Robert Tapscott, was born 18 Feb
1863 in Fauquier Co, according to his death certificate, which shows him to be
a child of Virginia “Tappscott.” Strange about this is that he appears in
neither the 1870 nor 1880 census. But, of course, Ann Virginia Tapscott, daughter
of Telem Plato and Robert’s apparent mother, is also missing from the 1880
census.
By 1889 Robert was living in Washington,
DC, working as a waiter, and there, on 28 Jun 1894, he married Mary A. West, District
of Columbia born and bred. Then, the following year, he joined the DC police
force,
Robert started out as a member of
the respected Eighth Precinct, as noted for its showmanship as for its crime
prevention. In 1898 Robert was a member of the Eighth Precinct drill team that
won the right to carry the Wight Trophy flag down Pennsylvania Avenue in a
parade of policemen and firemen, which passed in front of President McKinley.
Washington Times,
8 Nov 1898. (Red oval added.)
Then in 1903, Robert, now in the Ninth Precinct (where, for the most part he would remain), won second prize and an award of $25 in the Mounted Policemen’s Contest at the DC Horse Show. Robert and his black gelding “Frank” were members of the Mounted Squad, a position he would hold through the rest of his career.
Washington Times,
8 Nov 1903. Pvt. Robert Tapscott was one
of the mounted officers in this photo.
Robert was a highly respected officer.
In 1906 he was moved from the Ninth to the Tenth Precinct, a move that was met with
opposition from Ninth Precinct Citizens. According to the 4 May 1906 edition of
the Evening Star,
Tapscott is
said to be an excellent officer, has the good will of the white residents of
the ninth precinct and is thoroughly familiar with affairs which concern the
police in that section of the city. It was decided by unanimous vote to ask
Major Sylvester to send him back to the precinct.
And in an Evening Star
article published 24 Dec 1907
Capt. Charles
E. Schrom . . . highly commended Policeman Robert Tapscott for his action in stopping
a runaway horse December 16 at the risk of his life. According to the fire department
captain the horse was attached to a delivery wagon and was running down
Maryland avenue northeast at breakneck speed when Policeman Tapscott, who was
mounted, gave chase. Tapscott, it is stated, leaned from his horse after
catching up with the runaway and turned the frightened animal into 15th street
northeast, brining it to a standstill. According to Capt. Schrom the corner of 54th
street and Benning road was crowded at the time with pedestrians and teams and
a serious accident would have doubtless been the result if the runaway animal
had not been stopped.
 |
| Robert and Frank. (AAHA, Fauquier Co.) |
In 1913 Maj. Richard Sylvester,
Superintendent of Police, commended several policemen for meritorious service.
One those was Robert Tapscott.
Being a mounted policeman was not
without its dangers, though most were from riding through city streets rather
than from crime. Robert was involved in several spills, one of which was being
bumped from his horse by an automobile in 1919. Robert, who was bruised on his
face and head, ended up suing the driver.
In 1921 Robert was once again in
the news for being a winner in the Police Contest at the horse show. Sometime
after 1926 Robert retired with a pension that was $100 a month in 1930 (about $20,700
a year in 2023 currency.)
Robert, and his wife, Mary (often
called “Mamie), had no children of their own, though they are shown with a 6-year-old
“stepdaughter,” Roberta Tapscott, living with them in Washington, DC, in 1910. Neither
Roberta’s origin nor her denouement are known. Over the years Mary and Robert
had several family members or family connections intermittently staying with
them.
Robert returned to the Fauquier
Co Cedar Run district, where his mother, siblings, and Plato grandparents had lived.
That is where he died, 8 Sep 1946, and where he was buried, in the Poplar Forks
Church Cemetery. Mary, who lived another thirteen years, dying on 15 Nov 1959,
is buried alongside him.
 |
Mamie (Mary) and Robert, with Robert’s second cousin Fannie
Mae Tapscott and her husband William Colvin, c1922, DC. The kids are presumably Fannie and
Bill’s two first born, William and Tomasha. (AAHA, Fauquier Co.) |
Our tale does not close here. You may have noted that Robert became a policeman just a year after marrying Mary. As we will see in our next blog, there is a probable reason for this. And that will introduce us to another, and possibly even more interesting DC policeman.
