Fauquier County Tapscotts - The Early Chichesters

 One cannot research the Tapscotts of Fauquier Co without including the Chichesters, with whom they have had numerous connections. An old, famed, and well-to-do British family, the Chichesters have been traced back to 1086, when a chap named “Engeler” held land in the manor of Cicestr’ in the County of Sussex in southeast England. The next resident of the manor was Henry de Cicestr’ a name that went to “Cicester” and eventually “Chichester,” and dropped the “de.” A major branch of the Chichester family developed in Devon, and it is from this branch that the line important in Fauquier Tapscott history originated.

The first of that line to come to America was Richard Chichester, one of a confusing number of Richards we will encounter. Our tale’s first Richard was born 5 Mar 1657, baptized eleven days later in Silverton, Devon Co, England, and married to one Anna sometime before 1681 in Widworthy Devon. Richard then traveled to America, where on 11 Jul 1719 he made bond in Lancaster Co, Virginia Colony, to wed Ann Chinn (widow of William Fox), his first wife apparently having died. Ann Chinn was a sister of Rawleigh Chinn Sr., grandfather of Mary Shearman, second wife of Capt. Henry Tapscott of Lancaster Co, giving us our first connection between the Tapscotts and the Chichesters. How about that for a stretch?

The bond for Richard’s second marriage was witnessed by Rawleigh Chinn. John Chichester, Richard’s son from his first marriage, who had traveled from England to Virginia, provided the security. On 14 Apr 1734 in Lancaster Co. our first Richard signed his will, which was probated on 12 Jun 1734. The will made Richard’s grandson, a second Richard, the executor. John Chichester had died by that time.

Parish Church, Widworthy 2007. (Expedia.)

When John Chichester traveled to Virginia in the early 1700s, he left his wife, Elizabeth Symes, and two sons in England. The family had probably been living at Widworthy, Devon, where John had been baptized on 10 May 1681. Several years later Elizabeth and son Richard (that’s number two) joined John in Virginia, but then returned to England around 1726. Elizabeth died there about 1728 and when Richard returned to Virginia, he found his father had also died. The orphaned Richard settled in Lancaster Co, Virginia Colony, where on 2 Jul 1734, he made bond to marry Ellen Ball, a first cousin once removed of Mary Ball Washington, mother of the first U.S. president. Mary Ball’s father, Joseph, was the brother of Ellen Ball’s grandfather William.

Ellen Ball was also a second cousin once removed of Capt. Henry Tapscott’s second wife, Mary Shearman. This very remote connection along with the one mentioned earlier, may have led to Capt. Henry naming one of his sons “Chichester,” an act that resulted in several subsequent Tapscotts also having “Chichester” as a given name. But Capt. Henry may have been stretching things to introduce this highly respected name into his family.

Richard Chichester and Ellen had five children, named in Richard’s 1743 Lancaster Co, Virginia, will—John, Richard, Elizabeth, Ellen, Mary, and Hannah. But it is Richard (the third) who continued the line of interest to us.

Another Gauntlet

The email I cited earlier had a second paragraph (some deletions):

“I do not accept the appropriation that … Henry, son of Edney , was a son of  Edney's wife, Judith. There is no one named Judith in Henry's family nor anyone bearing her family name of Purcell. That he distanced himself from the other children of Judith is also very telling. He very quickly disposed of the land his father left him and moved to NC.”

I love it when someone throws down a gauntlet. It brings back my days as a research professor. From the 2nd Edition of Henry the Immigrant:

“Sometime before 8 April 1735 he [Edney] wedded his first wife Judith Purcell, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Woodward) Purcell. Some say that Edney had an earlier marriage, which produced most or all of his children, a claim based on the absence of the names “Judith” and “Thomas” among Edney’s offspring. But in view of a total lack of other evidence, the assertion is weak and unconvincing.”

My statement that the “assertion is weak and unconvincing” is itself weak and unconvincing. Sorry to bore you readers, but you deserve something more. Here is a summary of the evidence presented in my book. See Henry the Immigrant for details and sources.

On 11 Jul 1734, Edney sued his mother and her second husband Benjamin George for a portion of the estate of Henry, his father. Henry's gift of deed stated that Edney would receive his share when he turned 21. Edney probably instituted this “friendly” suit shortly after he turned 21, and was, therefore, likely born a little before 11 Jul 1713. This seems quite reasonable since Edney was the oldest and his parents were married between 15 Mar 1709 and 16 May 1711. He and Judith Purcell were married by 8 Apr 1735 because the Lancaster County will of Judith Purcell’s grandmother Elizabeth, signed on that date states “I do appoint my Grandaughter Judith and her husband Edney Tapscott Executors of this my Last Will & Testament.” On Apr 1735, Edney was around age 22, somewhat young since most Colonial Virginia men first married around age 25 or 26 (a reliable statistical number). In fact, Edney was sufficiently young, 22 or younger when he married Judith, that it is highly unlikely that he had a previous wife.

How long were Judith and Edney married? There is no way to tell for certain. Certainly they were no longer married when Edney took Mary, the widow of William Waugh Jr., as his second wife around 15 Feb 1762 (bond). That was 27 years or more after his first marriage, and more than sufficient time to have the seven children that we know Edney had, presumably with Judith. Even had Judith died well before Edney married Mary Waugh, there was more than sufficient time.

Judith and Edney’s first child was Henry, who would become known to us as “Henry of Caswell.” In the 1800 census, he was aged 45 or older, corresponding to a birth year of 1742 or earlier. When he married Winifred Hill around 1763 (based on a chancery court record) he would have been aged 21 or older. As we have pointed out, Virginia men tended to marry around 25 or 26, making it likely that Henry was born around 1737 or 1738, the birth year one might expect for a marriage of Edney and Judith in 1735 or earlier. No matter how one juggles the numbers, Henry of Caswell was almost certainly a child of Judith.

So far everything holds together. There are no conflicts, no negative evidence, nothing that needs to be resolved. But we still have to look at the names of descendants.

For the second generation of Edney's descendants, counting Judith Purcell and Edney as the first, no one is named “Thomas” or “Judith.” One must go to the third generation, where we find Judith Clayton, daughter of Edney’s daughter Elizabeth and Judith George, daughter of Edney’s daughter Susannah. Thus we have two granddaughters of (presumably) Judith Purcell and Edney who are named “Judith.” Many (including the writer of the above memo) would say that this provides good evidence that Elizabeth and Susannah Tapscott were daughters of Judith Purcell. I'm not convinced that this evidence is all that good though I do believe that Elizabeth and Susannah were daughters of Judith. And these two “Judiths” are all we have, even going through six generations (admittedly some of the lists of descendants are incomplete).

But we do have a slug of descendants named “Thomas” when we go through six generations (admittedly a little far). There are a whopping eleven for Henry of Caswell (two 4^th generation, five 5^th generation, and four 6^th generation). For Ezekiel there is one with a middle name "Thomas," 6^th generation. Are any of these named for Thomas Purcell? For 4th generation and beyond, as all these are, I doubt it. The relationship distances appear to be too great.

But, the thing to realize is that people didn’t always name children after ancestors. Indeed, the brother of Edney, Capt. Henry Tapscott, first married Margaret Stott and had a huge number of descendants by this first marriage, 254 by my count through the 6^th generation, but there are only five named “Margaret” (and these do not appear until the 4^th generation and 5^th generation) and nobody is named “Stott”. What is particularly striking is that Margaret’s father was named “John,” an exceedingly common name, but out of all of the descendants of Capt. Henry and Margaret, only one John is found before the 5^th generation. There are no “Margarets” at all among the 61 identified descendants of William, the last child of Margaret and Capt. Henry. Does this mean that William was not a child of Margaret and Capt. Henry? Certainly not. The will of John Stott shows William to be a child of Margaret. I'll say it again. People did not always name descendants after ancestors, as is demonstrated here.

One final note. I and other descendants of Edney Tapscott have autosomal DNA matches with a number of people descended from Purcells of the Isle of Wright County, Virginia. This is where Thomas Purcell appears to have originated. At this point it is far too early to draw any conclusions, and perhaps we will never be able to do so.

All evidence strongly indicates that Edney had but one marriage producing children, and that was with Judith Purcell.

Edgehill

Edgehill manor house.

Recently I received an email stating that the sender, Judy, was a great granddaughter of William Fairfax Tapscott and asking if I knew anything about her origins. Indeed I do, Judy. William Fairfax was a great grandson of Samuel Chichester Tapscott, a GG grandson of Chichester Tapscott, and a GGG grandson of Capt. Henry Tapscott. It was into Chichester’s and then Samuel Chichester’s hands that Capt. Henry’s Edgehill Plantation eventually passed. I was going to suggest that Judy take a look at my posting on this site about Edgehill, but found to my amazement that no mention of Edgehill has previously appeared in these pages. Here is a post long overdue.

Until recently, on the east side of Virginia State Highway 354 (River Road) in Lancaster County, where Belle Isle Road enters from the west, at the end of an unpaved driveway heading up a small hill, stood a white, two-story, frame house dating from around 1770. This was the manor for Edgehill, Capt. Henry Tapscott’s home plantation.

An upstairs room.

Edgehill was large plantation, almost 200 acres, and the manor was a fine house. Capt. Henry was, after all, far wealthier than his brothers, Edney and James. But eventually the plantation passed to those not bearing the Tapscott name through a complex series of marriages, inheritances, and sales, until in 1910 part of the land containing the plantation house was sold to someone with no (known) Tapscott relationship. And Judy lost a possible inheritance. The complicated ownership saga appears in my book, Henry the Immigrant, but to tell you the truth the drawn-out tale is a little boring to nonhistorians.

Slave entrance.

The plantation house has quite a history. It was in that house that Chichester’s daughter Alice Martin Tapscott and granddaughter Mary Alice Tapscott were reportedly born. The two Alice’s are the matriarchs of the Pierce’s of Lancaster County. One of their descendants was Chichester Tapscott Peirce (“Chit”), a loved and renown Lancaster County physician. That story is particularly complex since “Chit” was descended from Chichester Tapscott by two different routes, a case of cousins marrying.

Oldest part of the house, eighteenth century.

A variety of questionable secondary sources claim that prior to heading off to battle at the opening of the Civil War, the Lancaster Cavalry (9th Virginia Cavalry, Company D) assembled at Edgehill for receipt of its company banner, presented by the girls of St. Mary’s White Chapel Church. Among the Confederate troops were the two sons of Samuel Chichester Tapscott, William Chichester, company bugler and standard bearer, and Aulbin Delaney, also a standard bearer. When William was killed in action, his surviving brother saved the Lancaster flag from capture, wrapping it around his torso and secreting it under his uniform. He returned to Edgehill with the banner, which was kept by the family until the 1920s when his niece gave it to the Museum of the Confederacy for safe keeping. Some of this, however, may be only legend, for Aulbin Delaney Tapscott was reportedly taken prisoner in May 1863 and could not have been present when his brother was mortally wounded. It was William Chichester Tapscott’s death at the Battle of Upperville that led to the eventual loss of Edgehill by the Tapscotts, since the plantation went to William’s wife, who remarried.

When I visited the Northern Neck in 2005 I got a tour of the Edgehill plantation house from the present owner. And I got some photographs, several of which are shown here. Unfortunately, the manor is no more. Deemed too expensive to renovate, it was demolished.

Alabama Tapscotts

Mary Frances and I are on the road doing family history research in the Wabash Valley area. By my definition, which changes haphazardly, this area includes Crawford, Clark, Edgar, and Vermilion counties in Illinois and Vigo and Vermillion counties in Indiana. (Note: Vermilion and Vermillion, "l" or "ll" depending on whether Illinois or Indiana.) I define the region to not only include the Wabash River, but Tapscott locales.

While traveling I was pleased to receive an email from a Tapscott, who lives not here, but back home in New Mexico. She told me that she was a granddaughter of Walter Albion Tapscott of Alabama and asked whether I knew of that family. I replied “of course” they were the “Alabama Tapscotts” Even though I knew little, almost nothing, about Walter—the locale, Alabama, and name, “Albion,” gives it away. Let me say a little about the Alabama Tapscotts. Forgive the deletion of sources.

Capt. Henry Tapscott, the most prosperous of Henry the Immigrant’s three sons, had an amazing sixteen children by two wives. The oldest and wealthiest of these was James Sr., who also had two wives, with five children by each. His two oldest boys were Robert Henry Tapscott and Albion T. Tapscott—note the name “Albion.”

Albion’s name is given as “Albin” in some documents; however, he always signed “Albion.” Robert Henry and Albion T., said to have been born around 1780, could have been twins since their father’s Rockridge County Virginia real estate holdings were divided equally between them; however, very limited data indicates that Albion was possibly a little younger than Robert.

Robert Tapscott married Jane Taylor on 10 April 1810, and his brother Albion married Margaret Epley on 9 July 1812, both marriages occurring in Rockbridge County, where the brothers may have been living on the property inherited from their father.

Eventually Robert and his brother Albion developed an urge for greener pastures. On 24 March 1815 Robert and Jane sold their share of her father’s land to Jane’s brother Archibald for $140, leaving the brothers free to seek their fortune elsewhere. The Tapscott brothers and their families first moved to Franklin County, Tennessee, and then to Morgan County, Alabama. There, Robert served as a representative to the state legislature in 1824 and 1825, dying on 2 May 1826 at the young age of 46. His wife, Jane, had died even younger, in November 1822.1382

Albion, who first appears in the Morgan County census of 1830 and may not have arrived in Alabama until after his brother’s death, was a justice of the peace and probably a farmer. He outlived his brother by 24 years, dying in 1850. The descendants of the two brothers’ eighteen known children (Robert and Jane: Sarah, James Warner, Mary Jane, Elizabeth, Archibald Taylor, John T., and Eliza; Albion and Margaret: James Wilkinson, Mary I., George Washington, Robert, Caroline, John T., William, Monroe, Eliza, Albion Jr., and Pinkney) helped populate Morgan County forming what I refer to as the “Alabama Tapscotts,” several of whom carried on the appellation “Albion” (or “Albin” or “Alban”).

Walter Albion Tapscott was a son of Wiley W., a grandson of Albion Jr. and a great grandson of Albion T, one of the Tapscott brothers who migrated from Virginia to Alabama. Thus, the Tapscott who contacted me is a sixth great grandchild of Henry the Immigrant, as am I. She and I are seventh cousins though we come from separate branches, Capt. Henry for her and Edney for me.

Bettina Pearson Higdon Burns wrote a very good book about the Alabama Tapscotts: Tapscott, Ancestors and Descendants of Robert Henry Tapscott, Alabama State Representative 1824, The Gregath Company, Cullman, Alabama, 1987. While not error-free, as no history is, it does a great job with Robert Henry and Albion T. and their progenies. Bettina, who passed away in 2008, did very well considering the limited research technologies available at the time she wrote the book.

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.

Duncan Henry

Chancery court documents involving Martin Tapscott that tell a most interesting story. The records are for Duncan Henry vs. Thomas Rowand and James McDowell, Chancery Court, Augusta Co, Virginia, Index No. 1819-100, Digital Collections, Library of Virginia, Richmond.

Martin Tapscott was one of the sixteen (!) children of Capt. Henry Tapscott and a grandson of Henry the Immigrant. Court proceedings on the division of part of Martin Tapscott’s estate show that when Martin died Nov 1804 he left but one descendant, his son, Henry Brereton Tapscott, who died around 1806. His father’s will stated that should Henry Brereton die without heirs, which he did, “all the negroes he dies possessed of given by me shall be emancipated and set free.” But Martin Shearman, the estate executor (and Martin Tapscott’s brother-in-law, having married Alice Tapscott), sold estate slaves right and left, both before and after Henry Brereton’s death. In addition to Milly and her children, sold were the slaves Isaac, Edmond, Daniel, Samuel, Denniel, Joe, Bubb, another Joe, Rawleigh, Bob, William, and Tom. When Thomas Rowand became administrator of the Tapscott estate following the death of Martin Shearman, he was possessed of the remaining slaves, some of which he planned to sell:

"Ann about Twenty eight years of age a Valuable house servant & her son about four years of age, Lilian (a cripple) and her two small children, Agatha a Valuable young woman with one child, Matilda with two children"

But the estate had one more slave, Duncan Henry, who had been hired out to Martin Tapscott’s brother Henry, and therein lies a most unusual story. When Henry Brereton died, Duncan was released (or released himself) under the terms of Martin Tapscott’s will and decamped to Rockbridge County, Virginia, a “free man of color,” or so he thought. But Thomas Rowand, the new administrator for the Martin and Henry Brereton Tapscott estate, decided that he needed additional income to pay estate debts and Duncan was one source of that income. Thomas hired James McDowell of Rockbridge County to go after Duncan, who could be enslaved and sold.

Then Duncan Henry did the unthinkable. On 20 April 1815 he filed a bill of complaint in chancery court against Rowand and McDowell claiming that under Martin Tapscott’s will he was a free man. Hinting of fraud or at least mismanagement, he also claimed that Martin Tapscott had died leaving a large personal estate and that the sale of that property should have been more than sufficient to pay off debts. Thomas responded that the estate had been “considerably indebted at the time of his [Martin Tapscott’s] death - much beyond the value of the ‘movable property’” and that Duncan Henry had not been released following Henry Brereton’s death, but had “left the lower county clandestinely & came to Rockbridge county.” James McDowell’s response was much briefer, in effect, saying that he was a mere tool, hired to take Duncan into custody, and knew nothing of Duncan’s rights to freedom.

The same day that Duncan filed his complaint, Robert Douthat and William Caruthers, prominent white men of Rockbridge County, for unknown reasons, put up a $750 bond to keep Duncan out of custody until the court made a decision. Duncan could have made a run for it, but he stayed in Rockbridge County. Weeks turned into months and months, into years, with the constant threat of slavery hanging over Duncan. The court required three years to make a decision, and that decision was, to say the least, surprising.

"the court is of opinion that the Pltf is entitled to his freedom under the will of Martin Tapscott decd & cannot be held to involuntary servitude except it was necessary for the purpose of discharging the debts of the said Martin & the defts whose duty it was to make this appear having failed to exhibit any evidence upon this subject for three years the court presumes that such evidence does not exist. The court is of opinion that the Pltf ought not to be [...] longer on that account. It is therefore adjudged, ordered & decided that the Pltf suposition be made perpetual & that the Pltf is entitled to his freedom which is hereby confirmed to him."

Seldom did a black man, a former slave, win a suit against white men in those days. But Duncan, heroically, did just that.

Dying in 1817, William Caruthers, a Lexington, Virginia, merchant and agent for Thomas Jefferson in Rockbridge County, did not live to see the results of his largesse. Nor (probably) did Robert Douthat, who ran Natural Bridge Tavern (“Stone Castle”) in Rockbridge County, a popular stopping place for Thomas Jefferson, and who lived just a year longer. In Rockbridge County Duncan had joined up with his three brothers, Patrick, Williamson, and John V. Henry, who had also been slaves of Martin Tapscott. There, Patrick Henry was hired by Thomas Jefferson as caretaker for Natural Bridge, the scenic wonder for which Rockbridge County was named and which, at the time, was owned by Jefferson.