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: Zachariah Skaggs

I've written a lot about Zachariah Skaggs, about how he was not the father of Old Peter, about how he is frequently confused with a much younger Zachariah, etc.  Skaggs family Y-DNA testing has determined that Zachariah was closely related to the William Scaggs of the New River Valley of Virginia who married Esther.

Montgomery County, Virginia

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.

Zachariah Skaggs was Not the Father of Old Peter

Results are back from a Y-DNA test for a descendant of Zachariah Skaggs.  The Zachariah descendant had a different Y-DNA haplogroup than both Old Peter and Old Solomon Skaggs, meaning Zachariah couldn't have been either the father or brother of Old Peter Skaggs or his brother Old Solomon.  They were likely related, but not from the same immediate family.

Descendants of Old Peter and Old Solomon have the same Y-Haplogroup

There has been an interesting development in the Skaggs Y-DNA project.  Descendants of Old Peter Skaggs and his legendary brother, Old Solomon, have been found to have the same Y-DNA haplogroup, R-BY99605.

James Skaggs, who was this guy (Part 2)?

A while back I posted a question about a James Skaggs who was referred to in the minutes of the Big Blaine Baptist Church in Lawrence County, Kentucky back in 1825.

August the 1st Saturday 1825

Brother James Skaggs has transgressed and come and maid a recantation. The church is to Site Brother Christian Skaggs and James Sparks to our meeting, So Brother John Boggs and Brother James Boggs are appointed to site James Blevins.

There is evidence of a James Skaggs even earlier back in Virginia in the neighborhood of Old Peter.

Descendants of John B Floyd Skaggs Wanted for DNA Testing

John B Floyd Skaggs was born 18 May 1853 in the historical Rocky Station district of Lee County, Virginia.  It was the area across the Wallen Creek from the town of Pennington Gap.  His parents were Jeremiah and Mary Catherine Skaggs and he had five sisters.  John B Floyd Skaggs died in the same area 23 August 1929.  The Skaggs Y-DNA project has a gap in the testing that can be filled by male descendants of John B Floyd Skaggs.

Famous Skaggs: Albert Chadwell "Chad" Skaggs

"Chad" Skaggs wasn't a person most would consider famous, however, he was a very interesting guy who was a soldier, journalist, teacher, musician and outdoorsman. Any of these careers would have been enough for most, however Chad did all of them.

An excerpt from his obituary is below the fold.

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.

Zachariah Skaggs: Mistaken Identity

Too many fake family trees on the internet are changing reality. A specific case of this for Skaggs researchers is Zachariah Skaggs. The internet seems convinced that the Zachariah Skaggs who lived in Virginia in the late 1700s to 1818 was married to a Nancy Annie Wilcox. I've posted about this error before and how two Zachariahs from different times and places and two Nancys have been confounded into a fake marriage of a young Kentucky girl, Nancy Wilcox, with a dead Virginian, Zachariah Skaggs. So once again:

• Zachariah Skaggs from Russell County, VA, father of Jeremiah, was married to a Nancy (Annie), but NOT Nancy Wilcox, and he died in Virginia in 1818
• Born prior to 1747, likely in Maryland
• Heir-at-law to John Scaggs who died in Montgomery County, Virginia c. 1779
• Estate passed to grandson John Skaggs in Russell County in 1818
• Zachariah Skaggs, from Barren County, KY, grandson of John Skaggs, the disabled war veteran from the family of Long Hunters, was married to Nancy Wilcox in Kentucky in 1822
• Born in 1801 in Kentucky
• Died in Bartholomew County, Indiana c.1830
• Widow Nancy Skaggs appeared in the 1830 Bartholomew County census
• Widow Nancy (also known as Anna) Skaggs remarried in 1832 to Daniel Reynolds in Bartholomew County, Indiana

Absolom Elkins and His Ancestors

I know the Elkins aren't Skaggs but we can't ignore that one of the great remaining unproven Skaggs legends is that a Ruth Elkins firstly married John Scaggs and secondly John Bishop.  The Elkins and Scaggs lived nearby in Halifax County, Virginia in the 1760s and later in the 1770s on Little River in Montgomery County.  Absolom Elkins eventually inherited that property on Little River so let's hear what Elkins researchers have to say about him.

Zachariah Skaggs and the D.A.R.

I found a post in the January 2008 Rootsweb archive that is interesting for documented descendants of Zachariah Skaggs.  Zachariah was accepted as a patriot by the genealogists of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.), so if you can document a connection to Zachariah, you are eligible for D.A.R. membership.

A Valuable Source of Skaggs Research is Back

The Skaggs email list at Rootsweb is probably the single most valuable source of Skaggs genealogy information in existence.  It is a history of email conversations between some of the great Skaggs researchers of all time going back to 1997.  I thought we had lost it when Rootsweb was hacked a couple of years ago, but it's back.

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.

William Scaggs, another Long Hunter?

I wrote a short post about the William Scaggs from Montgomery County, Virginia who was father of Joseph and husband to Esther.  I've also speculated that this William may have been related to the Zachariah Scaggs who died in Virginia in 1818.  Well, here's a new speculation.  This William might have been another son of the James Skaggs, husband of Rachel and father of the famous Long Hunters.

Zachariah Skaggs: You Usually Can't Find Someone to Marry You after You're Dead

In family history, frequently two or more historical figures get merged together into one.  We see this a lot in the Skaggs family because there were so many different John, James, Charles, etc. in the family, even in the same generation.  There is an irritating life to many of these merged individuals and it becomes harder to correct the record over time.  One such individual was Zachariah Skaggs.

Pittsylvania County, Virginia

Skaggs researchers who are interested in Old Peter’s parents should spend some time investigating the Skaggs of Pittsylvania County, Virginia.  Pittsylvania was formed from Halifax County in 1767 and they did an initial tax census of the new Pittsylvania in 1767.  A lot of interesting information for Skaggs researchers comes from that 1767 tax list.

The Skaggs, Bishop, Elkins and Lester Families

The Skaggs, Bishop and Lester families have a long documented history of interrelationships going back to the Revolutionary War era, however, we still DO NOT have enough documentation to answer the following questions:

• Did Ruth Scaggs Bishop have the maiden name Elkins?
• Was Ruth the daughter of Ralph Elkins and Frances Brown?
• Was Old Peter Scaggs the son of John and Ruth (Elkins) Scaggs?
• Was Old Peter the brother of Rachel Skaggs who married William Lester?
• Was Zachariah Skaggs a half-brother to Old Peter?

We do have some facts to help with the research.  Rachel Scaggs Lester was the daughter of John and Ruth Scaggs (later Bishop) according to this minister's return record from the Archives of Virginia:

Copied, by Va., Archives, and photostated, from bonds, etc., Dec 1936.

3-26-1786- A344, Rachel Skeggs daughter of Jno. Skaggs & Ruth Bishop,married Wm. Lester, son of Martha & Abner Lester.

Marriage records could come from marriage bonds or minister's returns so sometimes we get different information for the marriage depending on the source.  Below is the marriage bond record for the marriage of Rachel Scaggs and William Lester:

Source: Microfilm Reel # 52 - Montgomery County, Virginia – Marriage Bonds 1777-1788

Know all men by these presents that we William Lester and Samuel Saddler are held and firmly bound unto his Excellancy Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia for the time being and his successors in the just and _______ sum of fifty pounds current money to which payment will and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, Exo (?) dom (?) or assigns to him and his successors forever jointly. Generally and firmly by these presents as witnesses our hand and seals this 22nd day of March 1786.

The condition of the above obligation is such that whereas the above bound William Lester hath this day obtained License for his marriage with Rachael Skaggs Daughter of John Bishop of this County. Now if there should be no just cause to obstruct this marriage then the above obligation to be void or else to remain in full force power and virtue.

Signed William (his mark) LesterSamuel (his mark) Saddler
Signed and Acknowledged - Abraham Trigg

Along with the marriage bond are the following:

"These few lines is given from under our hands to testafy that there is no objection against William Lester and Rachel Scaggs being joined (there are some other words written but they are marked out)"

Abner Lester Martha LesterJohn bishup Ruth bishup

To Mr. McCorkleEdmund Whitt Archl. Whitt

"Sur this is to testesfy home it mey concern that we are satisfyed with the match"

Abner LesterMartha Lester

We can see from these marriage records that by 1786 Ruth Scaggs had married John Bishop and that John Scaggs was likely deceased since he was completely out of the picture for his daughter's marriage.  Samuel Saddler provided bond and John Bishop provided consent with Ruth.  So what happened to Rachel's biological father, John Scaggs?

Early Adventures On The Western Waters Volume 2 by Mary Kegley, p. 67:John Charlton, assignee of Zacharia Skeggs, heir to John Skeggs, commissioner`s certificate,150 acres on the branch of Meadow creek (New River). Settled 1774.Sept.23, 1780 Montgomery County, Va.

Zachariah Skaggs deeded land to John Charlton in 1780 that was settled by John Scaggs in 1774 based on his commissioner's certificate.  Zachariah was listed as "heir to John Skeggs" indicating that by September 1780 John Scaggs was deceased and Zachariah was likely his oldest living son.

John and Ruth Bishop had a son of their own, David Bishop, about 1781 according to the subsequent census records:

The 1820 census in Tazewell Co., VA shows David Bishop as age 26-44 (born 1776-1794)
The 1830 census in Tazewell Co., VA shows David Bishop as age 40-49 (born 1781-1790)
The 1840 census in Lawrence Co., KY shows David Bishop as age 50-59 (born 1781-1790)
The 1850 census in Lawrence Co., KY shows David Bishop as age 68 (born 1782)
The 1860 census in Lawrence Co., KY shows David Bishop as age 80 (born 1780)

David Bishop was raised in Montgomery Co., Virginia, then by 1820 he had moved to Tazewell Co. and by 1840 he moved on to Lawrence Co., Kentucky where he died in 1861.  Hold that thought while we discuss another former resident of Montgomery Co., VA who moved to Lawrence Co., KY...Old Peter Skaggs.

Peter Skaggs married Martha Cothron in 1788 according to the minister's return:

June 24, 1788, Marriage Book A, Page25, , Peter Scaggs married Marthey Cothron; William Leister Witness Montgomery CO. VA, Christianburg Courthouse, copied from Archives of VA.

The marriage bond record below shows that Rachel Scaggs Lester's husband, William Lester, posted bond for Peter and Martha Scaggs' marriage:

Known all men by these present that we Peter Skaggs & William Leister (Lester) are held firmly bound unto the Governor of Virginia for the time being and his (this) Successors the sum of  L 4.50 current money to ________ which payment ______ truly to be made we bind ourselves _______heirs ____ jointly severally firmly by these presents seal with our seals _______ this 24th day of June 1788.The condition of this obligation is such that whereas the above bound Peter Skaggs hath this day _________ his marriage with Marthey Cohun being of their reprise be no just cause to obstruct this marriage then this obligation to be void or else to remain in full force.


Wm Lester Peter (x) Scags (Seal)Wm. Trigg (his mark)

From these records we can see that the families established relationships during the 1780s.  However, I believe that DNA testing will eventually allow us to make solid choices about who was related to whom.  For example, if we can find Elkins descendants that have a DNA match to either Skaggs or Bishops we might be able to trace far enough back to make a solid guess that Ruth Elkins married a Skaggs and then later a Bishop.

August 2015: Who was Old Peter Skaggs?

Do we know more about Old Peter Skaggs than we knew just a few years ago?  I think so, but still not as much as we should know given how much research has been done:  digitizing of public records, sharing of family history on the Internet, DNA testing, etc.  Still, we have some accomplishments to celebrate:

• Debunking the Mary Thear and Busell Skaggs myths - they are no longer big time-wasters for Skaggs family researchers
• Separating the history of two famous James Skaggs and their wives from each other
• Finding important DNA evidence that
• Old Peter and/or Martha were not likely to have been Indians
• Old Peter's Y-haplogroup appears to have been R1a1a; different from the descendants of Thomas Skaggs from West Virginia
• Old Peter's descendants are related to descendants of Rachel Skaggs, daughter of Ruth Bishop, The Longhunter Skaggs and Joseph Skaggs - however, the specific relationships are still uncertain

Now for the interesting part...