Captain William Marcellus Rasco, II

[Hatte Blejer October 15, 2017: I'm going to go with the supposition that William Rasco and Teagle Rasco were siblings and that PERHAPS their parents were William and Sarah Rasco of Hertford County, NC. I beileve James Ismey Rasco may be a first cousin to the brothers but not a sibling, based on how he named his sons. See the discussion and link below.]

Merge data conflict: Birth Date: 1750 vs. 1754

March 1779, was Lieutenant in the Bertie County Militia unit from the Windsor area

April 1781, selected as Captain

William purchased several tracts of land during the years following the Revolutionary War

Source: http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/rasco/1046/ writes:

William Rasco (Rascow, Rascoe, Rasko) married Rachel Harrell in Bertie County N.C. on or about December 13, 1777. Their marriage bond dated December 10, 1777 is on file at the North Carolina State Archives.

William Rasco served in a militia from Bertie and surrounding counties during the Revolutionary War. William and Rachel owned land on Flagg Run near present day Woodville and Lewiston, N.C. In 1794 they sold this land and moved their family to middle Tennessee and later to Christian County Ky.

For the past few years a theory into who the parents of William Rasco were has been put forth stating as a matter of fact that William Rasco was a son of a "William Teagle Rasco and an Elizabeth Taylor". This is incorrect. No documented proof of this exist and those putting forth this data has provided no source for this data.

William Rasco did have a BROTHER named Teagle Rasco (Teakle Rasko). Teagle Rasco enlisted as a Private in Vaughans Company, 7th N.C. Regiment, Continental Army at Hillsbourg, Orange County N.C. January 14, 1777. In January of 1778 he was promoted to a Corporl and on February 24, 1778 he died at Valley Forge, Pa.

In 1792, William Rasco and Hardy Murfree gave a sworn deposition at Hillsbourgh concerning the settlement of Teagle Rascos estate. William Rasco stated that he consider himself to be an heir of Teagle Rasco. William futher stated that he was a BROTHER of Teagle Rasco and the only living Brother at that time (1792). Hardy Murfree, of Hertford County N.C. stated that he had known William and Teagle Rasco for many year and always understood that they were brothers. Teagle Rasco was listed on the tax rolls of Hertforf County N.C. in 1769 and 1770.

William Rasco received the back military pay owed to Teagle Rasco. He, William Rasco, also was given the 640 Acres of Bounty Land awarded to each Revolutionary soldier from N.C. who served in the Continental Army. This land grant was to have been Teagle Rasco's and was given to William Rasco as the heir and apparently only heir of Teagle Rasco. This land was located by survey in Middle Tennessee. William moved to Tennessee and sold this land grant.

No records or proof that there ever was a couple named William Teagle Rasco and Elizabeth Taylor let along that they were the parents of William Rasco. It was orginally thought that Teagle Rasco was the father of William Rasco due to the fact that William was the heir of Teagle on the Bounty Land Grant however the deposition concerning Teagle's back military pay proves that William and Teagle were BROTHERS. Apparently Teagle Rasco was never married or had children. His parents, whoever they were, apparently were dead by at least 1792 as were any siblings and therefore William Rasco was the only living heir in 1792.

There was a William and Sarah Rasco in Hertford County N.C. in 1759 who were suing a Joseph and Charity Jones. It has been speculated but not proven that this William and Sarah Rasco may have been the parents of William and Teagle Rasco and possibly other such as James Isma Rasco and Catherine Rasco who married Sessom and then Williams. All lived in Herford County. Alexander Rascoe was probably a nephew of William Rasco.

The speculation that the William Rasco who was the one in the lawsuit in 1759 was the father of William Rasco is where the idea that a William Teagle Rasco might have been the father originated. This was put forth many years ago only as a possibility by myself with some other Rasco researchers. The name Elizabeth Taylor was proposed as a possible name for William Rasco's mother only because William Rasco had, amoung his children an Elizabeth Rasco and a Laban Taylor Rasco. Again this was only speculation based on naming patterns and was never proven to be a fact.

The ideas that a William Teagle Rasco and an Elizabeth Taylor Rasco were the parents of William Rasco has found it's way on to the internet and the family trees posted on Ancestry.com and is stated as fact. These "Fact" are just not correct or have not been proven.

Origins of Rasco:

English: variant of Roscoe

French: American spelling of Racicot