James SKAGGS

Male 1700 - 1798  (98 years)


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  • Name James SKAGGS 
    Born 1700  at sea Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    _UID C844C84B3B6C4627B47BE9C8F7497FBA8C88 
    Died Between 1769-1798  Montgomery Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • James was born on the ship from Ireland to America. Soource: The Ragles of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Kansas, Author: Compiled and Published by Dr. Harold E. Ragle in 1971.

      Alternate DOD 1798, Green Co. KY Green county Court House: File #387l

      The name of James SKAGGS, believed to be the patriarch of the SKAGGS clan in southwest VA and west-central KY, first appears in the records in August 1746 when he and other local residents were appointed to build a new road from Adam HARMAN's to the North Branch of the Roanoke River. Sources: Mary B. and F.B. Kegley, Early Adventurers on the Western Waters, v.1 (Orange, VA: Green Publishers, 1980), 367.

      F.B. Kegley, Kegley's Virginia Frontier, v. (Roanoke, VA: Southwest Virginia Historical Society, 1938), 117; Ulysses S.A. Heavener, German New River Settlement--Virginia (by the author, 1928; 1961 printing), p. 12.

      not sure of date, but probably 1746 or 1747:
      Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, Volume 1 Augusta County Court Records. Order Book No. XXIV. page 431

      "Humberstone Lyon deposeth that James Conoly said Humberstone Lyon stole fifteen red deer skins and also twenty-eight red deer skins which Conoly had left at the house of JAMES SCAGGS. Also deposition by Samuel Stolucher, the same. Also deposition by Erwin Patterson."

      Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, Volume 3 Abstracts of Wills of Augusta County, Virginia. Augusta County Court. Will Book No. 1. page 18 Page 276.

      Chalkley, Vol. 1, page -130
      "November 19, 1746. Road ordered from Adam Harmon's to the River and No. Branch of Roan Oak--Adam Harmon, overseer, with these workers: Geo. Draper, Israel Lorton and son, George Hermon, Thos. Looney, Jacob Hermon and three sons, Jacob Castle, John Lane, Valentine Harmon, Adren Moser, Humberston Lyon, James Shaggs, Humphrey Baker, John Davis, Fredk. Stering and two sons and all other persons settling in the precincts."

      "11th July, 1749. John Elswick's appraisement, by Thomas Ingliss, JAMES SCAGGS, Ebenezer Westcoat." (Can find the extracts on Ancestry.com)

      Chalkley, Page 226.
      28th May, 1751. Francis Reiley to James Skeegs, farmer, 100 acres on Little River of Wood's River.

      Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, Volume 3 Abstracts of Wills of Augusta County, Virginia. Augusta County Court. Will Book No. 3. page 75 Page 202.

      Page 100. 11th January, 1754. Daniel Ratcliff to James Scags, 104 acres patented to Samuel 22d August, 1753, on Meadow Creek of New River.

      Page 103. 11th January, 1754. William Pellum to James Scags, 134 acres patented to William 22d August, 1753, on Meadow Creek of New River.

      Page 203 "17th February, 1758. Colonel James Patton's estate; appraised by Thomas Stewart, John Ramsey, Edward Hall. List of bonds, bills, &c., due the estate: [includes from a lengthy list] JAMES SCAGGS, 12th February, 1753." (Can find the extracts on Ancestry.com)

      Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800 Deed Book No. 16. page 490 Page 49.

      "26th April, 1769. JAMES ( ) SCAGGS (SKEGGS), Sr., and RACHEL ( ) to JAMES SCAGGS, Jr., £100, 104 acres patented to Samuel Ratlive 22d August, 1753, and conveyed to JAMES, Sr., on Meadow Creek, a branch of New River. Teste: William Preston, Richard Whitt, James ( ) Skggs,* John ( ) Skggs,** Is. Christian, James Buchanan, W. Ingles."

      *Note that James Sr. conveyed to James Jr., and a third James signed as witness.

      **This John may a grandson rather than the son of James and Rachel.

      Lyman Chalkley, Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800, Volume 3 Deed Book No. 16. page 490 Page 51.

      "25th April, 1769. Same to HENRY SCAGGS, £100, 100 acres by deeds from Francis Rieley to JAMES, 29th May, 1751, on Little River, a branch of Woods' River." (Can find the extracts on Ancestry.com)

      Source: Kentucky Ancestors, Volume 6, page 80, October, 1970

      2 March 1773, X 36, James and Rachel Skaggs, Fincastle County sold to John Plickinsarver, 82 acres, (Monetary terms mentioned), on New River, Botetourt County, Virginia on Meadow Creek. Witnessed by William Christian, Stephen
      Trigg, Jonathan Elswick, and William Lesley.

      Harwell, Committee of Safety, 76, in Kegley, Early Adventurers, p. 367.

      1776. Fincastle Co., VA. "In 1776 the Committee of Safety for Fincastle County recorded that Captain JAMES SKAGGS was unable to serve any longer because of his infirm state of health, and Thomas INGLES was appointed to succeed him. Presumbaly this is James SKAGGS, Sr."

      Kegley, Early Adventurers, p. 367.

      1781. Montgomery Co., VA. According to a certificate from the Commissioners dated 1781, RACHEL SKAGGS had a tract of 150 acres surveyed in her name. (Although no will or estate settlement has been found in the records, this survey indicates that Rachel's husband, James, had probably died because only widows and single women, but not married women, were allowed to conduct business in their own names.)

      Kegley, Early Adventurers, p. 367: "JAMES SKAGGS (also SCAGGS, SKEGGS) was one of the earliest residents on Meadow Creek, appearing first in 1749 when he served as one of the appraisers of John ELSWICK's estate. He had lands surveyed as early as 1751 and added other tracts on Meadow Creek and Little River by deed (Chalkley, Chronicles, III, 18, 293, 321; Augusta County surveys). In 1769 James SKAGGS and his wife, Rachel, sold part of their lands to Henry SKAGGS and James SKAGGS, Jr. probably their sons (Chalkley, Chronicles, III, 490). Other tracts were disposed of to Thomas MASTIN and John PLICKINSTARVOR (Summers, Annals, pp.668, 1671).

      "In 1776 the Committee of Safety for Fincastle County recorded that Captain James SKAGGS was unable to serve any longer because of his infirm state of health, and Thomas INGLES was appointed to succeed him. Presumably this is James SKAGGS, Sr. (Harwell, Committee of Safety . . . p.76).

      "There is no record of a will or settlement of James SKAGGS' estate in Montgomery County and so no list of children can be established. Other SKAGGS mentioned include James, Henry, Charles, Richard, Moses, and Aaron. In the militia records and tithable lists additional names appear including William, Archibald, John Jr., John (Goard Head), Zachariah, Henry (son of Aaron), James (Longman) and Jacob. The D.A.R. lists Charles, James, John, and William. The 1810 Montgomery County census only lists Joseph. Marriages for Isaac in 1787, Jeremiah and Peter in 1788, and William in 1825 are recorded in Montgomery County (Montgomery County marriages; 1810 census; Kegley, Tithables; Kegley, Militia; Kegley, Tax List; D.A.R. Patriot Index).

      See Combs &c. Families of Green Co., KY, http://www.combs-families.org/~combs/records/ky-green.htm

      The booklet, "The Ragles of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Kansas" by Dr. Harold E. Ragle, written in 1971 and published by the Casey Co., KY, Historical Society, is listed "over and over" as the source of background information on the Skaggs. This booklet details the descendants of Jacob Ragle of Bucks Co., PA, one of whom was Peter Ragle who married Margaret "Peggy" Wadsworth, daughter of Thomas Wadsworth and Nancy Skaggs. Nancy Skaggs father was Solomon Skaggs, son of Henry Skaggs, the Longhunter. --Kaye in OK (lkcopelanier@hotmail.com), Jan. 20, 2007

      Another source for early Skaggs info is Longhunters Kin House by Burdette and Berley. --Ginny Keen (keen02@insightbb.com), Feb. 10, 2007

      JAMES SKAGGS SR had settled sometime abt 1750 (likely earlier) in the neighborhood of Draper's Meadows. In 1751 he was buying additional land from Col. James Patton on Meadow Creek. [Kegley.]

      Dale Van Every's "Forth to the Wilderness, The First American Frontier 1754-1774"
      Van Every describes James Patton as a remarkable man. He had been an English sea captain who made many transatlantic crossings with shiploads of hopeful immigrants and redemptioners. At some point he took it into his mind to do more than transport settlers-- he would get a large tract of Virginia land and supervise the settlement of it himself. Governor Gooch granted him 120,000 acres of land beyond Virginia's then western frontier. By 1748 he had a station at the New River-- the first English settlement on the western slope of the Allegheny Divide.

      James Patton died at the onset of the French and Indian War. According to Dale Van Every, "Draper's Meadows was overwhelmed by the first Indian attack of the French War to strike the Virginia frontier. On July 8, 1755, the day before Braddock's disaster on the far-off Monongahela, a Shawnee war party swept in upon the little settlement. James Patton himself was present, being engaged with the help of young William Preston in distributing a fresh supply of ammunition to the more outlying stations. He was then 63 but the old sea captain was as freshly vigorous as ever. He cut down two Indians with his broadsword before being borne down by numbers." His companion, William Preston, escaped-- and was Henry Skaggs' colonel during the Revolutionary War. Many others in the settlements were killed or captured, including Mary Ingles and her children.

      During the War (1755- 1762), the Virginia frontier suffered both from repeated attacks and from the perpetual threat of attack. Many people fled, some southwards to the Carolinas, where the Cherokee and the Catawbas were (at that time) peaceful. In fact, the Virginia governor was pleading with the SC governor to send up troops of Cherokee and Catawba to fight the Shawnee. In a meeting in March 1756, the Cherokee agreed to go to Va to help IF, in return, the Governor of SC would erect an English fort to protect the Cherokee women and children while the warriors were away fighting. The SC Governor agreed, and several Virginians came down in the summer of 1756 to assist in the building of a fort.

      It was in this period that at least two SKAGGS-- Charles and Aaron, and a possible third (William's father-- if he is not Aaron's son)-- ventured themselves down into the Carolinas. Were they-- perhaps at the prompting of the Mrs. Skaggses-- escaping the misery of the Virginia frontier? Did they move to SC to assist in building a fort for the Cherokee? We may never know their exact motivation. But we can agree that after mid -1755, the ambience of North and South Carolina was much more salubrious than Virginia's.

      Sons of James and Rachel listed in the Pioneer Baptist Church Records of South-Central Kentucky and the Upper Cumberland of Tennessee 1799-1899 by C. P. Cawthorn & N. L. Warnell copyright 1985. Portions received from Brenda Harper 3-15-97.

      "When the gospel was first sent to the Green River section of Kentucky, the land was wild and uncultivated. Alas! for the poor Baptists, death at the hands of lawless savage was an ever present chill on the hearts of the living, and who could tell whether it would continue to advance with the quiet of a blight, or vet burst upon them with the fury of a tempest?

      "A great number of these first Baptists were among the 'Long Hunters' who came from the "Baptist Valley" area of SouthWest Virginia. These families were the forerunners of the 'foot-washing' [Primitive] Baptists which subsequently moved into Kentucky and established many of the Baptist Churches of the frontier land. Among the leaders was the Skaggs family consisting of Rev. James Skaggs and his brothers Henry, Richard, Jacob, Charles, Moses and William. These were the early 'Long Hunters' of 1761-1755 of which the Kentucky historians have recorded much about. Henry and Richard were particularly prominent. henry Skaggs was at the present site of Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1775. A brother Moses was killed by Indians on his second trip into Kentucky. Richard Skaggs had 3 sons named Shadrach, Mashack and Abendnego. It was Mashack who was killed by Indians on the creek named after him in present Monroe County, Kentucky.

      "The men who lived on the frontier took protracted hunting trips into Kentucky, hence the name 'Long Hunters' later when Daniel Boone led a group of Yadkin farmers into Kentucky, they used a wilderness track referred to as the 'Skaggs Trace.' This track became a part of the Boone Trace and Wilderness Road that led the pioneers into Kentucky from Virginia.

      "The first settlement of the Green River Baptists was in Green County in 1780, and was known as Skaggs station. It was established by Rev. James Skaggs and was the third station in what is now Green county, Kentucky. Glovers station having been established in the Fall of 1779 and Pitman's Station in March of 1780. In March of 1780, James Skaggs Station was broken up and burned by the Indians. Rev. James Skaggs daughter was killed and scalped."


      SKAGGS FRONTIERSMAN
      From 1658 to 1761 very little has been found about the migrations of the Various Skaggs families. However, near the end of that period records of their living in southwestern Virginia begin to appear. After 1761 they are found in the vanguard of the slow but steady stream of pioneers into Tennessee and Kentucky.

      Robert L. Kincaid, in his book, The Wilderness Road, tells about the Long Hunters who pushed farther and farther west after 1761, traveling long distances in unexplored country for months at a time in their quest for pelts which could be sold or traded at home. In the meantime it was up to their wives and children to do the farming and gardening.

      One of the early leaders in these hunting expeditions was a man by the name of Walden. On one of his first trips he was accompanied by his father-in-law, William Blevins, his brother-in-law, Jack Blevins, HENRY SKAGGS, Walter Newman, Charles Cox and about a dozen other trained woodsmen. The party spent about eighteen months on the trip and ranged as far as the vicinity of Cumberland Gap. The area was a hunter's paradise abounding in deer, buffalo, beaver, otter and mink and small game for their daily food supply. They brought home a large supply of pelts and hides.

      In 1763, Walden and his party again went on a Long Hunt, passing through Cumberland Gap this time and going as far as the present town of Crab orchard, Kentucky. The news of their successful hunts soon spread and led others to venture on similar trips. In June, 1769, a party of hunters gathered at Fort Chiswell as the starting point for their hunt. Among the leaders was RICHARD SKAGGS. They went as far as present Nashville, Tennessee. In the following year, 1770, a large party passed through Cumberland Gap, ranging as far as Green River and the Barrens in Kentucky where many Skaggs later settled.

      In May, 1769, Daniel Boone and his party followed the Wilderness Road through Cumberland Gap into Kentucky but at Hazel Patch turned northward to the site of Boonesborough which he would later establish as a settlement. By the year 1775 the branch of the Wilderness Road that pointed toward Louisville, Kentucky was known as the SKAGGS TRACE and was named for three Irish brothers, HENRY, CHARLES AND RICHARD SKAGGS. Long Hunters who had spent much time in the region according to Kincaid, page 113. There is also a stream known as SKAGGS CREEK.

      During the Revolutionary War, the Indian allies of the British waged war against the Kentucky settlers. Beginning in 1777 the fighting was bitter bringing much loss of life and hardships to the people. Several Skaggs were in the war, at least three of them being killed. Virginia and Kentucky Skaggs in the war included JAMES, JOHN, RICHARD, WILLIAM, ARCHIBALD, HENRY, CHARLES, MOSES, JACOB, JORRE AND AARON [SKAGGS] and a few with the same names as some of the above. MOSES and AARON [SKAGGS] are said to have been killed and also a PETER SKAGGS. Several of them received pensions later according to the records.

      The Draper Manuscripts include a statement that "A number of Skaggs brother came to Green County, Kentucky, most of them very early, long before any settlement, and then they became the earliest settlers. JAMES, HENRY, JOHN, CHARLES AND RICHARD SKAGGS left records in Green County, while MOSES AND AARON [SKAGGS] were said to have been killed there." Note: In 1798 Barren County was split off Green County.

      The Skaggs brothers, sons of JAMES AND RACHEL SKAGGS are believed to have been HENRY, CHARLES, RICHARD, JAMES, JR., AARON, MOSES and possibly JOHN SKAGGS. Many of their descendants still live in Kentucky but as early as 1820 there were three Skaggs in Indiana and at least one is known definitely to be from Kentucky.

      The name of James SKAGGS, believed to be the patriarch of the SKAGGS clan in southwest VA and west-central KY, first appears in the records in August 1746 when he and other local residents were appointed to build a new road from Adam HARMAN's to the North Branch of the Roanoke River. --Mary B. and F.B. Kegley, Early Adventurers on the Western Waters, v.1 (Orange, VA: Green Publishers, 1980), 367; F.B. Kegley, Kegley's Virginia Frontier, v.? (Roanoke, VA: Southwest Virginia Historical Society, 1938), 117; Ulysses S.A. Heavener, German New River Settlement--Virginia (by the author, 1928; 1961 printing), 12.

      Kegley, Early Adventurers, 367: "James SKAGGS (also SCAGGS, SKEGGS) was one of the earliest residents on Meadow Creek, appearing first in 1749 when he served as one of the appraisers of John ELSWICK's estate. He had lands surveyed as early as 1751 and added other tracts on Meadow Creek and Little River by deed (Chalkley, Chronicles, III, 18, 293, 321; Augusta County surveys). In 1769 James SKAGGS and his wife, Rachel, sold part of their lands to Henry SKAGGS and James SKAGGS, Jr. probably their sons (Chalkley, Chronicles, III, 490). Other tracts were disposed of to Thomas MASTIN and John PLICKINSTARVOR (Summers, Annals, pp.668, 1671).

      "In 1776 the Committee of Safety for Fincastle County recorded that Captain James SKAGGS was unable to serve any longer because of his infirm state of health, and Thomas INGLES was appointed to succeed him. Presumably this is James SKAGGS, Sr. (Harwell, Committee of Safety . . . p.76).

      "There is no record of a will or settlement of James SKAGGS' estate in Montgomery County and so no list of children can be established. Other SKAGGS mentioned include James, Henry, Charles, Richard, Moses, and Aaron. In the militia records and tithable lists additional names appear including William, Archibald, John Jr., John (Goard Head), Zachariah, Henry (son of Aaron), James (longman) and Jacob. The D.A.R. lists Charles, James, John, and William. The 1810 Montgomery County census only lists Joseph. Marriages for Isaac in 1787, Jeremiah and Peter in 1788, and William in 1825 are recorded in Montgomery County (Montgomery County marriages; 1810 census; Kegley, Tithables; Kegley, Militia; Kegley, Tax List; D.A.R. Patriot Index).
    Person ID I4557  Master File
    Last Modified 28 Dec 2011 

    Father Richard SKAGGS,   b. Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Maryland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • DOB source: The Ragles of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Kansas,
      Author: Compiled and Published by Dr. Harold E. Ragle in 1971
    Family ID F3407  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Rachel,   b. Abt 1705, Fincastle, VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1789, Montgomery Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 84 years) 
    Married Bef 1723  Maryland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. Henry (The Long Hunter) SKAGGS,   b. 8 Jan 1723/24, MD Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 4 Dec 1810, Green Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 86 years)
     2. John (Gourdhead) SKAGGS, Sr.,   b. Abt 1728, Fincastle, Botetourt Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1829  (Age ~ 101 years)
     3. Charles SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1729, Fincastle, Botetourt Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 9 Feb 1815, Green Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 86 years)
     4. Susanna SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1730, Augusta Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 4 Oct 1797, Montgomery Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 67 years)
     5. Nancy SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1732
     6. Moses Atheron SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1733, VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1805, Green Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 72 years)
     7. James SKAGGS, Jr.,   b. Abt 1734, Fincastle, Botetourt Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 22 Nov 1811, Indian Creek, Joachim Twp. District of St. Louis, MO Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 77 years)
     8. Aaron SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1739, Fincastle, Botetourt Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location
     9. Elizabeth (Betsy) SKAGGS,   b. Between 1740-1745, Tazewell Co VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1820, Tazewell Co VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 74 years)
     10. Jacob SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1741, Fincastle, Botetourt Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Oct 1830, Weakly Co. TN Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 89 years)
     11. Richard SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1744, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1821, Barren Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 77 years)
     12. Lydia SKAGGS,   b. 1745, Strasburg, VA Orange Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 2 Oct 1814, Dry Fork, D.G. Sayers Farm, VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 69 years)
     13. Zachariah SKAGGS,   b. Abt 1748, Pittsylvania Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location
    Family ID F3396  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart