Mary Elizabeth Tapscott

I’m still working on the descendants of Richard Tapscott, son of William the Preacher, instead of what I should be doing — researching the descendants of Richard’s brother Henry. But Richard’s descendants are fascinating, and I’m not quite ready to call it quits.

Mary Elizabeth Tapscott. (Ancestry.com)

Of Kasiah Tapscott’s two children, only Mary Elizabeth lived long enough to make interesting reading. Born 20 May 1865 to Kasiah and possibly Garrett Vandike, Mary’s Kentucky birthplace is given in various records both as Casey County and Danville, Boyle County. The latter is unlikely. No Followells, Weathermans, or Tapscotts (or Vandikes)—family members who might help an unwed mother—were living in Boyle County at the time, and friends and relatives were abundant in Casey County.

In 1880, presumably following the death of her mother, Kasiah, Mary was working as a domestic servant for the Robert L. King family in Casey County, and that may be how she met her husband-to-be, Samuel Franklin King, probably a relative. (Samuel had a brother Robert, but he was not Robert L.) On 16 Mar 1882, in Liberty, Kentucky, seat of Casey County, Mary married Samuel Franklin King, a Casey County farmer, born in Aug 1863 to James and Charlotta. Mary and Samuel (who went solely by “Frank”) had seven children—William L. (Jan 1883 - by Jul 1907), Martha E. (3 Nov 1884 - 2 Oct 1971), Bessie Charity (1 Nov 1886 - 9 Feb 1975), James Robert (6 Jun 1892 - 15 Apr 1968), George Leslie (13 Feb 1898 - 21 Apr 1959), John Ottle (25 May 1900 - 22 Mar 1974), and Lillian Myrtle (8 Mar 1903 - 4 Oct 1964)—all born in Kentucky.

In 1904, following the birth of Myrtle, the last child, the family (possibly minus William, who died young, and Martha, who had married and could have traveled separately) journeyed to DeWitt County, Illinois. Samuel lived in Illinois only three years, most of the time as an invalid, before passing away on their farm, the Lewis Clark Riggs place near Farmville, in Santa Anna Twp, on 11 Jul 1907 at the young age of 44. Mary was left in a new state with four kids (and two married daughters), with no other nearby relatives, and with no means of support. Moreover, the family was in terrible financial condition, one son, Robert, having provided most of the income when his father was ill. Things were so bad that a collection was taken up among the South Prairie neighbors to help pay for Samuel’s funeral expenses, which may have been high since Samuel’s body was transported back to Kentucky for burial in Minor Cemetery, Boyle County, home of the Kings.

It was in Kentucky that Mary could have met her second husband, Squire Jasper Phillips. She may have decided to reside, at least temporarily, in Kentucky, where she had family (mostly distant cousins and in-laws) and friends. After all, Squire Phillips was born in Washington County, the next county over from Boyle, where Samuel was buried. 

The story of Squire Jasper and Mary is interesting, but tragic, and deserving of a posting by itself, which it will have. See you next time.

Kasiah/Kissiah/Kesiah Tapscott

Permission for “Keziah” Miles to marry Abraham Followell shows the likely source of Kasiah
 Tapscott’s name.  Family Search. Thanks to Chris Summers for bringing this to my attention.

Born between 1842 and 1845 (probably closer to 1842), Richard Tapscott’s only daughter appears in censuses with three given names “Kasiah,” “Kissiah,” and “Kesiah,” all known, though not common, appellations. I have arbitrarily chosen to use the name “Kasiah,” which is found for her in two different contemporary sources. It is likely that she was named after her maternal grandmother Keziah S. (Miles) Followay, and that the spelling was confused. After all, her father and mother were both illiterate (as was Kasiah).

In the 1860 census, she is found at age 17 in two different Marion County, Kentucky, households — that of her stepfather, Christian Weatherman, where she is named “Kasiah Weatherman” (possibly due to an error by the census enumerator) and that of Garrett (“Garit”) Vandike, where she is named “Kasiah Tapcot.”

Ten years later, in 1870, “Kesiah Tabscott” was living in Marion County with two children, 1-year old “Cynthian” (probably meant to be “Cyntha”) and 5-year-old “Mary E.” — two girls with the last name “Tabscott,” Kasiah’s maiden name. Descendants have passed down the story that Mary E. (“Mary Elizabeth Tapscott”) was the illegitimate daughter of Kasiah and a “Garret Van Diner.” It is very likely that the name was actually “Garrett Vandike,” that of the farmer with whom Kasiah was living at the time of the 1860 census.

It may be that a live-in servant, possibly Kasiah’s function, was just too tempting for a 60-year-old man (Garrett’s approximate age when Mary was born). Did Kasiah’s other child, Cyntha, have the same origin? Perhaps, though it is difficult to imagine that Vandike could have continued a relationship over a period of four years, for he had a wife, Sarah F., and five known children, to monitor his actions. And, of course, we have no proof that Garrett was the father.

What is particularly interesting about this tale is that in 1870, Kasiah had a roommate, 32-year-old Mary Emeline Atwood, the niece of Kasiah’s stepfather Christian Weatherman. Christian’s sister, Sarah, had married John Atwood in North Carolina, and following the birth of the first three children (James, Mary Emeline, and John W.), the family traveled to Kentucky (around 1850), presumably with Christian. In 1870 Mary Emeline was living with Kasiah, and she also had children with her — William N., Laura A., Mary E., and Sarah A., all four born between 1860 and 1868. That they bore the last name “Atwood” indicates that they too may have been born out of wedlock. Two single women living together with apparent offspring. Could the two have been banished by their families? Could all the children have been fathered by… but, no, it seems unfair to place suspicion on Garrett once more. Or is it? DNA results could help unravel the mystery.

By 1880, Kasiah’s two children were living in Casey County with others — Mary Elizabeth as a servant in the household of Robert L. King (probably a relative, but not a brother, of her future husband, Samuel Franklin King) and Cyntha with her first cousin once removed on the Followell side (see post of 25 Apr 2016). The oldest (William) and youngest (Sarah) of Mary Emeline Atwood’s children were living with their grandparents, John and Sarah Atwood. Kasiah, Mary Emeline, and Mary Emeline’s two other children are nowhere to be found, nor are they seen again. It seems like a lot of people to have passed away around the same time, if that is what happened.

Kasiah’s youngest child, Cyntha, had a similar fate. After 1880, she disappeared. But Cyntha’s sister, Mary Elizabeth Tapscott (or “Tabscott,” as usually named) lived a long, complex, and exceedingly interesting life, the subject of the next post.