William Taptico, Chief of the Wicocomico Nation

In court with contemporary Elias Laury as a grown man of means who quickly paid his debt in the court of the eral of the Claiborne Fur Trade post court making him born in the second decade of the 1600's. The 1666 record mentions a "peticion" of William ye son of Machywap; it is unknown what the verbal or written petition may have been, yet William was to "remaine" at Adam Yarretts until the court addressed the peticion. Notice also that this 1666 records presents no surname for William ye son of Machywap. Does the lack of a stated surname pose a problem with this theory? The answer is no. First it seems to have been sufficient for the English to identify this William as a son of Machywap; there was no need to mention any surname that may have existed. Second it is very possible that the Taptico family had simply not developed or adopted a surname at this particular time==William Taptico was known by the English as King of the Wiccocomico Indians, a tribe in the Powhatan Confederacy. His descendants moved south to North Carolina and Tennessee and points west and shortened the name to Tapp. During his time in Claiborne's Fur Trade Colony, he was brought suit for an unpaid invoice by a Laury/Lowery/Lowry to which her rapidly paid, being a man of means. His life estate on the solo-licensed sailor for the colony, Smith of Purton who ran good down to NOLA, ended upon his death and is not the Wicocomico State Park.

Source: A note published on Richard Hatfield, an Indian - Wicocomico September 15, 2012 by Dr J Nickens about the Brotherhood of Indian Traders associated with the Wicocomico - Berry, Lowry, Hobson, Cooper, Clay, Taptico, Scofield, Murrough, Hatfield, Cook, Marsh, Bean, etc.. "In 2012 I published a note concerning emissaries sent to Fauquier and Loudoun Counties, VA by the Virginia and Maryland governments in a fruitless effort to persuade the Piscataways to return to their former Virginia and Zakiah Swamp, Maryland territories. One of the two emissaries from Stafford County was the trader Burr Harrison of Chopawamsic on the Potomac River. George Mason of Stafford was of the opinion that Piscataway rather than Susquehannock and Seneca were responsible for Indian attacks which occurred in Stafford. In 1700 Colonel George Mason appointed Cornet Burr Harrison, trader, to be a Ranger to patrol from Occoquon down to the Potomac Creek territory of the Patawomeke (Potomeck Nation).

Source: Sparacio, Ruth & Sparacio, Sam (Eds.) (1995). Virginia County Court Records: Order Book Abstracts of Northumberland County, Virginia, 1665-1669 (pp. 21 & 22). McLean, VA: Ruth & Sam Sparacio The Antient Press. (Original record from: Northumberland County Order Book of 1652-1665 for Courts held from 20 June 1665 through 20 August 1666, p. 445.)

"Northumberland County Court 20th of June 1666 -Upon ye Peticon of William, ye Sonne of Machiawap, ye Cort: hath ordered yt: hee remaine at Adam Yarretts untill a Letter from ye Cort., together wth: his said Peticon, may bee sent to ye Governour to know his HonrsL further pleasure therein"

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Also called King William Tapticoe of the Wicomico Indians. (Wicocomico) It is said that William Tapticoe I was called/named King William Tapticoe and that his son William Tapticoe II was called/named Chief William Tapticoe.

[https://www.wicocomico-indian-nation.com/pages/history.html]