Capt. Henry Line - The Fate of the Schooner Fair American

 

On 8 Feb 1819 the Alexandria Gazette reported the loss of the schooner Fair American on a voyage from Fredericksburg to New York with a cargo of wheat and flour. And the report included the tale of the mishap related by the ship's occupants, one of them a great grandson of Henry The Immigrant:

“On the 20^th of January, (instant,) 20 minutes before 8 P. M. we had the misfortune to run ashore on Absecum Bar, on the Jersey side of the Delaware Bay, and after making every exertion to get off, but without success, we turned our attention to the means of preserving our lives—At 12 o’clock at night the vessel bilged and filled, when we (7 in number, including Mr. James V. Fraser, a passenger) secured ourselves on the quarter-deck suffering all the horrors of an awful ship-wreck. At about 2 in the morning the schooner severed at the break of the quarter deck, when little remained to us but the assurance of a watery grave. The quarter deck, however, holding together, a ray of hope dawned from the reflection that this our last resting place, might remain entire until the return of day, when some friendly sail might snatch us from impending destruction. About the dawn of day, our sufferings were for a moment mitigated by he sight of a sail, with an old shir attached to an oar, we made a signal to attract their attention; but from the heaviness of the weather and increasing thickness of the fog, they soon disappeared to our view, perhaps without having observed our signal of distress. At this moment, hope seemed to abandon us forever, but in a short time the fog began to dissipate, the land became visible, and discovered to us the welcome sight of some vessels, which had made a harbor, about two miles distant—we also saw some persons walking on the beach, but soon discovered that they were much more intent on saving the ruins of our vessel and cargo for their own benefit, than on procuring the means of rescuing us from our perilous situation.—Some of the crews of the vessels in the harbor, seeing our deplorable condition, came with great difficulty to our relief, and conveyed us to their vessels, where we were received with the greatest kindness and treated in a manner which merits our eternal gratitude.

“Having lost every thing except what we had on our backs, the benevolence of these strangers it may be supposed was a cordial to our bosoms. But while we acknowledge with hearts overflowing with thankfulness, the good offices of these our seafaring brethren, we want language sufficiently strong to depict the base and inhuman conduct of some of the inhabitants of Absecum and the adjacent country, who although apprised of our misfortunes and destitute situation, refused even to deliver up our cloathing which they had picked up on the beach, after it had drifted on shore, and treated us in other respects so much like savages, that we had just reason to believe, that but for the humanity and generosity of the masters and crews of the vessels in the harbor, we should have been abandoned to all the horrors of shipwreck, on a coast where the claims of humanity were stifled by the sordid and unmanly consideration of self aggrandizement. 

E. L. B . TAPSCOTT, one third owner.

BENJAMIN GEORGE, Master.

JAMES V. FRASER, passenger.

And the CREW of the Fair American

And who was E. L. B. Tapscott? He was Ellis L. B. Tapscott (middle names unknown), son of Rawleigh and Ann (Shearman) Tapscott and grandson of Capt. Henry Tapscott. We have met him once before in this Blog as a purchaser of half interest in the schooner Dispatch from his uncle Martin Shearman (Chicanery, Monday, August 25, 2014). Although he escaped from the shipwreck, Ellis was soon deceased, dying by 20 May 1822, when a bond was issued to administer Ellis's estate. Ellis, seemingly a well-to-do business man, died young, less than forty years old, without widow or descendants.

The ship’s master, Benjamin George, was probably Ellis’s second cousin, son of first cousins Nicholas Lawson George and Susanna Tapscott. Benjamin and Ellis had the same great grandmother, Ann Edney. And not only were they related, the two had served in the same regiment and company during the War of 1812.

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.