Little Fork Church Notes From History – December 7, 2023

Notes from History No. 14, Tapp family connections

This week the Church received a submission from the “Contact Us” form on our web page from Ann Hunt of Rocky Mount North Carolina. Her request is as follows;

Hello, I am researching my Tapp family and on Findagrave.com, they are listed as being buried in the Tapp Family Graveyard, Little Fork, Jeffersonton, Culpeper. Can you tell me if you have ever heard of this cemetery and where it might be located? Appreciate any help on this matter.

Checking Findagrave.com I verified that William, Vincent Mary and Christina Tapp are recorded as being buried in the Tapp Family Graveyard in the Little Fork Jeffersonton, Culpeper County, Virginia. Further research has resulted in three interesting pieces of information for Ann. First from Little Fork’s Parish Vestry minutes, Second from my own research in the past on Land Grants in the Fork and Third from research completed last year and posted on MapFling by Jim Bish and Wayne Wildgrube.

The first is from Saint Mark’s Parish Book & Levies 1730-1785 Page 83 of 126

At a Vestry cont’d. and held at the House of FREDERICK ZIMMERMAN for the Parish of ST. MARK on Tuesday the 17th of Decr. 1765. Present the REVD. MR. JOHN THOMPSON, Rector, WILLIAM GREEN & ROBERT GREEN Ch. W., ROBERT SLAUGHTER, PHILIP CLAYTON, GOODRICH LIGHTFOOT, WILLIAM WILLIAMS and WILLIAM’BALL Gent, of the Vestry

THE PARISH OF ST. MARK DR
To account brought forward 26022
To VINCENT TAPP for boarding MARGARET GRAY from the 10th of Jany.
1764 to the 10th of Sepr. 1764 being 8 months at 50 pr Mo. 400

The second is from my research that began in 1985 attempting to identify the original settlers of the Little Fork area, an interest that grew out of the desire to know the residents of my own home and who sat in the pews of our church. I had recorded a Land Grant to William Tapp in 1736 for 1000 acres

picture1_693

The town of Jeffersonton is shown below originally on land owned by Joseph Coons (Kountz/Coant) and John Crim. Scottsville road in the middle of the map cuts thru the 1000 acres of William Tapp (shaded blue below) and ends on Oak Shade road about a mile East of Little Fork Church.

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Almost all of this land today is heavily wooded and there has been very little new construction. I know of at least one family gravesite that has been destroyed by plowing in the last 50 years just south of William Tapp’s land on Scottsville road.

The third find was through the research of Jim Bish and Wayne Wildgrube who were attempting to record all family graveyards in Culpeper County before they are lost to history. Their results are published on MapFling™ at https://mapfling.com/qtaopap. Zooming into the same area as the picture just South of Jeffersonton you will find a graveyard named Scottsville Road Cemetery 38.622459, -77.921870 which looks to be well within the 1000 acres of William Tapp’s grant.

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I don’t know if Jim or Wayne had recorded any stones at this site but you may be able to contact them. [email protected] [email protected] Hope this helps.