New Jersey Tapscotts

As you all know, there are two major Tapscott lines in the U.S.--the Virginia Tapscotts, my interest area, and the New Jersey Tapscotts, for which I have done very little research. Henry the Immigrant, the progenitor of the Virginia Tapscotts, arrived in America in 1700. The New Jersey Tapscotts probably arrived around the same time and settled in Monmouth county in New Jersey. Eventually, a number of them migrated to the state of Ohio. It is thought that the New Jersey Tapscotts may have originated from William Tapscott, the Rebel, who was released from bondage in Jamaica and may have traveled to New Jersey after King William ascended the throne of England.

For some time we have wondered whether the New Jersey Tapscotts were related to the Virginia Tapscotts. Now we have some evidence that they are.The earliest Tapscott in New Jersey for which we have good evidence (contact me for sources) was James Tapscott (not the rebel), born abt 1690, died 13 Mar 1750. He had a son William (b 21 Feb 1717/1718, d  8 Mar 1786, said to have married Ann Bretton), had three known children (William, James, Lucia), and appears to have two more (Isaac and Lydia).  Lydia is known to have married James Gaston and Lucy is known to have married a Longstreet, probably John Longstreet. Today, I went through my matches from autosomal DNA testing and found a number of matches with people descended from Monmouth County Gastons and Longstreets, including some that are known to be related to Lydia's spouse James Gaston. Is this proof that the two Tapscott lines are related? No. But it is moderately strong evidence. We need additional data, but we have a start.

If the lines are related, it occurred prior to entry of the earliest members into America, presumably in England.

Family Finder

My Family Finder (FamilyTreeDNA) autosomal DNA testing has been completed. Although I have, thus far, 47 matches, none are to people showing a Tapscott ancestor. I am disappointed since I was hoping to see a connection to mixed-race Fauquier County, Virginia, Tapscotts. While autosomal testing using Ancestry.com does show relationships to four people with Tapscott ancestors, none of these have Fauquier County connections. I am requesting that anyone who believes they are descended from a Fauquier County Tapscott and who has had autosomal DNA testing to contact me. We may be able to show or rule out a blood relationship to Tapscotts. Note that if we are correct about the relationships between Fauquier County Tapscotts and Henry Tapscott, yDNA testing cannot be used since all lines involve females.