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Sons of William and Mary (Wallace) Tapscott. L to R James
William, John, Millard, Joseph. (Courtesy of Sharon Poteet) |
Millard F. Tapscott, “Tinker,” the youngest of the sons of
William and Mary Angeline (Wallace) Tapscott, of Clark County, Illinois, appears
in a most interesting story of probate and litigation.
Born 4 May 1867 in Clark County (two years after the end of the
Civil War), Millard spent most of his life as a bachelor farmer. After living for
many years with his parents, William and Mary, he was suddenly on his own when
his mother died in 1904 and his father moved in with Millard’s sister Emma and
her husband William Mallory. Millard stayed on the family farm, apparently
inheriting the land, at least eventually, though no probate proceedings are
found, and living in his parents’ partially log-constructed house.
Millard was forty-seven years old when he finally married, on 19
Sep 1914 in Vigo County, Indiana, but it was a marriage that was far less than
successful. His wife, Samantha, was the daughter of Thomas McNary, an Auburn
blacksmith, and Reba (Cox) McNary. And she was the widow of William Henry Johnson,
whom she had married 27 Oct 1889, and who had died 3 Feb 1913 of pneumonia
after fathering four children, two of whom died young.
Millard and Samantha did not hit it off well. It has been claimed
that the two had divorced, but no records show that an official divorce took place. However, around 1920, the couple separated and Samantha “released
her rights to the property by contract in writing.” The contract came back to
haunt her when Millard died on 17 Nov 1926 at the home of his niece, Alma
Thompson, daughter of his sister Emma (Tapscott) Mallory.
Samantha petitioned the court stating that “as the surviving
widow of Millard F. Tapscott, she is entitled to her Widow's Award in said
Estate.” She stated that “on or about the 11” day of October A.D. 1920 she and
the said Millard F. Tapscott signed an agreement, the purport of which
agreement your Petitioner did not at that time understand, and that at that
time Petitioner did not know her rights pertaining to the property of Millard
F. Tapscott, and did not know what a widow's award meant, and did not understand
the agreement and should not be held bound by said agreement because of the
fraud which said agreement perpetrated against your Petitioner because of
petitioners misunderstanding and lack of knowledge as to her rights.” Samantha
claimed that “for many months prior to Millard's death, he and her had “resumed
the marriage relation, and were living as man and wife, having repudiated
aforsaid [sic] contract, and resumed the status of husband and wife.”
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| Find a Grave. |
A child of Samantha from her first marriage, Violet Johnson,
filed a claim for $500 against the estate “For care, washing for, ironing ,
sewing, getting up wood, cooking, keeping house and attention for three years
at different intervals” and for $1000 for “Services as per contract.” Just what
the “Services” were is not stated. The claim appears particularly unusual since
Violet was unmarried and as Millard's stepchild, she was (more or less) a
family member. One might expect that she would help out around the house, where
she was presumably living, for no charge. Millard's brother and sisters, the
estate heirs, got together and settled with both Samantha and her daughter for
all their claims for $1000.
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| R. E. Tapscott, 6 Oct 2014. |
Following her death, Samantha was buried with her first husband
in Auburn Cemetery. The stone reads “Samantha His Wife.” Millard, who left no
descendants, rests alone.
