Skaggs DNA Testing: Putting It All Together

The Skaggs Y-DNA project has been working diligently testing male volunteers who descend along different Skaggs family lines.  They've been aligning the DNA test results with the ongoing genealogical research effort to identify distinct, yet related, Skaggs families.  The results follow below the fold.

Skaggs DNA Testing: The Long Hunters

The Skaggs Y-DNA project has been working diligently testing male volunteers who descend along different Skaggs family lines.  Volunteers have been tested from the branch of the Skaggs family that descends from the children of James and Rachel Skaggs, known as the Long Hunters.

Henry A Skaggs: A Brick Wall back to Maryland

Henry A Skaggs is the brick wall for a West Virginia Skaggs family from the Greenbrier County area.  Many Skaggs researchers have thought he was from the Thomas Scaggs (born 1728) line of Virginia and later West Virginia Skaggs but I'm not so sure.  It's possible he was the Henry Scaggs in the 1800 Frederick County, Maryland census, making him a brick wall back to the 18th century Maryland Skaggs families.

Henry Skaggs and the Murders at Frenchman's Knob

Cyrus Edwards of Horse Cave, Kentucky was author of the 1924 story "The Murders at Frenchman's Knob."  The story is of the murder of William Smuthers and Gilbert LeClerc by Indians in 1782/3 in the "Barrens" of western Kentucky.

Colonial Roads and Skaggs Family Migration

Knowledge of colonial roads can help with understanding Skaggs family migrations prior to 1800.  Below is a map of the system of roads in colonial America.  

If you are interested in how Maryland Skaggs might have ended up in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina just check out the analysis below the fold.

Skaggs DNA Testing: Aaron Skaggs

The Skaggs Y-DNA project has been working diligently testing male volunteers who descend along different Skaggs family lines.  Volunteers have been tested from the branch of the Skaggs family that consists of descendants of "Hunting" Henry Skaggs and Aaron Skaggs who married Sarah Lyon.  This branch traces back to southern Maryland in the early 1700s and we've decided to call it the Aaron Skaggs branch because of the number of men named Aaron in the family lines.

Lord Dunmore's War: Henry Sceggs' Detachment

Lord Dunmore's War was a confrontation between colonial Virginia and the Indians of the Ohio Country in 1774.  The war consisted of small skirmishes in present-day Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky culminating with the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774 near modern-day Point Pleasant, West Virginia.  You can read more about Lord Dunmore's War here.  Sergeant Henry Skaggs led a company of men from Fincastle County, Virginia consisting of several persons of interest for Skaggs researchers.

The 1777 Loyalty Oath for Montgomery County, Virginia

During the American Revolution the Virginia legislature passed laws that required an oath of allegiance to the State.  Free men of age of majority were required to make the following oath:

"We whose names are hereunto subscribed do swear or affirm that we renounce and refuse all allegiance to George third King of Great Britain, his heirs successors and that, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Commonwealth of Virginia as a free and independent State and that I will not at any time do or Cause to be done any matter or thing that will be make known to some one Justice of the Peace for the said State all treasons or traitorous Conspiracies which I now or hereafter shall known to be formed against this or any of the United States of America."

In 1777 Montgomery County mustered the militia and required the oath.  The result is an interesting list of declared revolutionaries that is useful to family historians.

Famous Skaggs: Calvin Skaggs

Calvin Skaggs is the President of Lumiere Productions, a documentary production company in New York City.  He has directed or produced more than 30 films for cinema and television.  He's a descendant of one of the Long Hunters, as shown below the fold.

Henry Skaggs: Longhunter, Hunting Henry or the Incredible Man of Mystery?

I've usually stayed away from writing about the Long Hunter Skaggs since they are the most documented branch of the Skaggs family.  I've rarely felt I could add anything new to the discussion about these guys, with a few exceptions.  However, there is some new research regarding Henry Skaggs that deserves attention.

The Manx Family History Website

There is an excellent website for persons interested in the Skaggs family history called Manx Family History.  It has a lot of great information about the various Skaggs family lines based on DNA testing.  For example, the Old Peter Skaggs line is described here.  Other Skaggs lines are shown below the fold.

Green County, Kentucky Tax Books and the Long Hunters

A big challenge when researching the Long Hunter Skaggs is the lack of 1790 and 1800 census records. These records were burned by the British when they invaded Washington during the War of 1812 (thanks guys). Tax records can help during this time period in establishing where someone was in a given year. I've noticed that FamilySearch has unlocked the tax records for Green County, Kentucky and it's a gold mine for Skaggs Long Hunter research. 

Skaggs Family Groups based on DNA Testing

It's time for an update on the Skaggs Y-DNA testing.  We currently have 19 Skaggs who have taken the Big-Y DNA test and are descendants of Viking ancestors from the Isle of Man.  We call these guys R1a Skaggs.  We also have a few other Skaggs who are not part of this Isle of Man family and we call them the R1b Skaggs.  Both are Skaggs, just two completely different families. Both are really interesting, however, in this post I'll discuss the R1a Skaggs and group them into families based on their DNA.

Zombie Killing with the Long Hunters

Does William Skaggs + David Skaggs = William David Skaggs?  I don't think so, even with the New Math, however, somehow the genealogical lines for two of the Skaggs Longhunter brothers got crossed this way and a mutant "William David Skaggs" has taken on a life of his own.  I'm going to risk wading into the shark-infested Long Hunter waters to try to drive a stake through the heart of this zombie.

Morgan County, Indiana Skaggs

The Morgan County, Indiana Gazette published a three-part series on the Skaggs family on April 22, 1971.  Part 1 is copied below.  Parts 2 & 3 are lengthy and can be obtained from the Morgan County Public Library in Martinsville, Indiana.

Aaron Skaggs' Sons and the Adultery Charges

Back in colonial Virginia there was an Aaron Skaggs who many researchers believe was one of the Long Hunter brothers.  He died prior to 1800 so he would not have necessarily been considered in the Moses Skaggs court case later in the 1800s.  Anyway, this Aaron had two sons, Henry and Aaron, who were brought up on adultery charges in Washington County, Virginia in 1781.

The Long Hunters: Jacob Skaggs

I've tried to avoid the Skaggs Long Hunters, since so much has been written about Henry, Richard and Charles I didn't think I could add much of value.  However, I'm finding a lot of poor information out there about the Long Hunters so I thought I would wade into the shallow end of the Long Hunter pool and discuss what I know about Jacob Skaggs, the youngest and least researched of the brothers.

Charles Skaggs: How the Dix River got its name

Lyman Draper wrote in The Life of Daniel Boone that in the autumn of 1770 the Long Hunters Joseph Drake and Henry Skaggs led a party of hunters from New River and Holston areas into Kentucky.

"Equipped with three pack-horses for each man, rifles, ammunition, traps, dogs, blankets and salt, dressed in hunting shirts, leggings and moccasins, they took their leave of friends and kindred..."

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.

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.