Henry (The Long Hunter) Skaggs

• Death Notes
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• General Notes
  • 1. 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.
    2. Henry was one of the early Long Hunters of 1761-1775 of which Kentucky Historians have recorded much about. He was considered very prominent in the settlement of early Kentucky.
    3. iaw note 1 above: Henry was at the present site of Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1775.
    4. iaw note 1 above: In the fall of 1779 Henry Skaggs started up from Tennessee for his usual Winter hunt. Indians attacked, stole the game his party had collected and frightened most of the hunters back to camp, leaving Henry alone with his young son and another hunter named Sinclair. Shortly after the three of them started further into the wilderness, Sinclair drowned in the icy Green River. Then young Skaggs took sick and died. The old hunter left his son's body in a hollow log, the ground being frozen too hard for a proper burying........which son?
    5. 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 a 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" 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 1761-1775 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 three sons named Shadrach, Mashack, and Abednego. 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, Ky.; Glovers Station having been established in the Fall of 1779, and Pitman's Station in March of 1780.
    [HenrySkaggsMaryThompson.ftw]
    
    From The SW Virginian, Vol. 1, #3, Wise, VA, page 29, transcribed by
    Rhonda S. Roberson. This is a petition asking the House of Delegates of
    VA to place a line "fixed along Clinch Mt. and Montgomery line to the
    Carolina line" to separate them from Washington Co. These inhabitants
    include those of Clinch River, Mocason Creek, Powels Valley, north branch
    of Holstein River, and "others." Dated Dec. 9, 1785. Washington Co., VA,
    is in the far southern section of VA, just before the border into TN and
    not far from NC. Alexander SEAL, James SHEWMAKER, John SHOEMAKER,
    John SHORT, Thoms. SHORT, David SKAGGS, Solomon SKAGGS, John
    SKAGGS, Henry SKAGGS, Edwd. SMITH, H. SMITH, John SMITH, Enius
    SMITH, Elijah SMITH, Wm. SMITH, Wm. SMITH, Eli SMITH, Evens
    SMITH, Jr., Edward SMOTE, Tom STACY, Masheck STACY, Meshack
    STACY, Sammuel STALLARD, Edward STAPLETON, Edw. STAPLETON,
    Isaiah STILLS, Yeah STILS?, John TATE, Thomas TATE, Robert
    TATE, Jr., Rober TATE, Sr., Richd THOMPSON, John THOMPSON,
    Wm. THOMPSON, John THOMSON, Saml VANCE, John VANDYETHE,
    
    Deeds:
    21 July/24 Aug 1784, A 325, Henry Skaggs and Mary Skaggs, to William Grayson, 100 acres, (Monetary terms), Little River, branch of Woods River;
    witness, James McCorkle, John Kirk, Robert Currin, John Grayson, and William Christian. (Montgomery County, Christianburg Courthouse)
    
    Henry, the Long Hunter, died 1809-1810, and his will is recorded in
    Green Co., Book 1, p. 48. In W. R. Jillson's Kentucky Land Grants, Henry SKAGGS obtained 400 acres on Pitman Creek, Nelson Co., March 15, 1791. Pitman Creek begins in present-day Taylor County and runs southwest into Green County where it empties into the Green River. He lived in the northeast sector of present day Green Co.
    
    
    "According to Virgil Skaggs, a genealogy researcher of Independence,MO. the first known people to enter America by the name of Skaggs was two brothers and a sister, who came over from Scotland about 280 years ago(about 1700). The Skaggs originally came from Norway and was spelled Skeg, meaning "bearded one", from Skeg to Skeggs, and Skaggs.They went from Norway to England and Scotland. The English way to spell the name was Skegs or Skeggs and the Scottish way was Scaggs. The two brothers who came to America argued over how to spell their name, the English way or the Scottish way. One brother said"you spell it your way and I will spell it my way", so the story goes. From this, four tribes were created, a Moses tribe, Gideon, Noah and an Elijah tribe of Skaggs. There is a Skaggs plantation at Alderson, W.Va. that was bought from William Penn. The plantation is still in the Skaggs family at the time Mr. Virgil Skaggs wrote this, late 1960's.
    
    This is long and taken directly from the book "The life of Daniel Boone", written by Lyman C Draper, LL.D., ( A noted Historian)
    Henry, Charles and Richard Skaggs, and three other brothers were granddsons of an Irishman who fled from Ireland of Londonderry in 1688-'89, when so many of the Scotch-Irish race emigrated to the shores of the New World. We find his adventureous decendants, natives of Maryland, living on the frontiers of New River and sharing largely in the toils and hardships of the Long Hunters in 1770-'71.
    In June 1775, we find Henry aiding to pilot Col. Thomas Slaughter and others on an exploratory tour of the Green River country. Henry Skaggs and brothers were a noted family of hunters and nothing but hunters, and keeping pace with the advancing settlements, they pushed forward to Clinch River and were forting in 1777 at Shadrach White's Station in the neighborhood of the Maiden Spring Fork of the Clinch. In 1781 one of the family of Skaggs, who had been residing in the Cumberland settlements removed to Kentucky.
    In 1779 Henry Skaggs , accompanied by upwards of twenty men, started for Kentucky, were attacked by indians in Powells Vally, lost part of their horses, when all had returned save Skaggs, his son John a mere youth, and a man named Sinclair. With eleven horses, they went to the Green River country to hunt, and during the succeding winter Sinclair got lost, probably drowned in the Green River and young Skaggs sickened and died, and amidst the severities of the season a hollow log was his burial place. His father was left alone to finish the hunt and return home with the horses, pelts and furs. He settled on Pitmans Creek in the Green River country within present Taylor County, Kentucky, in 1789 with his children and connections around him sharing freely in the indian difficulties of the times; and there he died in 1808 or '9, aged upwards of eighty years. Possing a large and bony frame, he was bold, enterprising and fearless. His brothers Charles and Richard who also settled in that region, lived to a good old age There is much more in the book, but this is the most important part."-Russ Skaggs Website
    
    
    HENRY SKAGGS WILL
    5 APRIL 1809
    GREEN COUNTY, KENTUCKY
    Will Book 1 pp. 56-57
    
    Will
    
    In the name of God Amen, I HENRY SKAGGS of the County of Green and state of Kentucky do make this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following (To wit) I leave all my Estate both real and personal to my beloved Wife to be enjoyed by her during her life, and after her death, the tract of Land wher on I now live I give to my Grand son JOHN SKAGGS son of JAMES SKAGGS; my Negro man Bob I give to my son DAVID SKAGGS; my negro woman Lucy I give to SYLVIA ROARK; I give to my Daughter SARAH
    SKAGGS a negro girl Rachel; I give to my son JAMES SKAGGS the rest of my negroes, jinney, and all her Children except (Rachel) and her further increase should she have any during either my life time or the lifetime of my Wife. The ballance of my Estate is to be sold, and I give one Dollarto
    STEPHEN SKAGGS, the Ballance to be equally divided amongst my Children hereafter named, SOLOMON SKAGGS, LUCY STACY, RACHEL RAY, NANCY D SPANE,
    POLLY COMBS what I have here left to each of my Children is in addition to what I have heretofore given Lastly I do appoint my son JAMES SKAGGS and ELIAS BARBEE Executors to this my last Will Revoking all others heretofore
    made by me. In testamony where of I here unto set my hand and seal this fifth day of April in the year of our Lord 1809.
    
    HENRY SKAGGS (mark) (seal)
    Signed, sealed and puplished in the presence of
    
    ELIAS BARBEE x
    JOHN BARBEE x
    LARKIN DURRET x
    JAMES RAFITY x
    WILLIAM BARBEE x
    
    At a County Court held for Green County on the 4th Monday in december1810. This will was produced into Court and proven by the oath off LARKIN DURRET, JAMES RAFFIRTY and JOHN BARBEE and ordered to be recorded whichis
    done accordingly by Clerk JOHN BARRET DC Parents: James Skaggs and Rachel.
    
    He was married to Mary Thompson about 1756. [gcfamilies.GED]
    
    
    
    Deeds:
    21 July/24 Aug 1784, A 325, Henry Skaggs and Mary Skaggs, to WilliamGrayson, 100 acres, (Mone tary terms), Little River, branch of Woods River;
    witness, James McCorkle, John Kirk, Robert Currin, John Grayson, andWilliam Christian. (Mont gomery County, Christianburg Courthouse)
    
    Henry, the Long Hunter, died 1809-1810, and his will is recorded in Green Co., Book 1, p. 48. In W. R. Jillson's Kentucky Land Grants, HenrySKAGGS obtained 40 0 acres on Pitman Creek, Nelson Co., March 15, 1791.Pitman Creek begins in present-day Taylo r County and runs southwest intoGreen County where it empties into the Green River. He live d in thenortheast sector of present day Green Co.
    
    

Click here for details of The Long Hunter's family with Mary Thompson

¹ http://www.angelfire.com/co3/Skaggs/Deaths.html

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