The Enigmatic Sweitzers, Chapter 4

Levin Dixon Robinson (Ancestry.com).

In the second half of the 1800s, Levin Dixon Robinson (who always went by "L. D." was the wealthiest man in Parker Township, Clark County, Illinois, and quite possibly the wealthiest in the county. Born in Dixon County, Tennessee, on 28 Jan 1819, Levin (“Leven” on his grave marker) at age 2 traveled with his parents, Richard and Sally (Dixon), to Edgar County, Illinois, and later to Clark County, where the family had 720 acres in Parker Twp. Following his father’s death in 1843, Levin really went to work to acquire land, possessions, and children. By 1860, the affluent farmer had built up $10,000 in land holdings, had obtained $4000 in personal property, and had fathered eleven children. At the time of his death in 1899, Levin had 1400 acres of good farmland with an estate (personal and real) valued at $90,000. In 2016 dollars that would be about $2.6 million.

Levin was married three times, to Elizabeth Connelly around 1837, Malinda Johnson on 18 May 1845, and Abrilla Jones on 8 Aug 1848. His first two wives died quite young, Elizabeth at age 24 after giving birth to six children (which may explain her early death) and Malinda, at age 21, with but a single child. His last wife, Abrilla (or “Abarillia,” “Abrila,” “Aborila,” “Abrella,” “Arabella,” “Aberillah,” depending on which record you believe), bore four children and lived to be 96. That the second wife, Malinda, died just a little over three weeks after giving birth on 24 Feb 1846 to her only offspring, probably led to that child being named “Malinda” to memorialize her, even though the family already had a Malinda, born 19 May 1841. Yes, that is correct, the family had two Malindas, an 1841 Malinda born to Elizabeth Connelly and an 1846 Malinda born to Melinda Johnson.

The presence of two Malindas caused no end of confusion when unravelling the 1899 shooting by John W. Sweitzer revealed in the last blog, for it was the 1846 Malinda, whose full name was “Malinda Jane,” who was involved in the 1899 misadventure. It helps that the two Malindas (and Levin Dixon’s other children, who often went by variable names) usually gave their correct ages in contemporary records. On the other hand, it hurts that the second Malinda often went by only her middle name, “Jane,” and in later years by “Jennie.” Nevertheless, the full story of John W. Sweitzer and the 1899 shooting has pretty much been uncovered. You will hear more about it in the next blog.

The Enigmatic Sweitzers, Chapter 3

The eldest of Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer’s six children was John W. Sweitzer, born 9 Sep 1861, and married in Clark County to Leora Savoree on 29 May 1890. Leora died in or near the village of Snyder (Hatton) in Darwin Twp, Clark Co, Illinois, on 17 Jun 1897. Two years later, on Thursday, 23 Nov 1899, an article appeared in the Clark County Herald:

SHOT HIS OWN CHILD.

John Switzer sends a Bullet, Intended for Harry Shipley, Into His Child's Temple.

Several years ago J. W. Shipley married a daughter of L. D. Robinson of Parker township, the wealthiest farmer in Clark county, who died but a short time ago. They settled on a farm close by Walnut Prairie and after a few years Shipley died. Some time after, the widow married John Switzer, a young fellow of the neighborhood. He was a widower with one child. This was about two years ago. They lived on the wife's farm for a few months, when she became tired of him and drove him off, but still kept his child. About that time Harry Shipley, a brother of her first husband, came home from the West, and he took charge of Mrs. Switzer's business, making his home on the farm. Switzer made several attempts to oust Shipley and resume marital relations with his wife, but failed. He became desperately jealous and angered and sought revenge. Last Thursday Shipley, Mrs. Switzer and the little boy came to Marshall. They started for home in the evening and along by the Daniel Prust farm Switzer waylaid them. He stepped out in the road, caught the horse by the bridle and, after cursing and denouncing Shipley fired three times at him. Two balls went wide, but the third struck the little boy in the foreheat, inflicting what was at first thought a fatal wound. Shipley sprang out of the buggy and attacked Switzer, but was knocked down and badly beaten over the head with the revolver by the latter. Switzer finally released him and went his way while Shipley and Mrs. Switzer hurried on with the little child, whom they feared was dying. The wound proved not to be serious, however, the ball glancing on the skull and inflicting merely a flesh wound. We heard directly from him yesterday noon and he was mending rapidly

Sheriff Hurst and States Attorney Scholfield went down to West Union the next day and Switzer was arrested. He waived examination and was committed to jail in default of $800 bail. The charge against him is assault with intent to commit murder.

John actually had three children, Everett, Ethel, and Charles. Moreover, John and Malinda were married only a little over a year earlier. And the person that married L. D. Robinson's daughter was F. K., not J. W., Shipley. But the remainder of the story appears to be correct. Four months later, on 15 Mar 1900, the Herald published a follow-up article:

John W. Sweitzer of West Union, who attempted, on the evening of Nov. 17th last, to kill Harry Shipley, Brother of wife's first husband, and shot his own child instead, was indicted by the grand jury last week on the charge of assault to murder, and also for carrying a concealed weapon. By agreement he plead guilty to the latter charge and was fined $50. he also plead guilty to the charge of assault with a deadly weapon and was fined $200, and was to stand committed to jail until the two fines and the costs were paid. And to make matters still harder for him his wife secured a divorce last week.

John W Sweitzer! And, what is the whole story? The tale has proven to be incredibly complex and the research, time consuming. But the end result is absolutely fascinating. As you will see in future blogs.

The Enigmatic Sweitzers, Chapter 2

Our last post reported that the Darwin Twp neighbors Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer and Timothy A. Harmon traveled 200 miles to the tiny hamlet of Markle, Indiana, for their 8 Mar 1887 marriage and we asked “Why”? And how could two of Timothy’s daughters, who came along, meet their future mates and marry them in such short order?

But there is a much greater mystery. Just a little over four months after his second marriage, Timothy was married a third time, on 20 Jul 1887, in Sodus Twp, Berrien County, Michigan, 140 miles north of Markle. The bride was Mary E. (McGoldrick) Adair Sink, a widow who had outlived two previous husbands.

How in the world could Timothy have dissolved his marriage to Elizabeth, traveled to Berrien County, and met, wooed, and married Mary in just four months? And why would he have done so? Timothy’s father, George, had died in Tuscarawas County in 1836 and his widowed mother and at least four of her children had ended up in Berrien County. Moreover Mary McGoldrick’s second husband was Henry Sink, one of the Tuscarawas County Sinks. But these connections do not explain the rapid failure of Timothy and Elizabeth’s marriage and the rapid completion of Timothy’s following marriage.

You might ask, is there any possibility that we have somehow mixed different Timothys and Elizabeths? The answer is “No.” The evidence is irrefutable (see figure).

Part of the "irrefutable proof" is that the Huntington County marriage record correctly gives Timothy's parents as "Geo." and

"Elizabeth Thomas" and Elizabeth's parents as "Henry Tabscott" and "Susan Bass." Moreover, Elizabeth's name from her first

marriage is given as "Switzer."

By 1900 Elizabeth, still bearing the name “Sweitzer,” but listed as a widow, was back in Clark County living in York Twp with her 26-year-old son Lyman, and residing next door to her son John W. Sweitzer. We last see Elizabeth in the 1910 census, still living with Lyman, but now in the town of Marshall. Then Elizabeth disappears.

Many people claim that Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer Harmon died in Cook County, Illinois, on 23 Aug 1927, a date found in twenty-five trees on Ancestry. Wrong Elizabeth Sweitzer. That was Elizabeth born 9 May 1860 and wife of Gerhart Sweitzer as a little investigation shows. Our Elizabeth likely died in Clark Co between the dates of the 1910 and 1920 census.

But our story does not end there. On 4 May 1892, the Clark County Herald published a list of the proceedings of the April 1892 court. Among the cases in the Chancery court was the following:

Elizabeth Sweitzer vs. Geo. Sweitzer, divorce; defendant defaults d. Decree pro confesso. Divorce granted complainant, who pays costs.

Is this our Elizabeth and George Sweitzer? It would seem so. I can find no other couple with those names who could have been living in Clark County at the time. But that would mean that George was still living and he and Elizabeth were still married at the time of Elizabeth’s marriage to Timothy Harmon five years earlier. That would certainly explain why the marriage was so short. It was illegal.

The term “Decree pro confesso” in the newspaper report meant that the defendant, George, made no answer to the bill and its allegation was therefore taken "as confessed." Of course, were George deceased at the time, he would have been unable to answer the bill, but, in this case there would have been no divorce granted. And at the time he was not deceased, as it turns out. From the Clark County Herald, 22 Nov 1900 is George's death announcement:

Walnut Prairie

Geo. Switzer, an aged man living one mile north of this place, died very suddenly last Thursday night [15 Nov]. He had been quite poorly for several weeks, but his friends did not realize that the close of his days was so near. He left a wife, four sons and one daughter to mourn the death of a loving husband and father.

The announcement fits George to a t. About seventy years old, he was "aged." Just north of Walnut Prairie is Darwin Twp, where George resided most of his adult life. And he had four sons and one daughter (eliminating "Allice," who is believed to have died young).

But our Sweitzer story has more mysteries and intrigues, one involving Elizabeth (Tapscott) Sweitzer’s son John W., the subject of our next blog.

The Enigmatic Sweitzers - Chapter 1

Born in July 1844, Elizabeth Tapscott was the youngest girl among Henry and Susan (Bass) Tapscott’s twelve known children. And she and her descendants present the most confusing conundrums and startling stories found for the Wabash Valley Tapscotts.

On 28 Oct 1858 in Clark County at age fourteen Elizabeth married George A. Sweitzer (“Switzer” in the marriage record), who was twice her age. The marriage may have been legal. Illinois law at the time stated "All male persons over the age of 17 years, and females over the age of 14 years, may contract and be joined in marriage; Provided, in all cases where either party is a minor, the consent of parents or guardians be first had..." On the other hand, the marriage record shows no indication of parental consent.

Born around 1829 in Ohio, to John and Elizabeth (Boyer) Switzer, George Sweitzer’ had grown up in Darwin Township, where Henry Tapscott and his family first settled. George’s family had arrived in Clark County around 1840, about the time that Henry Tapscott had arrived from Kentucky (via Indiana). George may have first met Elizabeth Tapscott when he was well into his teens and she was but a small child. George’s father had been born in Germany, and the family name, originally Schweitzer (“Swiss”), became “Sweitzer” and “Switzer” in America. Both Anglicized versions, often for the same person, are found in Clark County records for John’s descendants.

George and Elizabeth had six children, though one, Allice (yes, that is the spelling in the only known contemporary record) may have died young. After living for a while in Anderson Twp, the Sweitzers moved back to Darwin Twp, where George farmed.

In that same township lived the family of Timothy A. Harmon (sometimes “Harman”) and his wife, Julia Ann Sink. The family, which is said in the obituary of one of their daughters to have had sixteen children (though only nine are known), had moved from Ohio, to Indiana, and finally to Clark County, Illinois. It was there that Julia died on 12 Jul 1883, leaving behind Timothy and several, mostly grown children.

It would appear that George Sweitzer also passed on, for Elizabeth and her widowed neighbor Timothy moved to Markle, Indiana, a small village on the Wabash River, in both Huntington and Wells counties. The couple was married in Huntington County on 8 Mar 1887, with much older Timothy (born Jan 1826) knocking six years off his age in the record, either to fool Elizabeth or just onlookers. Timothy’s two youngest children accompanied (or joined) them and were also married in that area, Matilda T. Harmon to John H. Sink in Wells County in 1887 and Melissa Harmon to William H. Maddux in Huntington County on 18 May 1889. At least two of Timothy’s other children—George H. and Eliza Armenda—remained behind to live out their lives in Clark County, Illinois. Whether any of Elizabeth’s children came along is uncertain, but since Lyman was in his middle teens it seems likely.

Why did Timothy and Elizabeth move to the tiny town of Markle to get married? Markle was almost across the state of Indiana from Clark County. Neither Elizabeth nor Timothy had known relatives there. But the parents (Benjamin and Rosanna) of John Sink, Matilda’s new husband, had been married (on 4 Jan 1841) in Tuscarawas Co, Ohio, where Julia and Timothy Harmon had once lived. The probable presence of some of Julia’s relatives, however, seems an unlikely reason to travel to Markle.

A greater mystery is how Timothy’s daughters who came along, could have met their future spouses and married them in such short order? But things get much, much stranger, as we will see in our next blog.

The Richard Tapscott Family– An Overview

This is, I hope, my last post on Richard Tapscott son of William the Preacher. Again, I would like to thank Frank Jarke, one of Richard’s descendants, for passing along some family history that helped unscramble Richard’s line. Frank is more knowledgeable than I am about many aspects of the family Nevertheless, I found a four things of interest (at least to me):

1. There are several comparatively well-researched trees on the internet covering some of Richard Tapscott’s descendants, but almost all fail to actually connect with Richard.

2. Although Richard had four children, only two — Kasiah and George — are known to have left descendants. (I apologize to those of you who have decided to use another of the several names found for Richard Tapscott’s only daughter, but nobody knows for certain what her name was meant to be. Most assuredly, illiterate Kasiah did not know.)

3. The descendants of Kasiah, which comprise the “Kasiah Line” ended up McLean County, Illinois, in and near the town of Bloomington. The George line, on the other hand, ended up in Putney County, Indiana, in and near the town of Greencastle. Of course, these families have spread out today. Nevertheless, their roots are in McLean and Putney counties and that is where extensive research must start.

4. There are, today, no descendants of Richard Tapscott bearing the family name “Tapscott,” unless they have acquired the name from another source. Richard had but one son with descendants, and that son had only daughters. That, of course, means that yDNA cannot be used to confirm descent from Richard.

I’ve barely made a start on the history of the Richard Tapscott line (though I did collect about 140 new sources), but I’m stopping here to return to my Wabash Valley Tapscotts, descendants of Richard's brother Henry. Others, more closely related to Richard, can carry on the investigation. Contact me if you would like a copy of my gedcom file or a register book file for this family. The information I’ve collected will eventually be made part of my tree “Descendants of Henry Tapscott the Immigrant” on Ancestry.com, but I am not planning anything in print.

The Greencastle Tapscotts

On 27 Nov 1873 in Casey County, Kentucky, Richard Tapscott’s youngest child, George W. Tapscott, born between 1850 and 1852, married Mary Martha Burton. Born 5 Jun 1856 in Pulaski County, Kentucky, Mary was a daughter of Ellis and Elizabeth (Waldon) Burton. Her father, Ellis, had died young of “bronchitis” in Sep 1869, just four years before Mary had married.

Bean Blossom Creek

About 1876, after the birth of their first known child, Cyntha, George and Mary pulled up stakes and headed to Monroe County, Indiana, settling in a township with the rather charming (or at least horticultural) sounding name of “Bean Blossom.” The family barely had time to settle in before George died—sometime between 1880, when he appears in the census, and around 1888, about the time that his widow married John H. King.

The Tapscott/King family ended up living near the town of Greencastle in Putnam County, Indiana, and the history of the descendants of Cyntha and Anna (and of Hazel) is closely tied with that community. Indeed, the Hoosier State Chronicles, a website providing Indiana newspapers, makes it exceedingly easy to uncover the family history, perhaps too easy, because one can become swamped with the abundance of information.

George left two daughters — Cyntha Elizabeth Tabscott and Anna Tabscott. Here the spelling “Tabscott” is used because that is the spelling the girls used. Indeed, there could have been founded a whole line of “Tabscotts” (as has occurred in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, for descendants of Warner Tapscott and Susanna Bishop) except that there were no male descendants to propagate the line. Extremely good evidence exists for the name “Cyntha” for the oldest girl, who was probably named after her grandmother Cyntha Followell, though she is almost always identified by others as “Cynthia” and almost always used only the name “Elizabeth” or “Lizzie.” Mary Martha (Tapscott) King went on to have one more child, Hazel, a child of John King.

Greencastle newspaper articles hint that Annie may have been unconventional, someone who, in other eras, would have been termed a "free spirit," a "nonconformist," or a “hippie.” Perhaps it was too much for her mother and stepfather, for a 1892 local newspaper reported that (for reasons unexplained)

“Dr. Braisher … adopted Miss Anna Tabscott ... She will make that her future home.” 

A newspaper article reported that on 14 Feb 1894 Annie married an “Ab [Abner?] Parrish.” She was only fourteen at the time, and the highly questionable marriage was probably annulled. Subsequent records show her only with her birth name “Tabscott,” never as “Parrish.” Then on 22 Mar 1895 she gave birth to a son, whose name was simply reported as “Tabscott” in the birth record, which lists no father. When Anna married Daniel Ross Burks, a life-long resident of Greencastle, on 16 Dec 1898, her presumably illegitimate son, Harold, was given the name “Harold R. Burks” (claimed by some to be “Harold Ross Burks”). After her marriage, Annie had a second son, Clyde Washington Burks. Married three times, Harold R. had no known children. Clyde, on the other hand, left descendants.

Annie Tabscott’s older sister, Cyntha, married Henry Alba Paris and had eight known children, all boys, with the exception of Edith, who died young. There are today a multitude of Paris descendants in Indiana, few, if any, realizing their connection with Richard Tapscott.

Lillian Myrtle King Nelson Buzick Lott Wedeking Capone?

Lillian Myrtle was the youngest child of Mary Elizabeth Tapscott and Samuel King, though not as young as apparently proclaimed. Early records indicate a birth year of 1902 or 1903, but by the time Myrtle had died, her birth date had become 8 Mar 1905. It appears that two or three years were cut from her age as she grew older.

Before proceeding to our major topic, Al Capone, let’s clear up one mystery. In the 1930 census Myrtle appears as “Myrtle K. Nelson,” divorced, working as a housekeeper for her future husband, James Buzick. Apparently Myrtle was married to a “Nelson,” but who that was no one knew, or was at least not telling. It’s taken a couple of weeks of intensive research, but Myrtle’s first husband is now identified. He was Nels Nelson, son of Henry Oliver Nelson and Bertha Cathrine Olson. Myrtle and Nels were married in 24 Feb 1921 in Gibson City, Ford County, Illinois. Within a space of two years, Lillian gave birth to four children, two dying at or near birth and two, stillborn twins. The failed births may have put a strain on the marriage, for it soon ended in divorce. On 25 Jul 1931, Nels Nelson remarried in Bloomington, Illinois, to Mary E. (Herron) Penn.

Scarface

Thus, Lillian Myrtle King was married four times: to Nels Nelson (25 Jul 1901 - 2 May 1970) on 24 Feb 1921, James Clive Buzick (14 Aug 1890 - 16 Mar 1943) on 12 Jan 1934, Henry Robert Lott (7 Dec 1901 - 8 May 1954) on 1 Feb 1947, and Elmer Wedeking (7 Jan 1905 - 16 Jul 1985) in Jul 1961. Now let’s move on to Big Al. 

In the 1940 census, Lillian and her second husband, James Buzick are found living in Ford County, Illinois, with a 14-year-old “Foster Son,” Billy Knight. Chris W. Knight, Billy’s son, has written a book (Son of Scarface, New Era Publishing, 2014, available on Kindle) about his mysterious dad and his unknown origins. Several believe (or say they believe) that Billy Knight was a son of the mobster “Scarface” Al Capone. One of many possibilities proposed in Chris Knight’s book is that his dad was a child of Capone and Lillian Myrtle. True? I very much doubt it. But the book makes interesting reading and reveals some family history about the Buzicks. It also shows the thought processes that go into researching family history mysteries, though Chris's methodologies are quite different from mine.