I was recently made aware of three 17th century records involving Skaggs in Old Rappahannock County, Virginia. To my knowledge the only Skaggs records found to date in Virginia from the 17th century are the Cavaliers and Pioneers records for Richard Scaggs and Thomas Scaggs immigration. These new records below may be a clue to bridge Skaggs genealogy from the Richard and Thomas Scaggs immigration in the 1650s to various Skaggs genealogies traced back to the early 1700s.
Background: There have been two Rappahannock Counties in the history of Virginia. "Old" Rappahannock County was founded in 1656 and existed until 1692 when it was split into Essex and Richmond Counties and Rappahannock went out of existence. In 1833 the Virginia legislature again created Rappahannock County from Culpeper County. The Rappahannock County that concerns us was the "Old" Rappahannock that went out of existence in 1692.
The index to Skaggs family names in Rappahannock shows three entries below:
Family name indexes to grants, deeds, court proceedings, wills, etc., Old Rappahannock County 1654-1700 grantors, v. 6, p. 1762.
- The first record is for Robert Skaggs from the 1677-82 volume, page 139. On 4 September 1677 Robert Skaggs witnessed a power of attorney granted by John Soper to John Bagwell. The power of attorney was recorded on 8 September 1677. This Robert Skaggs was likely older than age 20 to witness this power of attorney, putting his birth prior to 1657. Robert isn't a common Skaggs name, however I believe the R1b Skaggs have used the name in the early 1800s.
- The second record is for Abraham Skaggs also from the 1677-82 volume, page 234. On 2 September 1679 Abraham Skaggs witnessed a power of attorney granted by Robert Moss to Thomas Parker. The power of attorney was recorded on 10 October 1679. This Abraham Skaggs was likely older than age 20 to witness this power of attorney, putting his birth prior to 1659. Abraham is a common name in the James and Susanna Scaggs line.
- The third record is for Mary Skaggs as guardian for Elizabeth Skaggs by order of the Rappahannock County Court recorded 2 April 1684. The original court order is in Order Book 1683-86, page 13.
Speculation: It's possible Abraham Skaggs was the father of Aaron Scaggs who married Susannah Hyatt and great-grandfather to James Scaggs who married Susanna. The name Abraham is common enough in the James/Susanna line and uncommon enough elsewhere in Skaggs genealogy to allow us to propose this theory. We need further investigation into the records of Old Rappahannock County and its successor Essex County to find other pieces of Skaggs evidence that might be hiding out there.
UPDATE: I found the original record for Abraham Skaggs. He was actually Abraham Stapp, a well documented husband of Dorothy Moss, daughter of the Robert and Rebecca Moss shown on the deed.
So interesting! To find 17th century Skaggs names other than Richard and Thomas. Is the thought or theory belief that Robert, Abraham, Elizabeth and Mary are the sons, daughters and offspring of Thomas and Richard ? Or could they be different Skaggs immigrants with different Skaggs family lines ? I suppose because the Scaggs Plantation setting is in the same County as these listed names, (Robert, Abraham, Elizabeth and Mary Scaggs), it is a good indication that they may be the owners of this Scaggs Plantation ?
ReplyDeleteMy latest theory is that Mary Skaggs was widow of either Robert or Abraham and mother of Elizabeth. Part of the theory is that Robert and Abraham were 1st generation Virginians...their father(s) were immigrants. Perhaps Abraham was father of the Aaron Scaggs who married Susannah Hyatt? We need additional evidence to further support or disprove this theory.
DeleteMy updated theory is that Mary Skaggs was the widow of Thomas Scaggs "The Immigrant" and was previously married to John Read and John Gittings. She was referred to as both Mary and Margaret Stagg. My theory is that Elizabeth Skagg was Mary's step-daughter and therefore Elizabeth needed to appeal to the Court to appoint Mary as her guardian. Robert would have been older brother to Elizabeth.
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