William and Charlotte Tavington

After returning to England later in 1783, the Tavingtons settled in London, where Charlotte soon gave birth to their second child, a girl. William Tavington's widowed maternal aunt had died childless and had left her luxurious London home to her favourite nephew.

Tavington spent the next few years voluntarily accepting half-pay as he wrote his memoirs and enjoyed his role as father of a growing family. He and Charlotte had received enough money from the sales of her two homes so that they could live comfortably. In his later years, he often spoke of these years as being among the happiest times of his life.

Charlotte, though at first overwhelmed by the size of London, soon adjusted and happily threw herself into the social whirl of the ton. She became a close friend of the Duchess of Devonshire, to whom she was introduced to by Ban Tarleton, whose mistress Mary Robinson, was also well acquainted with the Duchess.

Promoted to General, William Tavington went to India with Lord Cornwallis in 1786, as part of his staff, bringing his family to live with him in Calcutta. They remained there until 1793, then returned to pick up the life they'd left in London.

In the next few years, he and Charlotte travelled extensively on the Continent, and for a year lived in a villa with their children just outside Rome. They were even able to return to Charlestown, now Charleston, for a few months in the late 1790s. While there, Charlotte attempted to visit with the remaining Martin children, now grown up, who all refused to see her.

William Tavington retired from the army at the beginning of the Napoleonic wars, and was knighted in 1803. He bought his oldest son, Will, a commission as a captain and the young man went on to serve with distinction in Spain, Portugal, and France, and was also present at Waterloo in 1815.

The Tavingtons spent their later years quietly, enjoying their children and the several grandchildren they were presented with.

General William Tavington died in London in 1832, with Charlotte following him in 1840.

The Tavington children:

1. William Tavington, Jr, born in South Carolina, January 1781

2. Anna Elizabeth Tavington, born in London, July 1783

3. John Edward Tavington, born in London, May 1785


James and Mary Bordon

Upon returning to England in the spring of 1783, Major James Bordon immediately sold his commission, bringing Mary to live at one of his family's estates in Devon. Mary was immediately accepted by the large Bordon clan, as was the daughter of her first marriage, Susan. She was legally adopted by James Bordon, taking on her adoptive father's surname. Another child, a daughter, arrived a year after the Bordons returned to England.

James Bordon returned to his law studies, which had been interrupted by the American war, and served admirably in that profession for many years. He was elected as an MP for the first time in 1792, and was re-elected every time he ran.

In due time, the Bordons were able to start the horse farm they'd always dreamed of. Though it was a small operation, as the couple considered it mainly a hobby, it was work they both enjoyed. It later grew into a large farm under the tutelage of their son who made it his life's work, supplying mounts to the British army for many years.

James Bordon died at the age of sixty-five, when he was thrown from his horse and broke his neck in the middle of a fox hunt. Mary Bordon lived on until the ripe old age of eighty-four, consoling herself in widowhood with the attention of her children and grandchildren. After her husband's death, she resumed her friendship with Charlotte Tavington, with the two women exchanging letters for the rest of their lives.

The Bordon children:

1. Susan Miller Bordon, born in South Carolina in 1771

2. George Horatio Bordon, born in New York in 1783

3. Julia Grace Bordon, born in Devon in 1784


Marcus and Ruth Tapp

Arriving in the fledgling New Brunswick town of St. Andrews in the spring of 1783, Marcus Tapp had his work cut out for him, having to establish the law enforcement infrastructure from the ground up. He was soon able to do this, however, assisted by several fellow former dragoons who had decided to settle in St. Andrews and in the surrounding county. These men he appointed as deputies and constables. He soon acquired a no-nonsense reputation and, as in Charlestown, many of the residents of the area feared him just as he'd been in Charlestown as the "Devil on Horseback".

At first building a small, but well-built home for his small family in St. Andrews, it was later added on to every few years as his family grew to a total of five children. When he retired after twenty years as Sheriff of Charlotte County, the original home had grown into a sprawling mansion, paid for by his continued illegal businesses on the side, along with bribery and kickbacks.

Though never abusive to Ruth and their five children, he was nevertheless an inattentive husband and father, though his family was well provided for financially. His job as sheriff often took him away from home for days at a time to attend to the business of the county and his own personal schemes. Two of his sons became deputies as they grew up, with the oldest eventually becoming sheriff himself after his father retired. The third son moved to New York as soon as he came of age, never to see his parents again.

As well as the five children he had with Ruth, he sired a set of twins on a woman who lived in a remote area of the county in 1786, after he'd jailed her husband. One of the twins died at birth, but he acknowledged the other, whom he supported financially. Though Ruth learned of this through the grapevine, she never spoke of it to her husband, nor did he ever bring it up with her. Over the years, she'd become accustomed to Tapp's frequent dalliances with other women, as this was the nature of the beast, and because none of the dalliances ever became serious.

Because of her husband's reputation, Ruth was prevented from making close friends with any of the women in town, save James Wilkins' wife, Abigail. Wilkins, who served as the Mayor of St. Andrews for many years, and his wife enjoyed a close friendship with the Tapps for the rest of their lives.

Ruth pre-deceased her husband, dying in 1835, with Marcus Tapp following her in 1837.

The Tapp children:

1. Martha Amelia, born in Charlestown, SC, July 1781

2. Marcus Obadiah, Jr, born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, July 1783

3. Hannah Ruth, born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, December 1784

4. William Thomas, born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, June 1786

5. Benjamin Charles, born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, November 1787

Marcus Tapp's by-blows

In addition to the set of twins born in 1786, Marcus Tapp is known to have sired at least two other by-blows, neither of whom he was ever made aware of.

1. Obadiah Hakeswill, born in Yorkshire, May 1770.

While temporarily staying in England in 1769 while waiting to return to America to take a position as Sheriff of Gloucester County, NJ, Marcus Tapp had a brief dalliance with a young woman named Biddy Hakeswill, which resulted in a son, after he'd left England. Readers are directed to read Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series of books in order to see how Obadiah's life proceeded.

2. Marcus William Reardon, born in Charlestown, June 1783

It seems that Marcus Tapp left something with Molly Reardon, after all. Young Marcus became the apple of his mother's eye and was the only child she ever had. She continued as madam of the Charlestown brothel for many years, until her son eventually took over operations - he was truly his father's son. Molly Reardon, being illiterate, never informed Marcus Tapp of his son's birth.


The Martin children

The remaining Martin children continued to live with Benjamin Martin's sister until they grew up and started their own lives. The oldest girl, Margaret, married a prosperous farmer and eventually became mistress of a large plantation, larger than the one her aunt owned. Each of the boys were apprenticed, one to a local lawyer, another to a local doctor, and the youngest to a carpenter. The youngest girl, Susan, became the wife of a widowed older man, raising both her own and his motherless children.

None of them ever forgot their father and their two siblings, all killed by William Tavington, and all uniting in shunning their aunt when she came to Charleston to visit them, accompanied by her odious husband. Likewise, they never had any contact whatsoever with their Tavington cousins.



Author's Note: All good things must come to an end, and this is so for this story. I could have gone on writing it for quite some time to come, but I didn't want to beat it into the ground. It's taken me over a year to write this story and it's been a lot of fun. I appreciate all my readers and reviewers, and those who gave helpful suggestions along the way. I am presently writing a new story in the Sharpe series genre entitled, "Let This Heart Be Still". It can be accessed through my profile.