Hi, Tapscott history aficionados -
Despite a dearth of Tapscott family
blogs, I have not abandoned family history research. I’ve just been working day and night
writing The Tapscotts of the Wabash
Valley, a book covering Henry and Susan (Bass) Tapscott and their descendants.
Unfortunately there are many, many descendants. Planned for inclusion are detailed biographies on four generations - 210 descendants and 191 spouses - with names and some limited data provided for a fifth generation (another 253
descendants). Several months' work have allowed the lines of Henry and Susan’s four
oldest children (William, John, James, and Thomas) to be “biographized,” but
there are eight more lines to go. Nancy Tapscott, Henry and Susan’s fifth child and oldest
daughter, has now been reached.
A large number of family trees on
the internet confuse the Wabash Valley Nancy with her cousin Nancy of Casey
County, Kentucky. This is understandable since the two Nancy Tapscotts were
both born in Kentucky and have similar birth, marriage, and death dates. But
their histories are quite different. |
| Photo by Ritch Fuhrer |
 |
| Photo by Ritch Fuhrer |
The Wabash Valley Nancy was born
in Green County, Kentucky, around 1835, to Henry and Susan (Bass) Tapscott,
married farmer William Siverly on 29 Feb 1856 in Clark County, Illinois, and, after
giving birth to twelve children, died sometime between 1880 and 1900, probably
in Clark County. Her crude grave marker in Clark County’s Shad Cemetery (also
known as Siverly or Shotts Cemetery) gives her name, but no dates. Though badly deteriorated, her
husband’s marker in that cemetery is more informative.
 |
| Photo from Find A Grave |
The other Nancy was born in Casey County, Kentucky on 22 Dec 1836 to William Stewart and Rhoda Jane
(Coppage). There she married blacksmith George W. Coffman on 23 Dec 1852 and, after raising five children, died on 8 Nov 1914 in Lincoln County,
Kentucky. George and Nancy’s gravestone in Middleburg Cemetery, Casey County, is almost illegible, but her name is clear.
Some trees erroneously show the Nancy
born in Green County as marrying George Coffman, others show the Nancy of Casey
County marrying William Siverly, and several show a single Nancy marrying both
George and William. Moreover, several trees claim that Nancy traveled to Clark
County and then back to Kentucky to die. I doubt that this blog will result in
corrections, but hope springs eternal. Contact me for reliable, contemporary sources
for the brief biographies shown above, or for more detailed histories.
But I must get back to writing about Nancy of
the Wabash valley, whose line is comprised of 71 people (descendants and
spouses) scheduled for biographies. Perhaps I should consider multiple volumes.
