Henry the Immigrant, 2nd Edition, DONE!

The writing of the second edition of Henry the Immigrant has been finished, at last. The book still needs to be printed and that may take a little while since I will be heading out of town for a few weeks and I don't want  printed copies to be delivered while I am gone. (I am heading for Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky to research my next book, tentative title The Tapscotts of the Wabash Valley.) I am shooting to have the book printed by then end of October. I will continue to blog and let you all know when it actually goes to the printer.

On another subject, I am still looking for Tapscott descendants to do DNA testing and to join the Tapscott project on Family Tree DNA. I am particularly interested in male Tapscotts bearing the last name "Tapscott" wishing to undergo yDNA testing. Now would be a good time since Family Tree has price reductions on their DNA tests. Don't hesitate to communicate with me to discuss this.

Chicanery

As I am reviewing my book, the second edition of Henry the Immigrant, stories come to light that I believe may be of interest to the readership. This is one of the tales.  Sources are given in my book.

Martin Shearman and his brother Ezekiel G. Shearman married sisters Alice and Elizabeth Tapscott, daughters of Capt. Henry Tapscott. Following his death in 1814, a new Martin, shyster and charlatan, came to light..

On 18 July 1814 Martin’s brother, Ezekiel G. Shearman Sr., entered into a bond for an astounding $15,000 to administer Martin’s estate. One of those securing the bond was Spencer George. The hefty sum caused Spencer to write in his 1823 will “in Case my estate Shall have to pay any Considerable amount for Ezekiel G. Shearman for my having become Security for Said Shearman that my Executor Shall make Sale of my Negroes.”

The inventory and appraisal of Martin Shearman’s estate on 25 October 1814 make apparent the reason for the large bond posted by Ezekiel. The extremely large estate (whose total value was not given) included twenty-seven slaves valued at a total of $5741, one-half ownership in the schooner Dispatch (appraised at $400), one-half ownership in the schooner Lancaster ($1500), $1529.21 in bonds, and $576.60 in cash. Over the next few months, the personal estate (except for the slaves) was sold, at prices often larger than the appraised value. On 8 November 1814 Nephew Ellis L. B. Tapscott bought half interest in the Dispatch for $499. On 20 March 1815 Charles Yerby used bonds to buy half the Lancaster for $2,035. Another estate sale was held 9 January 1818, with Ezekiel Shearman being a primary purchaser of several high-value items (gig and harness, $70.00; black horse, $30.00; sorrel horse, $40.00, 2 beds and furniture, $26.50 and $16.75, and other pieces). Ellis Tapscott bought a small mahogany desk, andirons, a chaffing dish, cotton cards, a tea pot, and a bed cover. The report of the 25 January 1819 estate settlement ran to two and one-half pages, with $5,567.68½ received.

How did Martin acquire twenty-seven slaves, half-interest in schooners, and large amounts in cash and bonds, not to mention extensive livestock, furnishings, and tools? It appears that much was obtained by chicanery. Reports on two cases before the Virginia Court of Appeals, in November 1827 and December 1838, provide the story.

Almost 80 years before Henry the Immigrant came to the New World, another boy named Henry made the same trip—Henry Fleet (or “Fleete“). Unlike Henry Tapscott, however, Fleet was high-born. His mother was a descendant of Sir Reginald Scott. His cousin, Francis Wyatt, with whom Henry Fleet made his voyage, came to America to be governor of Virginia. Henry Fleet, who would become the patriarch of an old and prestigious Lancaster County family, was one of the first two burgesses for the county, and the landmarks Fleets Bay, Fleets Island, and Fleets Bay Neck (where Henry the Immigrant lived with Alexander Swan) are his namesakes. In 1650, in consideration of his contributions, Henry Fleet (now Capt. Henry Fleet) obtained a land grant of 1750 acres along the Rappahannock River from Mosquito Creek down to Windmill Point, in the far southeast of Lancaster County. That land along with acreage from other grants to Capt. Fleet passed down by inheritance until much of it ended up in the hands of his great-grandson John Fleet Sr., husband of Mary (Edwards) Fleet (Lancaster County marriage bond 29 May 1746). John Sr. died around 1793 (will written 12 July 1792, proved 17 June 1793), making his oldest son, John Fleet Jr., his primary beneficiary. When his widow Mary wrote her own will on 28 November 1794 she made John Jr. her sole beneficiary, and when she died (will proved 16 September 1799), John Jr. ended up with a lot of property.

Martin Shearman knew the Fleets well. He and his father, Rawleigh, had lived near John Fleet Sr. Both families appear on tithables lists for the lower precinct of Christ Church Parish in 1777 (when John is shown with 1200 acres) and in 1782. Martin even witnessed Mary (Edward) Fleet’s will. And Martin became quite close to John Fleet Jr. On 7 February 1800 John Jr. wrote a will leaving his entire estate to Martin Shearman, who was also made executor and on 25 April 1800 he sold to Martin a six-hundred-acre tract in Lancaster County, ten slaves, twenty head of cattle, four horses, hogs, sheep, a variety of household furniture, and other items, for $5000, which Martin appears to have never paid. But why should he pay when he would soon get it all anyway? When John Fleet Jr. died (will proved 19 January 1801), much of the Fleet Family land and possessions ended up in the grasp of Martin Shearman, who was both the legatee and the executor.

Of course Fleet relatives were irate and took the matter to court. The potential heirs, led by R. C. Christian, either the husband or a descendant of Elizabeth (Fleet) Christian, sister of John Fleet Jr., claimed that John Jr. was incapable of making a will or of executing a sale of land and that both be deemed void. Martin, on the other hand, claimed that John Jr. was perfectly capable of making a contract and disposing of his property and had made him (Martin) beneficiary in consideration of his care-giving. Before the case was decided, Martin died and his brother Ezekiel G. Shearman, as Martin’s executor, became the defendant. Eventually a jury found that Fleet was not of sufficient capacity to dispose of his property, by deed or will, and that both documents were obtained by fraud. Unfortunately, by that time much of Fleet’s property, both real and personal, had gone to Martin Shearman’s heirs. And this caused no end of problems for Martin’s brother, but that is another story in Henry the Immigrant. John Fleet Jr.’s handicaps are never revealed.

Winifred Tapscott, daughter of William the Preacher

William Tapscott, "the Preacher," who ended up in Green and Taylor counties in Kentucky, is claimed to have had four sons (Henry, my GG grandfather and the subject of my next book, George Rice, William Stewart, and Richard) and a daughter Winifred. Although the Preacher was reticent about his family, there is relatively good evidence for the four boys, but there is nothing concrete about Winifred. However, I think I have now found strong evidence for her and where she ended up at. The following (still a draft) is part of the second edition of my book, Henry the Immigrant. (Yes, I am still proofing it). I hope the footnotes come through OK.

On 10 March 1817 a “Winney Tabscott” (likely Winifred Tapscott) married Joseph Mann in Green County.[644] Since William’s family was the only source of Tapscotts in Green County at the time, Winney was probably William’s daughter. Joseph Mann appears in Green County census records for 1810 through 1840,[645],[646],[647],[648] records that show one or more children who could not have resulted from Winney’s marriage. Thus, Joseph probably had an earlier marriage and, indeed, in Green County on 21 December 1799, a Joseph Mann married a “Betsy Hill.”[649]

In 1848, when Taylor County broke away from Green County, it carried a lot of Manns (Men?) with it. The 1850 census shows fifty-one people with the Mann surname in the newly formed county, and nary a one left behind in Green County, which did, however, have six “Man”s. But in 1850 the Manns of Taylor County included no Joseph and no Winney (or Winifred). Were this the end, our tale would suffer from a severe case of “subjunctivitis”; a disorder of wishes, maybes, possibilities, chances—an infection due to William Tapscott’s familial taciturnity.

But this is not the end, for in the 1850 census for Morgan County, Illinois, one finds a Joseph Mann, born in Kentucky, with five children (Sarah, Martha, Fanny, Louisa, and Catharine), also born in Kentucky, the eldest in 1816 or 1817 and the youngest in 1844 or 1845.[650] And the wife’s name is, you guessed it, “Winney,” who was born in Virginia around 1799 or 1800. Shouldn’t our Winney have been born in North Carolina? Not necessarily. There is an indication, a suggestion, that William’s wife traveled to Virginia for the birth of at least one of her children, and Caswell county lay less than 25 miles from the Virginia state line. And, of course, Winney may not have known her birthplace.

Why Morgan County, Illinois? One possibility is that in 1850 there were twenty-two people with the surname “Coppage” living in Illinois, all in the adjacent counties of Morgan and Brown, and most had been born in Kentucky. Joseph Mann’s first marriage produced Margaret Mann, who married Uriah Coppage,[651],[652] brother of Rhoda Jane, who married William the Preacher’s son William Stewart Tapscott.[653],[654] The Manns, Tapscotts, and Coppages were close. The Coppages of Morgan and Brown counties in Illinois were likely connected with those of Green and Taylor counties in Kentucky, though we will leave that for others to determine. When Joseph and Winifred Mann pulled up stakes to seek their fortune, Morgan County may have been targeted because of tales heard from Coppage relatives.

The 1860 census shows Winney and Joseph Mann living in DeKalb County, Missouri, with an Asa Mann, presumably widowed, and Asa’s four children (Elizabeth, John, Dema, and Alexander).[655] In 1850 Asa had been living with his wife Lucinda in Kentucky, in Marion County, next door to Taylor County.[656] It is not unlikely that Asa was a child of Winney and Joseph, probably, as indicated by his age, their first child. And this is the final part of our tale. After 1860, we see no more of Joseph or Winney.

Is our story of Winney correct? Probably, at least most of it. But we are still awaiting that smoking gun, that absolute proof.

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[644].       Jordan Dodd, Kentucky Marriages, 1851-1900, Joseph Mahan and Winifred Tapscott (“Winney Tabscott”), Ancestry.com, Database On-line, Provo, Utah, 1997.

[645].       1810 U.S. census, Kentucky, Green Co, Greensburg, Joseph Mann household, p. 258 (stamped), line 19.

[646].       1820 U.S. census, Kentucky, Green Co, Joseph Mann household, p. 99 (stamped, lower left), line 5.

[647].       1830 U.S. census, Kentucky, Green Co, Joseph Mann (“Man”) household, [page unmarked], line 26.

[648].       1840 U.S. census, Kentucky, Green Co, Joseph Mann household, pp. 35-36, line 19.

[649].       Jordan Dodd, Kentucky Marriages, 1851-1900, Joseph Mann and Elizabeth (“Betsy”) Hill, Ancestry.com, Database On-line, Provo, Utah, 1997.

[650].       1850 U.S. census, Illinois, Morgan Co, Joseph Mann household, p. 207 (stamped, front), dwelling 477, family 503, 20 Aug 1850.

[651].       John E. Manahan and A. Maxim Coppage, The Coppage-Coppedge Family 1542 - 1955, Commonwealth Press, Radford, Virginia, August 1955, p. 74.

[652].       William H. Perrin, J. H. Battle, and G. C. Kniffin, Kentucky: A History of the State, 4th Ed., 1887.

[653].       William Rice Tapscott, 3 Jan 1924, Chesterfield, Macoupin, Illinois, Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 (Ancestry.com).

[654].       Death Certificate, Nancy Coffman, Kentucky State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, File No. 19242.

[655].       1860 U.S. census, Missouri, Dekalb Co, Washington Twp, Asa Mann household, p. 88, dwelling 591, family 591, 25 Jul 1860.

[656].       1850 U.S. census, Kentucky, Marion Co, Distr 2, Asa Mann household, p. 422 (stamped, front), dwelling 385, family 385, 10 Sep 1850.

Christopher Baylor Tapscott or Christopher Tapscott Baylor

As I proof the 2nd edition of Henry the Immigrant, I often run across still-unsolved mysteries. One of these, of course, is the ancestry of Robert Francis Tapscott of Clarke County, Virginia. Another concerns a son (or supposed son) of William Tapscott son of Capt. Henry Tapscott. His name was "Christopher Baylor Tapscott" or "Christopher Tapscott Baylor," said to the the child of William Tapscott and his second wife, Catherine Baylor. Much of his story comes from proceedings of a Spotsylvania Chancery Court action, "Baylor &c vs Harrison Admrx & Others," recorded in 1830. The case has to do with the inheritance of slaves from Catherine Baylor's father. The courtroom materials, incredibly difficult to obtain were kindly sent me by Richard Voter. Below is a synopsis of what is in the 2nd edition (without references or images).

 In the chancery court action, a  number of documents name “Christopher Baylor Tapscott, only son and heir of Catherine Baylor, deceased, and of William Tapscott”; however, in at least two records, Christopher’s last name, “Tapscott” has been crossed out and a “T.” entered as a middle initial. Most of the later records in the file show Christopher only as “Christopher T. Baylor.” A record in the court file dated 15 January 1813 gives his name as “Christopher Tapscott Baylor.” Of particular interest is that in a record dated 11 April 1811, the phrase “and of William Tapscott” is crossed out in giving Christopher’s parentage.

Christopher served as a private in the War of 1812. His regiment, the 4^th, Virginia Militia, was in Norfolk, Virginia in 1815, when he received a letter, addressed to “Christopher Baylor” from a friend, Thomas Walker. In addition to comments about “wellness,” a usual concern among Virginians, news included visits by Thomas:

I was at Mr. Tapscotts the other day when they were tolerably well. I was at your Uncle Baylor’s 8 or 10 days since, when they were as well as usual; the neighbours generally speaking, are well at this time.

“Mr. Tapscott” was William, and “your Uncle Baylor” was Richard Baylor, Catherine’s brother, who had secured William’s marriage bond and would later hold money for him as payment for his land purchase from James Madison. Thomas’s use of “Mr. Tapscott,” rather than “your father” may be an indication of Christopher’s parentage.

On 12 September 1826 Christopher T. “Bayler” of Jefferson County married Alice Pendleton of King and Queen County, daughter of Benjamin and Catherine (Gatewood) Pendleton. In 1830 the family was living in Caroline County, Virginia, where they were shown with two boys under five and fifteen slaves, a sizeable number. In 1850, Christopher and Alice were living in St. Stephen’s Parish, King and Queen County, Virginia, and in 1860, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. As a farm family, they appear to have been doing well. The censuses show $7,000 in real estate in 1850 and $10,000 in real estate and $8,270 in personal property in 1860.

Ages shown in the 1850 census correspond to a birth year of 1795 to 1796 for Christopher and 1805 to 1806 for Alice, and this presents a problem. Christopher could not have been born after William and Catherine’s marriage in 1801 if his census age is close to correct. Nor could he have been born after the 1801 marriage if he had served in the War of 1812 as a private. Though a few boys undoubtedly evaded the age limit of eighteen for regular service, Christopher, if born after his supposed parents had married, would have been at best eleven or twelve at the start of the war and thirteen or fourteen at war’s end. And his 14 June 1814 letter from Thomas Walker was written to a young man, not a boy.

Christopher could have been born out of wedlock, he could have been a product of William’s first marriage, or he could have been a child of Catherine from an unknown earlier marriage, but he most assuredly was not a legitimate offspring of William Tapscott and Catherine Baylor. That he was a product of an earlier marriage of Catherine is unlikely since numerous records as late as February 1798, after Christopher is believed to have been born, show Catherine with only the name “Baylor.” It is even more unlikely that Christopher was a son of William Tapscott’s first marriage since he would not have been considered Catherine’s heir, nor would there have been an obvious inducement for a name change. One problem with an illegitimate birth is that Christopher would not have been Catherine’s legal heir, unless explicitly named in her will, yet he did inherit her slaves without a known will.

Alice (Pendleton) Baylor died 6 December 1866 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. In January 1869, Christopher died of a beating he received near the small town of Dinwiddie in the county of the same name. The culprit was Essex Jones, one of Christopher’s former slaves, who claimed he was owed a debt. Alice and Christopher left two children, Mary (“Nancy”) Ellen Baylor, born 1832 to 1837, and Robert A. Baylor, born 1834 to 1839.

Is anybody out there interested in Christopher? If so, contact me. With two children, he may have present-day descendants. Unfortunately, however, the rather common name “Baylor” makes descendants difficult to trace.
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Susan Cary Tapscott

In a still-unsuccessful attempt to definitively connect Robert Francis Tapscott with the family of Henry Tapscott (the Immigrant), I have continued researching the sons of James and Susan Howard (Baker) Tapscott—Baker, Newton, and Chichester since one of them appears to be the most likely connection (if there is one). The latter two brothers each had a single known child, a daughter. Susan Cary Tapscott (Newton) and Anna Chichester Tapscott (Chichester). Susan Cary Tapscott’s death is the subject of a most interesting tale, one that unfortunately sheds no light on Robert Francis.

Following Newton’s death, his daughter, Susan Cary, whose middle name comes from her grandmother, Elizabeth Blair (Cary) Fairfax, was made a ward of her uncle Baker Tapscott. She is shown living with her aunt and uncle Susanna Carolyn (Tapscott) and Lucas P. Thompson in the 1850 Augusta County, Virginia, census, where her age is given as 23 (birth year 1826 or 1827). Consumption, took her life, as it did her mother’s. She went to Savannah, Georgia, for her health, and passed away there in 1852.

Four years after her death, one of the Virginia delegates to the 1856 Southern Commercial Convention in Savannah, Georgia “brought to memory Miss Tapscott of Staunton, who died of consumption, in Savannah.” From a newspaper article, “Gayety in Savannah,” The Daily Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, Monday, 15 Dec 1856, p. 1, col. 3:

The disease had fastened upon her, and in a very short time she fell a victim to the destroyer. Towards the close of her life, when pale wasted and emaciated, she was frequently placed in an open carriage and driven along a beautiful road, that gently winds along the banks of the lovely Savannah river, at this point. Conscious of her approaching dissolution, and feeling that the beautiful savannas of the South would soon be forever shut from her eye, and that the gentle and balmy breezes which are so peculiar to the climate would soon cease to fan her cheeks, she ordered the carriage to be stopped on one occasion, and pointed out a spot near the banks of the river, beneath a little grove of trees, where she desired her remains to be buried. in a short time after, her spirit winged its way to realms above, and in accordance with her request, the ashes of that fair girl now repose at the very spot designated by her in life. her name was Sue Cary Tapscott, a one that will doubtless be remembered by many in Virginia. There is no stone of any description to mark the spot, or tell the passer by who reposes under the shade of that beautiful little grove where her body now lies. Mr. Hunter, the speaker, stated that there was now a larger body of Virginians present in Savannah than would ever again be collected on Georgia soil, and he hoped they would contributed something to the erection of an appropriate monument in memory of Sue Cary Tapscott. the appeal, which consisted mainly of a tribute to the virtues and accomplishments of the deceased and was truly pathetic and affecting, was liberally responded to, and over $200 collected for the purpose. The funds will be placed in the hands of Mr. Charles Preston, at whose residence Miss Tapscott died, and that gentleman will superintend the erection of the monument.

In Savannah’s Bonaventure Cemetery (made famous by John Berendt’s 1994 novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) stands a stone engraved “Susan Tapscott of Staunton Va. Died 1852.” Enclosed by an ornate wrought iron fence, her monument predates the formation of the public burial ground from the Mullryne Plantation on the Wilmington River joining the Savannah River, where her carriage apparently passed