The 1820 Census and Old Peter Scaggs

The 1820 census has some interesting information for Scaggs family historians.  The relevant county in Kentucky in 1820 is Floyd since, at the time, it included some or all of the future counties of Lawrence, Pike, Morgan, Carter, Johnson, Magoffin, Boyd and Elliott.  The KYKinfolk website has a good transcription of the 1820 Floyd County census.


First, there was a mysterious Skaggs, partially illegible and transcribed as ...iah Skaggs, a white male over age 45 as head of household living with a white female older than 45.  Since the Zachariah Skaggs from Russell County, Virginia was deceased by 1820, to my knowledge no-one knows who this Skaggs was and to whom he was related.  Who was this guy?

Second, we have the Old Peter Skaggs family located at the "head of Blaine" in the future Lawrence County.  Old Peter was listed as the head of household as a white male over 45 living with one white male 16-26 (Jeremiah), three white males 10-16 (Moses, Peter Jr., and Christian), one white female 26-45 (Martha Scaggs) and one white female under age 10 (Ruth).  This was the founding family of the Eastern Kentucky Scaggs'.

Third, Lewis, John and Solomon, Old Peter's older sons, were shown living in their own households.  They were also part of the founding Scaggs family.  Another mystery: who was the "free person of color" living in John Scaggs' household?  John Scaggs was shown as a white male age 16-26, his wife Polly Scaggs was listed as a white female age 16-26 and John's first-born son, Lewis, was listed as a white male under age 10.  Who was that "free person of color" and what was their story?

Fourth, Nancy Scaggs Terry was living in the household of Miles Terry in the neighborhood of Old Peter.  Nancy was Old Peter's oldest daughter and was listed as age 16-26.

Finally, Old Peter's brother, Solomon was listed as a white male over 45 living with a white female age 26-45, one white male 10-16 (Amos), three white males under age 10 (John, Peter and Miles) and two white females under age 10 (Milly and Linna).  This census is important because both Solomon and his wife die prior to the 1830 Lawrence County census, so this is their last known family record (even though Solomon appears as head of household in the 1822 Lawrence County tax list).