William Scaggs married Susannah Brashears in Lawrence County, Tennessee 14 February 1828. Susannah came from the South Carolina Brashears family and was born there about 1805. After his 1828 marriage William disappears from the record. Where did he go? Who was this guy?
Our only evidence that William Scaggs existed was his marriage bond. Susannah's brother, Alexander Brashears posted the marriage bond with William.
So far, we haven't been able to find William Scaggs in the 1830 census, however we do find his wife Susannah Scaggs in the 1840 census for Lawrence County, Tennessee as head of household:
1 white female 30-39 Susannah1 free colored male <10
2 free colored females <10
The 1850 census for Lawrence County, Tennessee shows Susannah Scaggs married Preston Green who was several years younger than her. Here is the Green household in 1850:
Preston Green white male 25Susannah Green white female 46
Sarah A Scaggs mulatto female 18
Elvira Scaggs mulatto female 16
James Scaggs mulatto male 15
Martha Green white female 1
I can't find this family in the 1860 census, however they do appear in the 1870 census in Osage Township, Benton County, Arkansas:
Preston Green male 50Susannah Green female 65
Carolina Davis female 15 housekeeper
Susannah Green female 75
Caroline Davis female 25 step-granddaughter to Preston Green
- Susannah Green's daughter Sarah A Scaggs married a Francis Davis and had a daughter Caroline who shows up in the 1870 and 1880 census
- Elvira Scaggs married Cincinnatus Berry Crook about 1849 and had 2 boys and 4 girls
- I don't think William Scaggs was black or mulatto, I think he might have been part Indian and the kids got labeled as "mulatto" in the 1850 census. I speculate that William Scaggs was possibly part Indian, likely the son of one of the Skaggs men that intruded on Sims Settlement in the nearby Elk River area. He might have ended up in Oklahoma as part of the Trail of Tears relocation of Indian tribes in the 1830s. I have seen several people from Lawrence and Hardeman Counties in Tennessee relocated to Oklahoma, perhaps William Scaggs was one of these.
- A William Scaggs living in Oklahoma Indian Territory after 1835, born about 1805
- William Scaggs as head of household in the 1830 census in Tennessee, Alabama or Mississippi
- Dawes applications based on a William Scaggs who was Chickasaw
So interesting. A Scaggs who was part Indian. Could this William Scaggs have been older ? Maybe born around 1780-1790. It appears that he died sometime before 1840.
ReplyDeleteYes, William could have been born before 1800. He disappeared sometime prior to 1840. The Trail of Tears migration to Oklahoma was around that time.
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