The 1809 Tazewell County Virginia Personal Property Tax List

A reader recently contacted me with some research based on my earlier post about the 1818 lawsuit between Old Peter Skaggs and Richard Damron.  The researchers used the 1809 Personal Property Tax List for Tazewell County, Virginia to confirm the presence in Tazewell County of many of the witnesses involved in the lawsuit.

The Wilderness Road Crossing at New River

The Wilderness Road was a colonial road enabling settlers to travel from southwest Virginia to Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap. It crossed the New River just upstream from present-day Radford. The Skaggs family had a presence in this area throughout most of the last half of the 1700s.

Calling all Skaggs! Volunteers needed!

There is news from our cousins on the Isle of Man. Chris Keig is starting a project to test whether we are descendants of the Viking kings who ruled the Isle of Man over 800 years ago and he needs our help.

Famous Skaggs: Tyler Skaggs

Tyler Skaggs is a professional baseball player currently pitching for the major league Los Angeles Angels.  He was drafted in the 2009 draft from Santa Monica High School and previously pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

DNA Testing: The Skaggs and the Isle of Man

In my previous post we were introduced to the Big Y DNA test and Christopher Keig from the Isle of Man was gracious enough to explain how his Big Y testing project determined that the Keig and Skaggs families were related and that the Skaggs family was of Manx origin. Below the fold I'll let Chris' project description from the Family Tree DNA website describe the findings so far.  Finally, I'll make another call for males with the Skaggs, Scaggs and Skeggs surname to volunteer for his Big Y project at FTDNA.

DNA Testing: The "Big Y" Testing for Skaggs Origins

Recently I received e-mail from a correspondent who took the “Big Y” DNA test at the Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) testing service.  He is a descendant of Old Peter Skaggs with the Skaggs surname and his results are very interesting, perhaps pointing the way toward finding the European origins of the Skaggs family.

Pounding on Brick Walls: Elizabeth Skaggs

A few months ago a correspondent presented me with a Skaggs mystery.  I must admit I've spent some time working on it and am stuck.  This mystery involves an Elizabeth Skaggs whose parents disappeared prior to the Civil War.  I'm posting what information I know hoping that someone out there can piece together the puzzle of who were Elizabeth's parents.

FamilySearch: It's All Starting to Come Together

I can recommend updating FamilySearch with Skaggs family tree information.  The LDS genealogy site has attracted a lot of Skaggs activity from all branches of the family: e.g. the Long Hunters, and this crowd-sourcing has substantially improved the quality of the family tree information on that site.

Wasting Time with the Long Hunters

I’ve avoided researching the Skaggs Long Hunter family since there has been extensive research done in the 100+ years since Lyman Draper’s work.  However, the internet has created an opportunity for a lot of “fake news” regarding the Long Hunters. People are posting trees without any evidence that create a dog’s breakfast of confusion for Skaggs family researchers.  Some folks are also ignoring well-documented prior research in their haste to tie their ancestors to famous Long Hunters like Henry Skaggs.

Famous Skaggs: "Brother Skaggs" the Gambler

A few years ago I wrote a post about two Skaggs brothers from Western Kentucky who made a living gambling along with other pursuits.  One of the brothers, E. H., was evidently quite famous and wealthy from Faro gambling.  From the book Sucker’s Progress: An Informal History of Gambling in America by Herbert Asbury:

His name was Elijah Skaggs, but he was better known as "Brother Skaggs, the preaching Faro dealer" because of his costume, which never varied throughout his professional life regardless of climate or weather - frock coat and trousers of black broadcloth, black silk vest, white shirt with high-standing collar, white cravat of the choker type wound several times around his scrawny neck, black stove-pipe hat and black patent-leather gaiters.

The New York Skeggs

The 1840 census shows a family of Skeggs in Erie County, New York.  These guys just don't seem to fit into any of the known Skaggs family groups.  In later years, these Skeggs also start showing up in New York City.  Who were they, and are they related to us?

Next of Kin in Colonial Maryland

It was recently pointed out to me that next of kin in colonial Maryland probate proceedings may provide clues to family relationships.  The Testatmentary Act of 1715 required the presence and approval of "next of kin" at estate appraisals, these were not necessarily direct descendants, but could be any two heirs who might be "in line" (under English laws in effect at the time). Next of kin might, for example, include parents, grandparents, uncles or aunts, siblings, or nieces or nephews (the latter often referred to as "cousins" in early records). And, although the next of kin present did not have to be nearest kin, they did have to be adults; and might be the representative (guardian) of a minor child (A male child was not considered an adult until age 21, but a female was an adult at age 16 or marriage, whichever came earlier).

The 1787 Montgomery County, Virginia Personal Property Tax List C

The 1787 Montgomery County Virginia personal property tax list was in three sections: List A, List B and List C.  I listed interesting taxpayers from List A in a previous post and from List B in this post.  The following are more taxpayers from List C.

Name that Skaggs: A Missouri Farm Boy

This Skaggs was born in 1911 and grew up on a farm in Grundy County, Missouri. He attended a one-room grade school and rode a horse three miles to high school. His father wanted him to take over the family farm, however, he liked designing and building gadgets and decided to go into science.  So he went off to college at the University of Missouri. His great-great-great-great-grandfather was Henry Skaggs the Longhunter.  Name that Skaggs.  The answer is below the fold.