Wabash Valley Tapscotts - The Spurlington Witch

A witch in the family?

The Legend of Nancy Bass

Stories of Nancy Bass have been passed down through families in Taylor County, Kentucky. According to local legend, Aunt Nancy stumbled upon Jesse James and his gang while they were burying gold and silver in the Spurlington Tunnel. However, upon seeing her, they allegedly killed her and buried her above the tunnel. Since then, Nancy has become a haunting figure associated with the tunnel.

The Spurlington Tunnel

The Spurlington Tunnel was built in the mid-1800s as part of a 31-mile rail line from Greensburg to Lebanon. It took seven years to construct, with the excavation primarily consisting of blue limestone and a ledge of black flint. The tunnel spans 1,900 feet and features a 100-foot shaft hole in the middle to release exhaust from passing trains. 

The Witch’s Curse

Nancy Bass (drawing by Wesley Durham, 1974).

Legend has it that Nancy Bass was not an ordinary woman. She was believed to be a witch. It is said that she could make tables levitate and would cast spells on people if they did not do as she wished. She was not a particularly dangerous witch. Nobody died. But, if she disliked a family their children would come down with mysterious illnesses, their crops would fail, their milk cows would go dry and all kinds of misfortunes would befall. And it is said that her spirit now haunts the Spurlington Tunnel. Anyone who enters the tunnel or searches for the buried treasure is said to fall under her curse. Locals have long speculated that the hidden treasure remains somewhere within the tunnel, waiting to be discovered.

Despite the lack of a grave marker, Nancy’s legend persists, and her spectral presence continues to cast a chilling shadow over the Spurlington Tunnel.

A Tapscott Connection

And who was Nancy? Well she’s my second cousin three times removed. Her great grandfather Josiah Bass Sr. was my 4th great grandfather. Josiah Bass’s granddaughter Susan Bass married Henry Tapscott of Kentucky and the two founded the Tapscotts of the Wabash Valley [see Henry's Children ]. Confused? So am I. Perhaps this will help.

The Wabash Valley Tapscotts already have three murderers in the family: my GG uncle Samuel, my first cousin once removed Omer, and my second cousin once removed Everett. Is there now a witch in the family? Perhaps.

Wabash Valley Tapscotts - Draft Book Section,Major Josiah Tapscott

I'm now working on Major Tapscott, next to last of the 12 children of Henry the Traveler and Susan Bass. Here is what I have written about Major. Major's descendants come next. Complaints, contributions, interesting stories, etc. appreciated. See previous post.

Where his first name originated is anybody’s guess, but, Major’s middle name may have come from his presumed grandfather, Josiah Bass. Major’s death certificate gives his date of birth as 23 Mar 1848, in agreement with the date of Mar 1848 given in the 1900 census. Most other census data, however, indicate a birth year of around 1845 or 1846. Might he have knocked a year or two off his age as he grew older?

Sarah (Dinsmore) Tapscott. (Contribution
of LeAnna and Meredith McGuire)

In his younger years, he was always called “Major,” but later on he used the name “Josiah.” Major was born in Illinois, presumably in Clark Co, likely in Darwin Twp where he was living with his parents in 1850 but he and his progeny spent most of their lives in Indiana. Major had moved to Indiana by 1870, when he was working as a farmhand in White River Twp, Johnson Co, just south of Indianapolis, for John Presser, a rather well-to-do farmer. It was in that county that, on 6 Oct 1874, Major “Tabscott” married Fanny Dinsmore.

Sarah Fanny Dinsmore was born 6 Aug 1858 in Boone Co, Indiana, to John and Jane (Holder) Dinsmore, an Iowa and Indiana farm family with at least six children. Sarah and Major lived most or all of their married life in Hendricks Co, Indiana, where they raised three boys, Paul, George, and Allen, while Major worked in assorted jobs—farmhand, laborer, school janitor. Some claim that a fourth child, a daughter, Maude, was born and died on 19 Nov 1875, but no reliable evidence has been provided. It is certainly possible, however, since the first documented child, Paul, was born almost six years after Major and Sarah were married.

Major passed away 29 Feb 1916 at the Protestant Deaconess Hospital in Indianapolis. Sarah died 8 Mar 1928 at the home of her son Allen in Indianapolis. The couple were laid to rest in the Knights of Pythias Cemetery, Lizton, Indiana, though no markers are found.