Military Records, Certificates of Service, Discharge, Heirs, & Pensions Declaration and Schedules From the Fauquier County, Virginia Court Minute Books 1784-1840, Heritage Books, Westminster, Maryland, 2007, p. 50.

[ii].         Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812, Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Microfilm Publication M602,

[iii].        In the 1840 Census, Harrett was probably one of the two white females aged 20 to 30, making her birth year 1810 to 1820. From the official 1850 Census enumeration date (1 June 1850) and her age (30), her birth date range is calculated as 2 June 1819 to 1 June 1820. From the official 1860 Census enumeration date (1 June 1860) and her age (50), her birth date range is calculated as 2 June 1809 to 1 June 1810. From the official 1870 Census enumeration date (1 June 1870) and her age (56), her birth date range is calculated as 2 June 1813 to 1 June 1814. From her death date of 12 August 1871 and her age (58), her birth date range is calculated as 13 August 1812 - 12 August 1813. That Harriet is shown as illiterate in all censuses in which she appears (though an attempt appears to have been made to erase the illiterate mark in the 1860 Census) may explain the large discrepancies in ages given.

[iv].        John K. Gott, Fauquier County, Virginia Guardian Bonds 1759 – 1871, Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, Maryland, 1990, p. vii.

[v].         Patricia B. Duncan, Fauquier County, Virginia, Death Register, 1853-1896, Willow Bend Books, Westminster, Maryland, 1998, p. 114.

Fauquier County Tapscotts

I was contacted yesterday by someone who believes she is a descendant of Harriet Tapscott of Fauquier County Virginia, and who also had an Ancestry.com autosomal DNA test done as did I. Unfortunately we have not yet been notified of a match. Nevertheless matches are still being made and perhaps something will show up. I wrote her the following.

There are two Fauquier County Tapscotts with similar names—Harriott and Harriet.

Harriott Tapscott was a sister of James E. Tapscott and a daughter of Ezekiel Tapscott and Hannah H. George of Lancaster County. Ezekiel Tapscott was my 5th-great uncle.

Harriet Tapscott (courtesy of Monica Samowar).

Harriet Tapscott, on the other hand, was the daughter of Elizabeth Percifull  and likely also of James Tapscott and the granddaughter of Ezekiel.

Harriott was my first cousin five times removed. Harriet was my second cousin four times removed. Harriet was the niece of Harriot. A lot of people have confused the two, but I have extremely strong evidence that they were different people, evidence I'll be glad to post.

To a large extent, the descendants of Harriet and her mother Elizabeth Percifull populated Fauquier County with Tapscotts. This is probably accepted by everyone. Thus perhaps excepting some recent arrivals, the Fauquier County Tapscotts of mixed race are descended through mixed-gender lines. This means that only mtDNA or autosomal DNA tests can be used. We can pretty well rule out the use of yDNA (though we might get a surprise).

A larger problem is that any descendants of Elizabeth (Percifull) Tapscott who were not also descendants of her husband James have no known Tapscott gene connection. This is a problem because Elizabeth is known to have had descendants who were not fathered by James but who, in most cases, were given the surname "Tapscott." Before she married James, a Lancaster County court case showed that Elizabeth had two illegitimate white children, whose fate is unknown, fathered by Richard Cundiff. But of much greater importance here, Elizabeth is also believed to have had the following children of mixed race who ended up in Fauquier County—Telem, Catherine, William, Jackson, and Edmond Abraham, all of whom were given the last name "Tapscott."  In fact Harriett is likely the only child of both James and Elizabeth, who were married only a short time, six years or less. In court Elizabeth claimed that Harriet was a child of James and Harriet did receive land based on that claim. If that is true then Harriet's descendants through her children—John, Cordelia ("Delia"), and Maria—should show autosomal DNA matches to Tapscotts related to Ezekiel. The problem is that Elizabeth may have been lying about Harriet in order for Harriet to obtain land from James's service during the War of 1812. (The whole land thing is still confusing.)

If we can find some autosomal matches between Fauquier County Tapscotts believed to be descendants of Harriet and Tapscotts related to Ezekiel of Lancaster County (I am presumably one) then we have evidence that Harriet was indeed James's daughter. I would very much like to see this happen. If we find no matches (after really trying) this indicates that Harriet was not a child of James (but also adds proof to Harriott and Harriet being separate people).

One other possibility is to look for mtDNA matches through female lines between Fauquier County Tapscotts and descendants of Elizabeth (Percifull) Tapscott's sisters, and there were a lot of them—at least seven, daughters of Elijah Perciful. A match would lend weight to the connection to Elizabeth Percifull though not to James or Ezekiel. Of course tracing female lines would be quite difficult owing to the name changes.

Thomas Cobbs Tapscott, Amanda Davis, and Bill Cosby

I just received the following note on Facebook from Robert J. Tapscott, Great Grandson of George Nicholas. and Ann Ethyl (Scruggs) Tapscott (and Great Grandnephew of Thomas Cobbs Tapscott)

re Black Tapscotts possible link in Buckingham: There was a black man named George Tapscott in Buckingham in the 1930s. A possible link might be Thomas C Tapscott, a brother of George Nick, who was never married but willed some land to a black woman and her offspring???

Since my comments are a little lengthy, I thought I would put them here.

Coleman and Samuel Cosby were children of
Zacharia and Louisa Crosby

Thomas Cobbs Tapscott founded a large line of mixed-race descendants. Never legally married, Thomas is believed to have fathered two children, Amanda Lee Davis and George Davis (who later adopted the name “George Thomas Tapscott” ), probably with Amanda Davis, a black cook living in nearby Maysville Township.  The two children, born around 1864, were living with Thomas (Amanda as a servant and Gorge as a farmhand) at the time of the 1880 census.  Thomas’s 9 November 1881 will left some land to “Amanda J. Davis,” probably the daughter rather than the mother.  Thomas’s grave, birth date 14 February 1814, death date 6 May 1882,  lies on or near his father George’s land on Rock Island Creek.  The plot contains a second stone with no markings.

Of particular interest is that Amanda, the daughter, married Enoch L. Parson. In 1900 she and her husband were living in Buckingham County, Virginia, and had taken in as a boarder her first cousin once removed, Napoleon Bonaparte Tapscott (grandson of George Tapscott Sr.). This possibly surprising connection helps verify Amanda's relationship to the Tapscott family.

Perhaps of even greater interest is that Amanda and Enoch's daughter Edna E. Parson married Coleman Vernon Cosby, great uncle of the well-known entertainer Dr. William Henry "Bill" Cosby (See Johni Cerny," From Maria to Bill Cosby: A Case Study in Tracing Black Slave Ancestry," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol 75, No. 1, pp. 5-14.) Thus we Tapscotts are connected to Bill Cosby, but not by blood since Cosby is descended from Coleman Vernon's brother Samuel not from Vernon Coleman.

Some of this appears in the second edition of my book, perhaps I will include all of it.

DNA Family Surname Project

I am still making preliminary plans for a Tapscott Family Surname Project. Right now I am leaning toward a 67-marker test, though a 37 marker test  is also possible. I am also leaning toward Family Tree DNA to run the testing. But the cost is not insignificant, around $200, more or lesst depending on the number of markers. I hope I can get enough male Tapscotts to participate. There are several questions the DNA tests could answer or at least provide evidence for:

1. Provide evidence for the relation of U.S. Tapscotts to the Tapscotts of the Exmoor area of England.

2. The proof of continuous descent from Henry the Immigrant, particularly in those areas where there are still questions (e.g., the children of William Tapscott, son of Henry of Caswell).

3. The possibility of a male line from Henry the Immigrant to the mixed-race Tapscotts of Fauquier County, Virginia.

4. The origin of Robert Francis Tapscott, of Clarke County, Virginia

5. The genetic connection of the Virginia Tapscotts with the second large group of U.S. Tapscotts, who originated in New Jersey (some of whose descendants ended up in Ohio).

6. Genetic connections with U.S. Black Tapscotts, who may have been descendants of Tapscott slaves, particularly those originating in North Carolina and in Buckingham County, Virginia.

I am looking for comments and suggestions.

DNA match

Tracing the descendants of Henry of Caswell has led to a problem. There are primary and good secondary sources showing that William Tapscott, who fought in the Revolutionary War and who went to Kentucky was a son of Henry of Caswell. However, no good sources show who William's children are. It is assumed that Tapscotts who settled near William (Henry, William Stewart, George Rice, Richard, and Winifred) were his children, but there are no good sources naming these people. (From then on, things once more get easier.) Today, I obtained some good, though not great, evidence that at the very least Henry Tapscott (of Kentucky) and William Stewart Tapscott were brothers. An Ancestry.com DNA shows that a GGG Granddaughter of William Stewart Tapscott and I, a GG Grandson of Henry of Kentucky, have a 95 percent chance of being 4th to 6th cousins. Her genealogy and mine shows a relationship of 4th cousins, once removed. Now if I could only get past William, to Henry of Caswell for a dna match I would have evidence of William's children, not just that two Tapscotts believed to be his children are probably brothers. I have sent an email to William Stewart Tapscott's descendant with the DNA match.

Upcoming Ventures

I realize it's been a while, but I have been working on family history, primarily that of my wife. I am now slowly returning to the Tapscotts. For all practical purposes the second edition of my book, Henry the Immigrant, the First Tapscotts of Virginia, is completed. Now I just have to get it out. Watch this site for publication details.

My first new Tapscott venture is to trace the path of some of the descendants of Henry Tapscott of Caswell Co, NC as they travel through Green Co, KY and Barren Co, KY, (with possible sidetracks to Casey and Marion Counties in KY) to Allen Co., IN, and finally to Clark Co, IL. This will be the subject matter for a second book, unnamed as yet. The book may include all of the descendants of Henry of Caswell, in which case it may be very long, or just my own, who went to Clark County. This fall my wife and I will be tracing this trip by car, traveling back roads, in preparation for the writing of the book.

My second venture is to work on DNA tracing of Tapscotts. I plan to set up an internet site so that we can document the work. For a while, blogger may be the site, or possible it may be the Tapscott Times site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tapscott_Times/ might be available, though I have not yet checked with John Fox, the moderator (who is a descendant of Henry Tapscott of Caswell). If anyone is interested in participating, post a note here. I have already done an autosomal study (results on Ancestry.com), but we really need a yDNA study to solve some questions.