Fauquier County Tapscotts - John Robert Martin

Born in Fauquier County Oct 1853, John Robert Martin, Maria Ann Tapscott Martin's third child, married his first cousin Elizabeth Tapscott around 1884. Elizabeth was the daughter of Maria’s sister (probably half sister), Cordelia. Then, while living in Cedar Run, where John farmed and worked as a carpenter, Elizabeth and John had ten children, born between 1887 and 1912, who lived to be adults: Alvenia (“Alice,” 10 Jan 1887–7 Apr 1953), Robert Franklin (28 Aug 1888–24 Jun 1969), Jesse James (16 Mar 1890–24 Jan 1962), Cinderella Nellie (May 1891–c Jul 1939), Harry Richard (15 Oct 1892–16 Apr 1965), Sadie Ann (7 Jan 1895–Jan 1986), Maria Virginia (9 Dec 1896–14 Jan 1999), Cora Dean (20 Jun 1901–3 Dec 1990), Johnanna (7 Feb 1906–May 1986), and Herbert Radcliffe (10 Aug 1912–Feb 1980).

Then things fell apart. On 6 Dec 1928, at a farm, where he had worked for years, near the village of Casanova in Fauquier County, John Martin got into an argument with his employer Cornelius R. Tompkins about storing some corn. John pulled out a pistol and shot Cornelius three times. Cornelius died a few hours later, and John was charged with 2nd degree murder. He was convicted and on 4 Feb 1929 was sentenced to 20 years. John Robert died of endocarditis in prison 23 May 1934, and was laid to rest in Warrenton, Virginia. His death certificate also stated that he suffered from senility. Perhaps it was a decreased cognitive ability that caused John to solve an argument over corn with a pistol.

Cornelius R. Tompkins

Cornelius was the son of Robert R. Tompkins, who had administered the estate of Telem Plato.

Elizabeth spent her final years in Washington, DC. In 1930 she was living there with her daughter Sadie, son-in-law Hamilton Preston, and five Preston grandkids. In 1940 Elizabeth was heading a DC household of assorted relatives. Elizabeth died in DC 17 Feb 1947, and was buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland. Her cemetery marker is inscribed 

BY HER DEVOTED DAUGHTER

JOHNANNA M. WASHINGTON

State Prison, Richmond, Virginia, John Robert Martin’s home for four and a half years (from post card).

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Virginia Martin

Virginia A. Martin, Maria Ann Tapscott Martin's second offspring, was born c1853 and had two children, James W. Martin and William Martin, prior to her known relationship with Thomas Russell. Both children were born around 1868 and were likely twins. The father may have had the surname “Hord” since James appears, with his stepfather, Thomas Russell, in the 1880 census with the name “James W. Hora.” “Hora” is a rather unusual name and may be a miswriting of “Hord.” Several persons with the surname “Hord” were living in Fauquier County at the time, including some in the Southwest Revenue Distr, where Virginia was living in 1860. In fact, an Enos Hord had been the surety for a bond for the marriage of Virginia’s great aunt Catherine Tapscott and Virginia’s uncle Alexander Martin. William Martin is not seen after 1870 and James W. Martin/Hora is not seen after 1880.

By 1873, when their first child was born, Virginia was living with Thomas Russell, brother of Mark Russell, who had married Virginia’s cousin once removed Mary Frances Tapscott. Virginia and Thomas had three known children: Agnes A. (b c1873), Mattie R. (b c1875), and Minerva (b c1877). The last child, Minerva is seen in a single record.

The relationship with Thomas did not last. In 1900 we find Virginia, living separately from Thomas and under her birth name “Martin,” caring for her “daughter,” Anna B. Martin. The “daughter,” was actually Virginia’s granddaughter Anna Belle Chandler, the only known child of Agnes Russell, who had married John Franklin Chandler in Fauquier County on 15 Nov 1888. It appears that both Agnes and John had died between the birth of their child Anna in 1892 and 1900, when their daughter was being cared for by Virginia.

In 1900 we find Thomas Russell living with a new wife, Polly Russell, and a new family of five children, four of them his. Born around 1847 (his death certificate claims 1852), Thomas passed away on 20 Oct 1915, and was buried in Poplar Forks Baptist Church Cemetery. His second wife, Polly Pinn, born in 1872, lived until 13 Jan 1951 and was buried in Warrenton Cemetery.

Of her five known children, Virginia had a single child, Mattie, known to have lived past early adulthood. Mattie, who had multiple and intensely confusing relationships, passed away on 1 Nov 1954 in Warrenton, Virginia.

Virginia had one more relationship. In the 1900 census she is shown with the surname “Martin,” but the 1910 census shows Virginia as a widow with the surname “Baker.” It appears that between 1900 and 1910, Virginia had married, and then her new mate had died. When Virginia died on 16 Jan 1929 in Fauquier County, her death certificate showed her as widowed with Andrew Baker as her husband. Her husband had likely been the Andrew Baker who was born in Fauquier County c1856 to Charles and Isabella Baker and who on 22 Nov 1877 had married Mildred Grigsby. Andrew and Mildred had apparently separated prior to Andrew's union with Virginia since Mildred is found in 1910 with a new husband, Charles Coram, to whom she was married c1896. Mildred died 25 Sep 1918 in Warrenton.

 

Fauquier County Tapscotts - Jane Elizabeth Martin

We are still researching Maria Tapscott, Harriet Tapscott’s older daughter. We hear a lot about Harriet's second daughter, Cordelia, but in fact, Maria and her children had much more interesting (but calamitous) lives.

Maria’s first-born child, is seen with just the name “Jane E.” in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, but we know that Jane’s middle name was “Elizabeth,” because that was the only name she used the rest of her life. Jane Elizabeth’s tale must start with Charles Ridgely McBlair, who would one day be involved in the death of Elizabeth's stepfather, Albert Martin.

Following the war, Charles McBlair moved from Maryland to Fauquier County, where he rented a sawmill from Thomas T. Chichester (brother of William Doddridge Chichester). There, he hired Alfred Martin to work for him in the sawmill and there, according to the Baltimore Sun newspaper, he married Alfred’s “stepdaughter” (no name given). At the time, around 1870, Alfred had only two stepdaughters of a marriageable age, both from his wife Maria’s marriage to John F. Martin—Jane E. and Virginia A. But in the 1870s, Virginia was involved in another relationship (with Thomas Russell), so it had to be Jane that Charles married. Charles McBlair and Elizabeth Martin (as she was designated in all records after the 1860 census) had four known children—Anna Elizabeth McBlair (22 Jun 1870–15 Sep 1930), Charles McBlair Jr. (c1870–15 Apr 1873), Robert McBlair (1 May 1873–16 Nov 1873), and Ridgely (“Richard”) McDonald McBlair (4 Feb 1875–21 Mar 1933).

Jane Elizabeth's husband, Charles, went downhill in Fauquier County. According to the Baltimore Sun,

His life here has been wild and reckless, though it was supposed his indiscretions proceeded rather from the head than the heart, and would not go beyond a participation in drunken brawls, in which he often became involved when intoxicated.

Then, in a catastrophic year, 1873, two of Charles’s children died (Charles Jr. and Robert) and Charles was tried for the murder of his wife’s stepfather. Though he was cleared of murder, things continued to slide. And then on 17 Oct 1878, near Williamsburg, Virginia, he was killed by a gunshot during a quarrel. According to a newspaper article about the shooting,

The deceased was highly connected in the State of Maryland. Since he has resided in Virginia he has been in very poor circumstances, and obtained a precarious sort of living by hunting and fishing. He leaves a wife and two children.

The two children were Anna and Ridgely (“Richard”).

Now a widow from a highly questionable marriage, Jane Elizabeth McBlair parked her daughter Anna with Anna’s McBlair grandparents, Charles Henry and Frances ("Fanny") McBlair, in the District of Columbia, and dropped out of sight for a while, presumably with her young son Ridgley (“Richard”). Then, on 12 Jan 1882 in Prince William Co, Virginia, Elizabeth McBlair married S. B. Byrne. S. B. was Shinar Bertrand, son of Thomas W. and Catharine A. (Thomas) Byrne. In 1860 Elizabeth and Shinar had both lived in the Southwest Revenue District in Fauquier County, where their fathers were wheelwrights. Elizabeth had probably known Shinar well before she ever met her future husband, Charles Ridgely. The last record we see for either Elizabeth or Shinar is their marriage record. Their fates are unknown.

Elizabeth’s daughter, Anna Elizabeth, married Samuel Walker on 26 Oct 1892 in Alexandria, Virginia. There they lived out their lives, Anna dying on 15 Sep 1930 and Samuel on 25 Oct 1949. They are buried in adjacent graves in Bethel Cemetery in Alexandria.

Ridgely (“Richard”) McDonald McBlair

On 17 Feb 1909 in DC, Ridgely McDonald, Jane Elizabeth’s last born, who always went by “Richard,” married Alvenia (“Alice”) Martin, who was both his first cousin through her father, John Robert Martin, and his second cousin through her mother. Elizabeth Tapscott. Richard passed away 21 Mar 1933 and Alvenia on 7 Apr 1953. Like the Walkers, they were also laid to rest in Bethel Cemetery.

Confused by all these relationships? Below is a chart of the whole works, with McBlair, Tapscott, and Martin connections as they relate to Jane Elizabeth Martin. Caution! Lots of people are omitted. These are by no means entire families.

Some Tapscott, McBlair, Martin connections, with many omissions.

Are you descended from Jane Elizabeth Martin? Have I made any errors in her history? Have I left something out? Do you have any family history stories about her or her descendants? In particular, do you know anything about what became of Jane Elizabeth or her second husband, Shinar?

Fauquier County Tapscotts - The McBlairs

It has been noted that Maria Ann Tapscott's second marriage, to Alfred Martin, was short, for tragic reasons. Now we are going to see what those tragic reasons were.

In the late evening on a rainy 20 Aug 1873, Alfred was returning from the Fauquier County town of Melrose Station, renamed “Cassanova” a few years later, where he and a most unusual companion had been boozing it up. We say unusual, because his drinking companion was Charles Ridgley McBlair, a member of a prestigious and wealthy family. The story of what occurred, which appeared in numerous newspapers at the time, and what led up to it is worthy of a book in itself. A major synopsis, though still incomplete and a little doubtful in places, is found in the 8 Sep 1878 Baltimore Sun.

On that 20 Aug 1873 evening, after traveling about a mile in their wagon, McBlair attempted to fire his revolver, which had become wet by the rain. He tried five times, without success. Then he placed it to his head and fired twice, again without it discharging. Seeing this, Alfred swore that he would do the same, and taking the pistol from Charles, he pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger. The pistol went off and Alfred was killed instantly.

Alfred was killed by Charles McBlair’s revolver and Charles was the only living witness. So, even though McBlair informed others of Alfred’s death, assisted in removing the body, and testified about the accident before a coroner, he was jailed for trial.

Michael McBlair (Ancestry.com).

The father of the suspected murderer was Charles Henry McBlair, a son of Michael and Pleasance Goodwin McBlair. Michael, who had emigrated from Ireland in 1789, had made it big in Baltimore business and society. He had been such a success that a collection of approximately 3000 items associated with him, primarily letters, are maintained by the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Much of the information given here comes from those papers. Three of Michael’s sons, Charles Henry, John Hollins, and William, held high-ranking positions in the U.S. Navy. But in 1861, two of those sons, Charles and William, resigned from U.S. Navy to join the Confederate States Navy, where they were ships commanders, though William died before war’s end. Charles Henry McBlair saw to it that his son Charles Ridgley, though only in his late teens during the war, was made Acting Master’s Mate in both the Confederate Navy and Confederate Army.

One of the three brothers, John Hollins McBlair, stayed with the Union, serving as a major during the war. And John Hollins had a son that he also named “Charles Ridgely McBlair,” something that causes no end of confusion, particularly since the two Charles Ridgelys were born just a year or so apart.

Gov. Charles Carnan Ridgely 1820

Capt. Charles Ridgely

"Ridgely" was a family name. Pleasance Goodwin's grandmother was Pleasance Ridgely. The prominent Ridgely family of Maryland included a Maryland governor, Charles Carnan Ridgely (Pleasance Goodwin's cousin), and multiple industrialists. Another member of the family was Capt. Charles Ridgely, an adventurous ship's captain (quelled a mutiny, survived two hurricanes, imprisoned by the French during French and Indian war) and a wealthy landowner (twenty-four thousand acres).

Despite his role in the rebellion, after the War, Charles Henry McBlair became Adjutant General of Maryland, a position he held from 1871 to 1874, and a position he held when he attended his son’s trial in Warrenton, Virginia. On 12 Sep 1873 a circuit court jury in Warrenton declared Charles innocent of murdering Alfred.

Why have we presented so much about the McBlair family? Because a McBlair married into Maria Tapscott’s family. Who that McBlair was will be revealed in our next blog. Some of you Fauquier County Tapscotts have illustrious McBlair and Ridgely ancestors. But any pride must be accompanied by dishonor, for that means you also have Confederate rebels in your family tree.

Fauquier County Tapscotts – the Martins

“Martin” is a common name among Fauquier County Tapscott ancestors, and many of these Martins were descendants of Maria Ann Tapscott, who married John Martin and then Alfred Martin. Others were descendants of Catherine Tapscott and Alexander Martin. And who were John, Alfred, and Alexander? Here we answer that, but the story is long, complicated, and, to many, boring. You are forewarned.

John, Alfred, and Alexander were likely brothers. We know a lot more about Alfred than about the other two. The record of Alfred’s marriage with Maria shows his parents to have been John and Peggy Martin. In Fauquier County on 15 Aug 1803, Peggy Elliott, daughter of Samuel, had married John Martin (the Elder).

Samuel Elliott had fought in the Revolutionary War, so you Martin descendants are eligible for DAR or SAR membership. And your ancestor, Samuel, had a meritorious service record. According to his pension file, he first served as a Minute Man and had then enlisted in the Continental Army in Fauquier County on 20 Aug 1776, serving as a private in Capt. William Blackwell's company, Col Daniel Morgan’s 11th Virginia regiment. He had been wounded in the Battle of Brandywine, being struck on the left breast by a ball. Then Samuel fought in the battles of Germantown and Monmouth, was at the Siege of Yorktown, and was at the surrender of Cornwallis in 1781. His pension file contains a massive amount of data for the family, listing all his children, including Peggy (“Margaret”), with their birthdates.

In the 1850 census for Turner’s District in Fauquier County we find a 30-year-old Alfred Martin living in a household headed by a Henry Allen and his wife, Harriet. Harriet was Harriet S. Martin (b c1832), who had married Henry Allen in Fauquier County 26 Dec 1848, and was Alfred’s sister. Two others in this 1850 household were Milly Martin (b c1804) and James Martin (b c1834), also likely to be Alfred’s siblings (or, in the case of Milly, possibly a sister-in-law). But there is one other person in the household, whose relationship is uncertain, 50-year-old Margaret Martin. Margaret appears to be too old to be a sister of Alfred, but too young to be his widowed mother.

In fact, we know that this Margaret is not Alfred’s mother, because his mother is found elsewhere in the Fauquier County census for 1850. Shown in that census is Henry C. Martin and his wife, Elizabeth Ash, who were married in Fauquier County on 20 Dec 1827, and living with them is 74-year-old Margaret Martin. In Samuel Elliott’s pension file, a record dated 1837 describes Margaret as the “widow Martin.” That and other data indicate that John (the Elder) had died around 1835. We know that the Margaret Martin living with the Henry C. Martin family is very likely Margaret (Elliott) Martin, because Henry C. Martin, presumably her son, provided an affidavit about the family for an 1837 application by Samuel’s widow, Winifred (Lee) Martin for a pension based on Samuel’s service.

Living  next door to Henry and Harriet Allen in 1850 was a Thomas Martin (b c1810), his wife Jane (b c1811), and their inferred son William C. Thomas is another very likely family member, probably the Thomas Martin who provided surety for the bond for Maria Tapscott’s first marriage. And living just two dwellings away from Henry and Harriet Allen’s household in the 1850 census was Alexander Martin, who had married Catherine Tapscott. Alexander is another candidate for being a son of John and Margaret (Elliott) Martin. More on Alexander and Catherine will be provided in a future blog.

In the 1860 census, the elder Margaret Martin is not to be found and has presumably died, but the younger Margaret Martin, now with an age given as 65 (b c1895) is found living in Fauquier County with her possible siblings (or siblings-in-law?), James D. Martin and Harriet S. Martin. Harriet’s marriage had apparently broken up since Henry Allen is seen living elsewhere in Fauquier County and Harriet has taken back her birth name. But she is left with a child, James Martin (b c1857). And guess who is living next door to Margaret and her two offspring 1860—John and Maria (Tapscott) Martin. That, and the fact that Alfred would one day marry John’s widow, makes it highly likely that John was, like Alfred, a child of Margaret (“Peggy”) and John (the Elder) Martin.

 

What a mess. But perhaps this chart provides some clarification.

Anything you disagree with? Anything you can add? Please comment or email me to let me know.