James Tarpley apparently was a diligent farmer and kept to his business of farming and raising his family. From the birth places of the children he stayed in North Farnham Parish, Richmond Co, Virginia for most of his life. He was not involved in public life and seldom entered into any court proceedings.
Many documents of this region have been lost and we may never be able to prove conclusively that all questions of lineage and marriage have been answered.

I have always suspected a connection to the story of the Burton Church Bell in Williamstown.  The James Tarpley of my line are related as cousins.  It seems the donated bell, known as the Plantation Bell, to the Bruton Parish church in Williamsburg, Virginia was given by James Tarpley "a prominent merchant of Williamsburg," who "was the son of John Tarpley, of Williamsburng and Elizabeth Ripping, of York county, and grandson of Colonel John Tarpley, of Richmond county, and Anne Glasscock, his wife". [Tyler 336]

The record of Bruton Parish Church, by Rev. William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin, D. D. LL. D. , page 16, states:

"The outside of the church also received some attention at this time (1755). The steeple on the brick tower was erected in place of one which was beyond further repair, and arrangements were made to have a belfry in it. This was soon followed by the fit of a bronze bell with this inscription on it: "The gift of James Tarpley to Bruton Parish, 1761," This bell is still in use. It is sometimes spoken of as the "Liberty Bell of Virginia," as it rang out proclaiming the passage of the Declaration of Rights in the House of Burgesses on May 15, 1776."

Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, VA
photo courtesy of Galen Frysinger, 2008

A plaque in the vestry room of the church states:

The Bell in the tower is engraved: " The Gift of James Tarpley to Bruton Parish, 1761." In 1766 it celebrated the repeal of the Stamp Act. On May the 15th, it celebrated the passing of a resolution by the House of Burgesses to establish a State Constitution and Declaration of Rights, and to instruct the Virginia Delegates in Congress to offer a resolution to declare the united Colonies free and independent states. In 1783 it celebrated the ratification of the Treaty of Peace between the the United States and Great Britain."
[Mann pp. 11 - 13]

The documentation of this family is based largely on the work of Judge Zelma Wells Price in her book on her ancestry, Of Whom I Came, From Whence I Came published in 1963. She claimed to have had good family sources for the make-up of this family and its history in terms of the marriages of the Camp women to Tarpley men. This information has been lost to researchers but the birth dates listed are very specific that I believe they came from a bible reference and verified by the Farnham Parish register. This source needs to be found to prevent the on-going arguments that this James Tarpley may have married Mary Oldham. In extracts from North Farnham Parish register in Richmond County we do find a Mary Oldham born to John and Sarah Oldham on June 25, 1712, however, no marriages are listed for any Oldham or Tarpley. [McGhan pp. 434 - 459]

sources:

Ancestral Rolls, South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution, Compiled 1938 by Mrs E. T. Crawford, State Registrar.
Frysinger, Galen. photos of the Bruton Parish Church. http://www.galenfrysinger.com/
Mann, Col. Robt. Neville and Catherine Creek-Mann, Camp-Kemp Family Hist., Vol. I- II, 1969
Landrum, Dr. L. B. O. . History of Spartanburg County, South Carolina 1900, reprinted 1954.
Price, Judge Zelma Wells, Of Whom I Came, From Whence I Came published 1963
McGhan, Judith. Virginia Vital Records, Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, MD. 1982
Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. Encylopedia of Virginia biography. Vol. 1, New York. Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1915
Virginia Historical Society, The. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. VII, House of the Society, Richmond, VA. June 1900.
Williams, E. Russ,Jr., The Kemp, Turner, and Roberts Families on Little Silver Creek, Washington Parish, Louisiana, The Story of Three Pioneer Families of Early Louisiana, their Ancestors and Progeny., Williams Genealogical Publications, 514 Cole Ave., Monroe, LA 71203.,1992,

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