1. Contemporary records show his name as “Edward” as often
as “Edmond.” But that is a minor problem.
2. The middle name “Abraham” is found only in family trees,
not in a single reliable record. (Does anyone know how this name arose?)
3. Edmond/Edward Tapscott is found in the 1850 census,
living with his mother, Elizabeth, and his siblings, including Harriet. And he
is found in the 1870 census as a married man. But Edmond/Edward cannot be found
in the 1860 census -- at least until recently (see below). The 1860 census, however, does show a John Tapscott living
with Harriet.
Because Harriet and John are found together in the 1860
census, it has been assumed that they were mother and son. But Elizabeth had
died by this time and it is likely that her unmarried children would be living
together. Moreover, if John was Harriet’s son, why does he not appear with her
in the 1850 census? The 1860 census, the only place John is found John with an age corresponding to a
birth year of about 1829, very near to that of Edmond/Edward, whose grave
marker shows a birthdate of 3 Sep 1828. (Census data indicate a birth year for
Edmond/Edward between 1827 and 1831.)
I once proposed that Edmond/Edward Tapscott and John Tapscott were one and the same. That Harriet had no son named “John.” Either the 1860 census enumerator had made an error in the name, as all too often happens, or Edmond/Edward’s middle name was “John” not “Abraham.” This nicely explains John's seeming absence in the 1850 census and in other records, and nicely explains Edmond/Edward's seeming absence in the 1860 census.
But it turns out that I was wrong, wrong, wrong about John and Edmond/Edward. Edmond/Edward is found in the District of Columbia 1860 census, as "Edward Tapscoe" (a spelling he often used) living with 3-year-old "Mahaly A. Tapscoe," presumably a daughter from Edmond's first marriage to Frances Hughs (who was apparently deceased by 1860). A 10-year-old Nancy A. "Hues" in the household is probably a relative of Frances.
And who was the John Tapscott in the 1860 census? It is beginning to look like he was one of Cordelia's paramours and that "Tapscott" was just an assumed last name. But I am still working on that.
Middle names is confirmed be the Edmond Jr, Edmond III, and Edmond IV. John actual had family with direct descendants that are accounted for. Harriet was his sister.
ReplyDeleteYou are saying John was Harriet's brother, correct? But were John and Edmond separate entities? And if so did John have descendants. But how dould he have had descendants if he appears in only one record?
ReplyDelete