Carl Herman, a Wabash Valley Tapscott

Born of Joseph and Mary Emma (Sanders) Tapscott in Clark County, Illinois, on 10 May 1894, Carl was wedded four times, but apparently left no biological offspring (18 Aug 2015 blog). We have already heard about his first marriage, to Nettie Sarah Sweitzer 19 Oct 1918, which lasted less than two years.

Carl’s third marriage, to Beulah Frances Mead on 3 Jul 1939 in Vigo County, Indiana, was also short with a divorce suit filed almost exactly two years later. Married six times in Vigo County, to five different men (one man was wedded twice), Beulah was a most interesting character. Each of her six marriage license applications gives a birth date of 5 Feb but a different year – 1898, 1897, 1896, 1899, 1901, and 1900. Her death record gives an age corresponding to a birth year of 1902. She was almost certainly born in 1900. Beulah also tended to stretch other things on her license applications. When she married Carl, Beulah claimed to have been married only once before. In fact, she had been married three times before (four times if you include her two marriages to husband number three).

Beulah, like many people, tended to make herself older in her early years (she was first married at age 15) and younger in her later years, but the changes were minor compared with that of Carl Tapscott’s fourth wife, Pauline Benefiel, who was probably born as “Perlina” in 1870 and who knocked a "massive" fourteen years off her age when she married Carl. All this goes to show that you cannot trust marriage records when determining birth dates and prior marriages, and by no means are women always the culprits.

St. Anthony's Hospital, c1945 (Ancestry.com).

Like Carl, many of the Wabash Valley Tapscott men were not good husband material. Among the children of John Wesley Tapscott, my father, Glenn, was the only one of the boys to have had a family with children. My uncles Russell and Ralph (“Jack”) never married. Uncle Clarence’s two marriages were short and Lloyd was nearly 43 when he married. We cannot include Willard, who died young.

Pauline and Carl lived out their lives in Terre Haute, Indiana. Pauline died 28 Feb 1952, with Carl surviving her by fourteen years. Like his cousin Golden, Carl had a less than perfect driving record, but his greatest automotive difficulties came when he was not behind the steering wheel. Just three days before his 72 birthday, on 7 May 1966, he was hit by a Terre Haute driver. He spent his birthday in St. Anthony Hospital, where he died six days after the accident.

Carl was laid to rest in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, near Martinsville, where his mother, Mary, and father, Joseph, are also interred. His former spouses rest elsewhere—Nettie in Marshall Cemetery; Mary Theresa in Terre Haute’s Highland Lawn Cemetery; Beulah in Lexington, Kentucky; and Pauline in Trimble Cemetery, Sullivan County, Indiana.

Russell Raymond Tapscott

Born 20 Nov 1892 in Marshall, Illinois, to an unmarried Flora Bell Walls in what is called by genetic genealogists a “non-paternity event” (NPE), Nettie Walls/Tingley/Sweitzer had a muddled, short existence. At various times she was given different birth names—“Walls” from her mother, “Tingley” from her great uncle Samuel Tingley Jr. (Flora Bell’s guardian and foster father), and “Sweitzer” from Frank Sweitzer (probably John Franklin Sweitzer), said in her death certificate to be her father.

Like mother, like daughter. On 3 Apr 1918, in another Marshall NPE, Nettie, husbandless, gave birth to “Russell Tingley.” Six months later, Nettie married Carl Herman Tapscott, and Russell Raymond took the name “Tapscott.”

The difficult marriage was short. A divorce decree dated 9 Mar 1920 claimed that Nettie Tapscott

“committed adultery with one William Clouse; and …  with divers other persons in the city of Marshall.”

Both Carl and Nettie remarried. Nettie’s second marriage (to William L. Clouse) lasted just a few months longer than her first, ending when she died at age thirty of acute cholecystitis (look it up if you are really interested).

The Smoking Gun?

Over the past (nearly) century, it has been generally assumed that, wedded or not, Carl Tapscott was Russell Raymond Tapscott’s biological father. He did, after all, marry Nettie, presumably to make an honest woman of her. But he is named as Russell’s father in no official document nor in any contemporary record. And now there is evidence for different paternity. In a dusty folder of unsourced obituaries filed away at the Illiana Genealogical and Historical Society in Danville, Illinois, is an obituary for Russell Tapscott that reads

               “Born April 3, 1918, at Marshall, he was the son of Golden and Sarah Tapscott.”

Son of Golden? And who was Sarah? The last question is easier answered than the first, for Nettie probably also had the name “Sarah.” An obituary for her daughter (with William Clouse) refers to Nettie as “Sarah Nettie Tapscott Clouse.”

But we still have Golden to contend with. Golden Arthur Tapscott was Carl Tapscott’s cousin. They had the same grandparents, William and Mary Angeline (Wallace) Tapscott. They were about the same age and were both unmarried at the time of Russell’s birth. The contention that Golden was Russell Tapscott’s father could be true. On 24 May 1918, a few weeks after Russell's birth, Golden was among a group of 25 Marshall draftees sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, to train for service in the U.S. Army, service that may have helped avoid facing the problems of unplanned fatherhood. Four days later, Carl Tapscott left Marshall with 25 men scheduled for training at Camp Gordon, Georgia.

Golden or Carl (or someone else)? It is unlikely that the obituary author mixed up Carl and Golden, both of whom were living when Russell died. Obituaries are often written by surviving spouses, and on 9 Nov 1963, the date of Russell's death, his wife, Helen Frances, was still living. Had he told her of his actual parentage? And who had told him? Russell was only four years old when his mother died, although his grandmother Flora Bell lived to see Russell's 21st birthday. We may never know the truth, though I now believe Golden to be the likely father. Perhaps it really makes no difference. What is important is the story, not necessarily the genes. But it is nice to have a sturdy, reliable genealogical skeleton on which to flesh out the history.

This is what I posted back in Aug 2015, but now we have a smoking gun. On 13 Mar 1918, when Nettie was nearing the end of her pregnancy, the Clark County Democrat published the following brief sentence about court proceedings:

"In the same court, Friday, Golden Tapscott was placed under bond on charge of bastardy preferred by Nellie [sic] Tingley."

There is no doubt. Golden was Russel Tapscott's biological father.

Thomas Cobbs Tapscott, George Thomas Tapscott, and Eugene Charles Allen

     A blog of 5 Jan 2013 told of Thomas Cobbs Tapscott of Buckingham County, Virginia, who, with Amanda Davis, is believed to have had two mixed-race children, Amanda Lee Davis and George Davis (later adopting the name “George Thomas Tapscott”). The blog noted that Amanda had a connection with Bill Cosby, a person of some notoriety, these days not all good. But her brother, George Thomas Tapscott Sr,. also had a connection with someone of some notoriety, this time all good. The story follows:

     George Thomas Tapscott Sr., was born in August 1864, although he cannot be found in the 1870 census. By 1900, he had changed his name from “Davis” to “Tapscott,” the name he used the rest of his life. Sometime between 1900, when she was listed in a census as George’s housekeeper, and 1910, when she was listed as his wife, Sarah L. Hubard and George were married. Previously married to Robert Hubard, who died early, Sarah had five known children, all probably the offspring of George Thomas Tapscott Sr.—Addison Wilmington, Nannie E., John A., Sarah Malina Ladaan, and George Thomas Jr., the last born 22 Aug 1900.

Unmarked stone at right of that for Thomas Cobbs Tapscott
in the George Nicholas Tapscott Family Cemetery is believed
to be for his son George Sr. (photo by Jeremy Winfrey)

     About 1929, George Thomas Jr. married Kate Allen, one of ten or eleven surviving children of Albert and Sophia Allen. Born into slavery, Albert and Sophia were illiterate. Thus census ages (and, therefore, birth years) for them and their children vary widely and are highly questionable. Kate (sometimes, “Katie”) Allen was born 20 Feb 1904 (SSDI), almost certainly in Buckingham County. In 1910 and 1920 she was living with her parents and some of her siblings in the Slate River District of Buckingham, in the northeastern part of the county.

Eugene Charles Allen

    George Jr. and Kate farmed in Albemarle County, near Scottsville. George died 23 Oct 1991 and Kate died 23 Mar 1998, probably in Washington, DC, where they had been living. The location of their graves is unknown.

     Although Kate and George had no children as a couple, Kate had two sons, Eugene Charles and Geater, from an earlier relationship. The boys never lived with their mother, residing instead with their aunt and uncle, Charles and Susan Brown.

     Born in a log cabin on 14 Jul 1919, a time of harsh segregation, Eugene achieved fame. In 1943 he married Helene Arnetta Lee and nine years later joined the White House staff as pantry man. There his career lasted more than thirty years, during which time he served eight presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Ronald Reagan, and worked his way up to maître d’. Eugene passed away 31 March 2010. At his funeral the minister declared, “Now, it's true that some tried to stigmatize his job, that of a butler. But Eugene Allen raised it to a level of excellence. It was as if Eugene knew the way to be exalted was through humility.” Numerous biographies are available for Eugene. Perhaps the best is that in the memorial booklet, “A Life Well Lived” distributed at his funeral.

     A movie, “The Butler,” inspired by Eugene’s life in the White House, was released 16 October 2013. Unfortunately, for dramatic effect, much of Eugene’s story and even his name was changed. A straightforward version would have been much more interesting.

Wesley's Wall

The blog of 7 Jun 2015 promised that investigation of the mysterious Wesley Tapscott would continue during our June trip to Missouri and Illinois, in hopes of demolishing or at least fracturing the “brick wall” separating us from knowledge of Wesley’s parentage. Here are the new things found (with just a little repetition for continuity).

On 29 Nov 1889 Wesley purchased 20 acres of land in Anderson Twp from Clark H. Hammond and his wife, Roxana, for $100, an amount higher than what Wesley would be expected to have had. A plat map shows that by 1892, Wesley had acquired an adjacent 20 acres from an unknown source. Most of Wesley Tapscott’s 40 acres was considerably flatter than the neighboring 80 acres owned by Henry the Traveler’s oldest son William Tapscott (my great grandfather). Cut through by the Auburn Branch of Mill Creek, William’s farm was an assembly of ravines with scarcely any cultivatable land. Wesley had acquired some acceptable farm land. But he was probably too sick to make much use of it.

 

Tapscott lands in Anderson and Auburn Townships. Mill Creek Reservoir is a modern addition.

On 16 Aug 1893, sensing the end, Wesley wrote his last will and testimony:

   I Wesley Tapscott of Anderson Township County of Clark and State of Illinois do make this my last will and testament.

   First it is my will that any just debts against me be paid out of my estate.

    I then give and bequeath all of the residue of my personal property of whatever kind and moneys, also a debt due me from David Birchfield of ten dollars for which I have no note to Joseph Shade and his heirs.

   I hereby appoint and make Joseph Shade executor of this my last will and testament.

   Signed and sealed the sixteenth day of August A. D. 1893.

       Wesley {his X mark} Tapscott

 Witnesses

James L Coon [?]

John N. Washburn

John M Coons

          The will shows the last name “Tapscott,” rather than “Tabscott,” the spelling used on most of Wesley’s documents. But being illiterate, Wesley had no idea how his name was spelled or should be spelled. Spelling was left to those doing the writing. The Army thought his name was spelled “Tabscott,” and that was the name used in Wesley’s numerous military, medical, and Soldier and Sailor Home records. Most others used the customary spelling “Tapscott,” and that is the name found on all but two of his probate records and on his grave marker.

Two of the will’s witnesses were “John Washburn, a 33-year-old railroad worker living in Clark County’s Wabash Twp., and John Coons, a merchant living in Auburn Twp. The name of the other witness appears to be “James L. Coon,” a young laborer living in Martinsville Twp. Their connection with Wesley is unknown. Joseph Shade, the will’s only beneficiary, was the son-in-law of Sarah Ann Tapscott, one of the Traveler’s five daughters.

Soldiers and Sailors Home brick “cottage” (2015).

The following year Wesley went to the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Home in Quincy, Illinois, listing his next-door neighbor in Clark County, William Tapscott, as his contact. Mary Frances and I visited the institution. The facility is still used (though the name has been changed to the “Illinois Veterans Home”) and many of the early buildings still stand. Residents were housed in two-story brick buildings termed “cottages” to bring a feeling of “Home” to the facility. The Home was built in 1886 and the first resident was admitted on 3 Mar 1887, just seven years before Wesley’s arrival on 30 May 1894. Lying on the Mississippi River, Quincy was a stop on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy (CB&Q) railway, which had a depot on the northern edge of the home, and this may be how Wesley arrived.

Wesley stayed in the Home only a few months, returning to Marshall, Illinois, where he died on 21 Nov 1894, willing all his personal property to Joseph Shade, who likely ended up with nothing but a headache. Wesley left more debts than assets. What happened to his 40 acres is still undetermined, but the land was likely sold before his death.

Thus after searching for hours in the Clark County Courthouse, the Clark County Genealogy Library, and the Marshall Public Library and visiting the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Home, we still know little about Wesley’s origins. We know from where he came, but not from who. And, though he came from Green County, Kentucky, the home of William the Preacher, perhaps he is not a Tapscott after all, or at least not the son of a male Tapscott. His name may have come from an NPE, a non-paternal event - a name change, an illegitimate birth, an adoption, The brick wall remains.

The Iroquois Theatre Fire

A 28 May 2013 blog tells the story of Jacob Tapscott, a Wabash Valley Tapscott who was killed during a posse (vigilante?) action in Crawford County, Illinois. Jacob and Mary Ann (Lockard) Tapscott had four children before Jacob’s violent demise. Among these was Mary Lavina Tapscott, who married Leonard Hilton Brewster and had two children, Mary Julia and Violet G. After Mary Lavina’s death in Terre Haute, Indiana, at the very early age of 23, Leonard remarried and moved with his children to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he married a third time. He and his family then moved to Chicago. There, Mary Julia Brewster, who usually went by her middle name, “Julia,” became a teacher at James Wadsworth School.

The Iroquois. (University of Illinois Library.)

On 23 November 1903, Chicago celebrated the grand opening of the magnificent Iroquois Theater, a six-story building with a marble and mahogany interior claimed to be “the most beautiful” in Chicago. The theater opened with the musical comedy Mr. Bluebeard starring entertainer Eddie Foy, a show that ran five weeks, until its sudden end on 30 December 1903. On that fateful Wednesday a special holiday matinee performance, attracting primarily women and children, was held. Over seventeen hundred people filled the seats and at least two hundred more stood or sat in the aisles to laugh at Eddie Foy and enjoy the wondrous Iroquois. Among the spectators were James Wadsworth teachers Mary Julia Brewster and Pearl Mills, accompanied by Pearl’s husband, Ward, and his sister Isabella (http://www.iroquoistheater.com/mills-brewster-iroquois-theater-fire-victims.php).

At the beginning of the second act, during a dance number, an arc light ignited muslin curtains and the fire spread to the stage ceiling. In an heroic act with flaming debris falling around him, Eddie Foy, having rushed to the stage from his dressing room (first handing his son to an exiting stagehand), attempted to calm the audience, but the fire soon enveloped the backstage area. The “fireproof asbestos” curtain, which was neither fireproof nor asbestos but which might nevertheless have provided a barrier between the stage and the audience, failed to drop completely. When double doors at the rear of the building were opened for escape, a blast of incoming air fanned flames from the stage into the audience, igniting curtains, wooden seats, mahogany trimming, and people. The official death toll was 602; the actual death toll, probably higher. It was the deadliest single-building fire in U.S. history. Among those killed were Julia Brewster, Pearl Mills, and Isabella Mills. Ward Mills escaped.

After the fire. (Library of Congress.)

The record of the Vigo County’s Coroner’s Inquest, No. 28526, Case 269, for Mary Julia Brewster, states simply “Verdict Same as in Case 205 page 80.” Page 80 is strangely blank, but numerous contemporary newspaper articles about the catastrophe list Julia among the dead. Leonard H. Brewster, Julia’s father, appeared before the Coroner's Jury as a witness.

Investigations showed shoddy fire protection (despite handbills and advertising proclaiming the building to be "Absolutely Fireproof"), violation of fire codes, locked exits, barricaded hallways, inadequate firefighting equipment, and possible bribery of fire inspectors. Charges were brought against many, including Mayor Carter Harrison Jr., but between legal tactics and loopholes the only person convicted was a tavern keeper charged with robbing dead fire victims.

Following Julia’s death, Leonard Hilton Brewster returned to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he became secretary to Adda B. Fleming, a “Science Healer and Nerve Specialist.” Violet G., who had married just a little over two months prior to her sister’s death, moved with her husband to Nebraska and then Iowa, where she lived most of her remaining life. In 1912 sculptor Lorado Taft was commissioned to create a bronze plaque memorializing the Iroquois fire victims, a plaque which was briefly lost but today hangs near an entrance to the Chicago City Hall. In 1955 Bob Hope starred as Eddie Foy in the Seven Little Foys, a movie whose storyline includes the Iroquois Theater fire.

Papers of George Allen Tapscott

Page from one of George Allen Tapscott's notebooks.

Papers of George Allen Tapscott, 1784-1935, Accession #4754, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia, Charlotte, Virginia.

My 7 Jul 2015 blog provides transcripts of a letter about Virginia Tapscotts from Clayton Allen Tapscott to June (Tapscott) Leathers. June was also the source of a set of Virginia Tapscott notes authored by another person in the James Tapscott line, but dating much earlier than Clayton Allen. George Allen Tapscott (8 Jun 1850 - 25 Nov 1935), a Buckingham County Virginia farmer, was a son of George Nicholas Tapscott. When George Allen died, his extensive but disorganized, confusing, and often poorly written papers and notes were given to the University of Virginia Library. June obtained copies of some of the notes and passed them on with a letter from the library. Below is my transcription of what June sent. Bracketed italicized items are my comments. “[…]” indicates unreadable material. “[?]” indicates that the preceding word is uncertain. Of some interest is that George Allen Tapscott mentioned a “Bolling” in his poem “Boyhood Days.” (See blogs of 23 Oct 2013, 19 Mar 2014, and 18 Jul 2014.)

Treat these transcriptions with great caution. Most of the notes are unclear and their accuracy, uncertain. Those doing research with this Tapscott branch may wish to examine first hand the entire collection of George Allen Tapscott papers at the University of Virginia.

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA LIBRARY
MANUSCRIPTS DEPARTMENT/ALDERMAN LIBRARY

22 April 1986

Dear Mrs. Leathers:

It is not possible to borrow the George Allen Tapscott Papers (#4754) because they have never been microfilmed and our manuscript collections are non-circulating.

However, I have examined the four notebooks and enclose complimentary copies of those pages pertaining to the genealogy of the Tapscotts. The other material in the collection consists of legal papers including deed, court orders, land surveys, etc. I have included a list of these items, which can be copied for you at the rate of twelve cents per page plus a handling fee of three dollars. Do not send payment; you will be billed upon completion of your order. Please mark any items on the list that you want copied and return it to this department.

I hope this information will be helpful in your research.

Sincerely,

SharonDefibaugh
Technical Services Assistant
SD:jls

Boyhood Days

I love to think of my boyhood days

Of the days, when I was young

Of home, the dear I […] passed array

Whenever with […] joyful hear I sang.

Of happy days with Father & mother

Of a sister and dear one,

who. called me their brother

Romping & playing happy & gay

From daylight till dark

Contented & happy each day

Single singles as happy as a lark

Of the days at Grammer School

With Willis, Walter & Jim

Isa, Sallie, Susie & Jin

Bolling, Gary, Wiley Bob

To each them […]

had guile a job

39

1 of Father aunts Betsy

Married 1st a Nevis

afterward Capt Flood

of Appomatix Va

1.Millines married

Jhon [John] Anderson of Cumbeld [Cumberland]

Jane Tapscott married

a Woodson Went. [?] Cool [?]

Dolly Tapscott Married

a Coleman.

My Fathers ancestors

on his mother side

were Cobbs. One

Married a Lewis

John its said of

Albemarle Co. Va

40

Virginia See also Page 86

Confederate Veterans

1929 Vets in camps    7 26

Not in camps  2 23

Total   9.49

1926 (1933 Chatamera           20 00

NP[?] Vets at Farmville Va   3 83

1927 Alexander          3 03

1928 Portsmouth        2 97

1929 Petersburg          2 09

1930 Orange   2 07

1931 Charlotteville    1 90

1932 Richmond. Va    20.00

1933 Veterans of the

Counties of Albemarle

Nelson, Highland,

Buckingham & Bath

are invited to meet at

Monteray, Highland Co

June 27th 1933 to 29th

also Rockbridge County

106

George Tapscotts

1st of Revolution War came

to Buckingham & settled on

Rock Island Creek his son

2cd Geo Tapscott born April 1778

& married Mildred V. Cobbs b Aug 8 1786 [month and date uncertain]

his children below

Diedna Tapscott born Dec 13 1810

Betsy born Apr 5 1813 [this line crossed out]

Thomas C was born Feb 26 1815

Milincent [sic] was born Feb 20 18

Elizabeth was born Feb 1809 [this line scratched out and difficult to read]

Mildred was born June [?] 14 1817

Geo N. was born Apr 2 1819

Delany was born Aug 15 1821

Wm H was born Dec 18 1824

Scott is claimed as

Old name of the

Tapscotts

[unclear] 1931

Genealogy of Tapscotts

in Buckingham Co

The 1st George Tapscott

was granted land

in Buckingham Co

by a survey dated Apr. 26 year 1784

Grant signed by Liet.

Gov Beverly Randolph

Apr 26th 1787.

at Richmond Va

Geo. Tapscott it is

Said married a Hill

& had 4 sons

1 James 2 George

3 Raleigh 4 William

46

George Tapscott

must have come to

Buckingham about 1780

2cd George was his

son. Married a Cobb

3 Geo. Nichols Tapscott

born Apr 2cd 1819

died year 1900 He

married Ann E. Scruggs

who was born on Mar 17th 1829. died 1899

4th Geo. Allen Tapscott

Son of Geo N. born

June 8th 1850. his son

5 Geo Norvell Tapscott

was born Jan 5th 1893

6 Geo W. Son of GN born Dec 4 1928

107 Tapscott Born

6 Frank J. Tapscott Aug 13 1870

7 John C. Tapscott July28 1872

8 Kate Elizabeth

Baby Sister of Geo. T. 1867

" Born ~

Children of GN Tapscott

Ann E Tapscott No 8

Children G.A Tapscott

Mary L. Tapscott No 5

Kate E. Tapscott [No] 3

Total = 8

My Grandfather

George Tapscott

No of his children 8

My Great Grand Father

Geo. Tapscott of the

Revolutionary War [8]

So I have heard.

Mary First Set 108

Ages of My Children

1 Annie born May 30 1877

2 Allen [born] October 19 1879

3 Julia [born] January 12 1882

4 Tucker [born] June 10 1884

5 Mamie [born] June 5 1887

Katie Second Set

6 Mary born Sept 7 1890

7 George [born] January 5 1893

8 Minnie [born] January 24 1893

Father of Above.

1. GA. Tapscott June 8 1850

Mary Baber Nov 8.1858

Katie Norvell June 24 1870

Geo. N. Tapscott Apr 2 1819

Ann E. Tapscott Mar 17 1829

2 Julia A. [Tapscott] born Oct 22 1852

3 Goule T. [Tapscott] June 5 1856

4 W. H. Tapscott Oct 16 1858

5 Walter L. Tapscott Aug 31 1861

George Nicholas Tapscott

Mother of Albermarle Was Mildred Cobbs

Her Birth records

Thus we see that

there has been 6

George Tapscotts

up to date. 1930

My father Geo Nichole Tapscott

Had 2 brothers

Thomas Cobbs Tapscott

Who died without issue.

Wm. Henry Tapscott

who went to Calafornia

year 1849 & Never heard from

41

Mother of GeA Tapscott

Was Anne Scruggs

her Mother Franes [Frances] Noel

Married Geo. A. Scruggs

Whose father was

Grose Scruggs

who was born 1773. &

Died Decd 1833

He married a Cottrel

& had 2 children.

GA Scruggs and

Sabrina O Who

married Schyler Thomas

who was born 1801

Sabrina born May 1807

Married 1823

Clayton Allen Tapscott

Clayton Allen Tapscott marker, Evergreen Cemetery Yreka, CA.

Clayton Allen Tapscott, a California attorney, was a GGG grandson of James Tapscott, one of Henry the Immigrant’s three sons. Although he did little formal research, Clayton had an interest in his Tapscott ancestors, and, in 1949, wrote a letter to June (Tapscott) Leathers concerning his recollections of genealogical information obtained from his relatives. Clayton died childless in 1973. Before June passed away in 2003 she gave me a copy of the letter. Although there are many errors (the paragraph about early origins contains a lot of fiction), much of the information provided, particularly about Clayton’s closer relatives, appears to be correct. I am posting a transcript of the letter anticipating that it may be of interest. I have removed a few personal items and have made a few italicized comments in brackets. Warning! Be very, very careful of the contents, which are best used as leads.

Yreka, California

April 14, 1949

Dear June

Your letter was received and it is a pleasure to hear from you and I was interested in all you told me and am sure we could enjoy a chat about our family ancestors if we could ever get together.

Some of the older members of our family I knew when I was small and others I have heard more or less about from hearing the others talk of them. Am glad you are interested in working up a family tree, and you may be sure I will be glad to help our with any information that I may be able to give.

There have been stories that I have heard regarding our ancestors that would almost fill a book, but I mention a few names that may be of interest.

Will use typewriter as that will make it more convenient for you to read and refer to. How interesting it would be now if the history and experiences of our ancestors had been written up by them and preserved for us to read! They were probably kept busy just to live.

As I understand it, the family lived in England, and a son (also perhaps two other sons) came to America. This son settled in Virginia. I think his name was George, and that he had married in England and brought his bride with him, to land which had been granted to him by the King of England. They had four sons and three daughters, and it is possible that there were more than three daughters. Their sons were; James, William, George and Raleigh. Daughters were Sallie and Nancy, but I do not know other names. James was the oldest. He had a large family of sons and daughters. One of his sons was John Hill Tapscott, born, born August 17, 1799, died December 1, 1869. On May 26 1836 he married Julia Adaline Turner born Apr. 8 1815 and died April 5 1900. They had ten children but some died young. Six of their sons grew up. Their oldest was James Fleming Tapscott, born May 2 1837, died September 1920. On June 1 1858 he married Isabella Jane Lilley, born January 17 1839, died May 30 1928. They had four children; Mary Campbell, James Robert, Julia Ella and Clayton Allen. James Robert Tapscott was born at Buffalo Hill, Virginia, September 9 1865, and died June 13 1938. He married Catherine Ada Merrill October 16, 1889. They had three children; Robert Merrill, Katherine Isabel, and James Frederick.

My mother's name, as mentioned above, was Isabella Jane Lilley. She was daughter of Col. James M. Lilley, and sister of General Robert D. Lilley and Col. John D. Lilley. Isabel was named for her. Your grandfather was named James for his father and Robert for our uncle Robert D. Lilley. My sister Julia was named for our grandmother Julia A. Turner and my mother's sister Ella. My father's middle name of "Fleming" was for his mother's father who was Fleming Turner.

The foregoing gives you some information but of course it is not very extensive, though it may be what you desire at the present time. I once visited a distant cousin in Virginia who took me into a sort of "Den" in his home where he had a number of enlarged and framed pictures of the Tapscott men who had died years before. They all had so much whiskers that they were the most conspicuous thing in the pictures. I guess all men wore full whiskers in their time. He also showed me an original grant from Governor of Virginia to George Tapscott for 510 acres of land, dated August 3, 1784, the consideration named being Two Pounds fifteen shillings sterling.

Sincerely,

Clayton Tapscott

Genealogy

John H. Tapscott born Aug. 17, 1799, Died Dec 1, 1869

Julia A. Turner born April 8, 1815 Died Apr. 5, 1900

They were married May 26, 1836. Their children were:

James F. Tapscott born May 2, 1837, died Sept. 1920

Edwin H. Tapscott born Aug. 10, 1840

Vincent Allen Tapscott born March 20, 1843 died Sept. 1920

Wyatt L. Tapscott born May 21, 1844

Octavia Tapscott born Aug 31, 1846 died June 19, 1849

Henry Lemuel born Nov. 3, 1849 died Dec. 2, 1932

Mary Octavia born Apr. 15, 1851 died May 12, 1871

John Franklin P. born March 15, 1853 died April 21, 1861

Charles Rush born Oct. 20, 1854 died Sept. 20, 1855

Portney Panel born July 18, 1859 died May 15, 1935.

Julia A. Tapscott was daughter of Flemming and Jane M. Turner. Isabella Jane Lilley was born January 17, 1839 died 5/30 1928 was daughter of James Lilley and Mary Doak Lilley. Married James Flemming Tapscott June 1, 1858. They had four children, as follows:-

Mary Campbell Tapscott born Jan 11, 1860 died Oct. 14, 1959

James Robert Tapscott born Sept. 9, 1865 died June 13, 1938

Julia Ella Tapscott born Dec. 12, 1869 died June 24, 1960

Clayton Allen Tapscott Sept. 8, 1883 died Sept 23, 1973 Charlottesville, Va. [latter added by another hand]

James Tapscott married Martha Burgess

         Adison Tapscott, went to Mo.

         George Tapscott married Sally Hill, had one child Henrietta married Snead.

         William Tapscott married Cobb. May have lived Carolina.

         Nicholas Tapscott died young

         Elizabeth died at 13 years of age.

         Ann. Married Staples

                  Henry Lee

                  John C.

                  Frank

                  Juneva [?, unclear] C.

                  Manning

                  Annie

         Jane, married George Woodson April 18, 1827

                  James P. Woodson, 1st son, born June 7, 1828

                  John Stephen Woodson 2nd son, born April 15, 1830

         John Hill Tapscott married Julia Turner May 26, 1836

                  James Fleming Tapscott married Isabella June Lilley, June 4, 1858

                           Mary Campbell, married Alex W. Paxton

                                    Lilley Tapscott Paxton, married Walter Miller Walsh, no children

                                    James Campbell Paxton, m Mary Frances Davis, b Apr 4, 1934

                           James Robert Tapscott, married Kate Ada Merrill

                                    Robert Merrill Tapscott married  Clara Churchill

                                                Janice Tapscott, born 1918

                                                June Tapscott, born Apr 17, 1920

                                                Milburn Tapscott 1921

                                                Marilyn Tapscott born Oct 4, 1923

                                                Nancy Carolyn Tapscott born Jul 20, 1933

                                    Katherine Isabel Tapscott married Allyn Goodwin Smith

                                    James Frederick Tapscott married Melba Anita Patterson June 4, 1929

                                                Beverly Lynn Tapscott born Aug 21, 1933

                           Julia Ella Tapscott married Mallory Chandler

                           Clayton Allen Tapscott

                  Edwin H. Tapscott

                  Vincent Allen Tapscott

                  Wyatt L. Tapscott, married Norvell

                           Ernest Norvell Tapscott, married Lena May Mandlesolm, no children

                  Henry L. Tapscott

                  Mollie Tapscott

                  Charles Rush Tapscott

                  Portney P. Tapscott

         Dolly married Coleman

         Gus Tapscott married

         James M. Tapscott married Turner.

                  John Nicholas Tapscott married Sally Haynes

                           Sally Tapscott

                  Clara Tapscott

                  Garland Hanes Tapscott

                  Hubbard Clark Tapscott

                           Virginia Tapscott married John Buttleman

                                    John Herbert Buttleman, born Feb 1, 1932

                  Sadie Spicer

                           William Edward Spicer, married Kate Chrystal Mathews August 27, 1927

                                    William born Dec 192?

                           Sarah Frances Spicer, married Edward Norman Goodson Jul 1, 1922

                                    Edward Norman Goodson born Apr. 30, 1923

                                    Frances Aidan Goodson, born May 25, 1929

                           Herbert Spicer

         Napoleon Bonepart Tapscott, born August 6, 1814, married Ellen Turner

         Susan Tapscott married Robert Turner

William Tapscott, married Liza Childress

         Tapscott married Baber

                  General Baber

         Ben Tapscott, married Charlotte Wallace

                  William Tapscott

                           Marvin Tapscott

                           Ben Tapscott

                           Tucker Tapscott

                  Gussie Senff McVay (McVeigh)

                           Charles Senff McVay (McVeigh)

George Tapscott married Cobbs Killed at Fallsburg

         Thomas C. Tapscott, never married, very tall

         George Nicholas Tapscott, married Schrugs [Scruggs]

                  George A. Tapscott

                           Mary Tapscott married James B. Tindall

                                    Elizabeth Tindall

                                    Katherine Tindall

                  Henry Nicholas Tapscott

                           Josey Tapscott married Linsay Baber

                           Audrey Tapscott

                           Wilton H. Tapscott married Cora Baber

                                    Mary Emma Tapscott

                                    Cecil Tapscott

         William Henry Tapscott, went to California in 1849, never heard of since [Clayton is wrong here. William Henry married a Mary and had several children including Josey and Wilton shown by him as children of Henry Nicholas Tapscott.]

Raleigh Tapscott, may have married Staton and moved to North Carolina

Sallie married Isasc Baber

         Baber, married Nancy W. Bowman

                  Robert Baber, born Jul 10, 1826

Nancy, married Robert ? Evans

-----?, married Couch