Update on the Mystery of Elijah Skaggs

I haven't posted in awhile since during the coronavirus lockdown I've been helping with a project to document all the Skaggs lines in the United States since 1850 on FamilySearch.  The researchers have completed virtually all of California, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Colorado and it's been a lot of work.  If you have Skaggs ancestors on those lines it would be great if you could go back and check the accuracy of the work and attach any straggler documentation that we missed to the proper person.




Our friend from the Isle of Man, Chris Keig, and his Big-Y DNA test subjects have been working hard as well on the DNA end of things.  One apparent revelation that has come from this DNA testing is regarding the mystery of who were Elijah and Harriet Skaggs of Green County, Kentucky c. 1860.  You may recall that this Elijah Skaggs died in the Civil War in 1863 and was a brick wall for many Skaggs genealogists for years.  Through DNA testing and the diligent genealogical research of one of Chris' test subjects it appears that this mystery may be solved.  Both DNA and genealogical evidence suggest that William Brock Skaggs and Nancy Warren were the parents of this Elijah Skaggs.  William Brock Skaggs was the grandson of James "Longman" Skaggs and Mary, the Longhunter son of James and Rachel Skaggs of New River, Virginia.


1 James Skaggs m. Rachel
     2 James "Longman" Skaggs m. Mary Thompson
          3 Henry Skaggs m. Nancy
               4 William "Brock" Skaggs m. Nancy Warren
                    5 Elijah Skaggs m. Harriet Skaggs


FYI, below is the current genealogy for Elijah's wife, Harriet Skaggs:


1 James Skaggs m. Rachel
     2 James "Longman" Skaggs m. Mary Thompson
          3 Jeremiah Skaggs m. Rebecca Mayes
               4 Matthew Skaggs m. Catherine Long
                    5 Harriet Skaggs m. Elijah Skaggs

Old Peter Skaggs Deed in 1797

The following land grant was sent to me by a correspondent recently.  It involves Old Peter Scaggs and Jonathan Akers and 72 acres of land in Montgomery County, Virginia.  I've transcribed the handwritten deed to the best of my ability below the fold.

Skaggs Mystery in Arkansas

A Scaggs family has an enduring mystery involving their ancestors.  Three Scaggs brothers were born in Hempstead County, Arkansas between 1860 and 1870.  The parents apparently died in 1870 because the three boys, Elias, Henry Clay and  Ambrose Brice were adopted.  Their descendants would like to know who were the parents of these three boys.

DNA Testing Update: Skaggs and the Isle of Man

It’s time for an update on the Skaggs DNA testing.  Several Skaggs have submitted Y-DNA test results since the last time we checked in and additional autosomal DNA testing results for Skaggs descendants have been posted to GEDMatch.  These new tests have produced some interesting results.

The Big-Y DNA Test is on Sale

For men with the Skaggs, Scaggs or Skeggs surname interested in tracing your Skaggs ancestry back to colonial times or perhaps Europe, the Family Tree DNA Big-Y test is on sale through Thanksgiving (UPDATE: now Christmas) for $399.