Richard Scaggs, Early Colonist - Part 3

This is an update on previous Richard Scaggs, Early Colonist postings here and here. Historical documents and DNA testing are pointing toward Richard as the founding member of many Skaggs lines in America.  Richard immigrated to Virginia prior to 1658 and lived until the early 1700s in Maryland and Delaware.

Dead men tell no tales...but deeds sure do!

The Maryland State Archives has a convenient digital image retrieval system for deeds going back to the beginning of colonial times.  It's free to use, all you have to do is register using an email account and you're ready to go.  A correspondent pointed me to an interesting deed that confirms some assumptions I've made in previous posts about Scaggs ancestors from Maryland.

The Scaggs Family of Chews Folly

In a previous post I discussed the James Scaggs family that owned the farm “Chews Folly” in Prince George’s County, Maryland in the early 1800s.  The parents of this James Scaggs were Richard Scaggs and Sarah Selby.  I believe this Richard Scaggs was the same Richard born in Kent County, Maryland in 1724, the younger brother of the John Scaggs that supposedly married Ruth Elkins.  The descendants of James Scaggs who inherited “Chews Folly” over the years are listed below the fold.

More Indian Stories: How Skaggs Hole Got its Name

In present-day Dickenson County, Virginia there is a deep spot in the Russell Fork called Skaggs Hole.  The CSX railroad has a bridge over the Russell Fork and a tunnel through the mountain at Skaggs Hole.

A correspondent forwarded a story about Skaggs Hole told by a James Sifers in 1940 in "Pioneer Recollections of Southwest Virginia" by Elihu Jasper Sutherland and Hetty Swindall Sutherland.  I think this James Sifers was the James Colley Sifers born in 1861 and died in Dickenson County in 1948.  Here's what he had to say about Skaggs Hole:

DNA Testing: Old Peter has joined the Skaggs DNA project

A correspondent who is a descendant of Old Peter Skaggs has submitted Y-37 DNA test results to the Skaggs DNA Project. The results are interesting since Old Peter's descendant matches on the Y-chromosome with descendants of Charles Skaggs the Longhunter, Charles Skaggs of Sims Settlement fame and James C. Skaggs, the Revolutionary War pensioner from South Carolina who settled near Knoxville, Tennessee.