CHRONOLOGY OF
EVENTS IN THE SCROGGINS FAMILY HISTORY
by
William Edward Scroggins
February 25, 1998
The Scroggins Family name is a very old surname dating back prior to the 15th century in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England. The name Scroggins is Gaelic. The original spelling of it is Scroggie or Scrogge and means a scraggly bush or a small stunted tree in the Gaelic language. Our branch of the family, according to family tradition, came from Scotland. This may be true, but there is evidence suggesting that the family might possibly be of Scots-Irish origin. It is possible that they were among the influx of Scots-Irish immigrants from the Ulster province in Ireland during the mid 1600’s. Historically these Scots-Irish immigrants settled in Pennsylvania and spread out from there to Virginia, Kentucky and the Carolinas by the late 1700’s. But, at the same time I have found evidence of some Scroggies who migrated directly from Scotland in 1698 and 1699. So who knows for sure?
Down thru the years our name has been consistently misspelled. Often this was due to county clerks who didn’t know how to spell the name or to a relative who could not write and had to rely on the county clerk or other person to write the name while he or she affixed their “X” below it. In this chronology you will find the name spelled: Scroggs, Scroggie, Scrogge, Scoggin, Scoggan, Scogin, Scoging, Scoggins, Scrogans and Scroggins. Our name doesn’t appear consistently correctly spelled until the 1850’s. After this year our name is still occasionally misspelled, but not as often. I recently talked to a lady in Tennessee who feels that the Scoggins and Scroggins are not kin. But, I already know, for sure, that this is just not true. I have found my 2nd, 3rd and 4th great grandfather’s names spelled both ways in the records. This constant misspelling of the name accounts for the many different spellings of the name today: Scroggins, Scoggins, and Scroggs. People today still mispronounce or misspell our name. On an almost daily basis, I myself, am called Scoggins by people who do not know me. In this chronology I have spelled the name the way it was found in the records, even though in many cases we know it is spelled wrong.
This chronology is everything that I have found, to date, on our branch of the Scroggins family back to my 4th great grandfather, John Scroggins. We have recently received information that our family migrated to Wake County, North Carolina from Brunswick and Prince George Counties in Virginia. Either John Scoggins or William Scoggins found in these two counties is our John Scroggins’ father, although we have not determined which yet. The two Scroggies I have listed, who migrated from Scotland to Georgia, may or may not be directly related, but I have included them here as another possibility of when part our family entered this country. I have added the terms senior and junior to several of the names to distinguish between people with the same name.
Throughout this chronology I have included important events from American
history (in italics). I did this so
that we may look at these people, our ancestors, as participants in our
country’s history and not just as dry statistics and dates from the dusty
files of the county courthouse. These
ancestors were there during those important days and helped shape American
history!
1653
October 19
Thomas Scoggin acquires 500 acres of land in Northumberland County,
Virginia on the south of the Wicocomico River from Richard Bonnett.
This is the earliest entry that we have found.
1698
July 14
Robert Scrogie, a sailor, sails in the ship “St. Andrew” from Leith,
Scotland bound for Darien, Georgia in the American Colonies. He
marries Helen Ferrier.
1699
August 18
Alexander Scroggie, a sailor, sails in the ship “Rising Sun” from
Clyde, Scotland bound for Darien, Georgia in the American Colonies.
1719
August 11
Samuel Eaton acknowledges deeds to John Scoggan and John Green in
Prince George County, Virginia.
1722
June 22
William Scogin enters 150 acres of new land in Prince George County,
Virginia on both sides of Hatcher’s Run , by the Ford Branch.
He pays 15 shillings.
1724
July 9
Richard Scogin Junior enters 154 acres of new land in Prince George
County, Virginia on the north
side of Hatcher’s Run, below his house. He
pays 15 shillings.
1725
August 17
John Scogins has land bordering that of Robert Hall on the east side
of Pond’s run in Prince George
County, Virginia.
1728
September 28
William Scogin enters 383 acres of new land in Brunswick County, Virginia on the north side of Sturgeon Run, on William Gent’s line.
1734
August 1
George Scogin enters 342 acres of land on both sides of Hatcher’s
Run, along Samuel Sentall’s line, in Prince George County, Virginia.
November 20
John Scoggin, of Prince George County, Virginia, enters 244 acres of
land on the south side of Waqua Creek in Brunswick County, Virginia.
1739
September 22
Richard Scogin Junior enters 327 acres of land on the north side of
Hatcher’s Run in Prince George
County, Virginia.
1754
The French and Indian War begins.
1759
The British Army captures Quebec.
John Scoggins of Wake County, North Carolina is born before this year
possibly in Virginia. I came up with this birth year from the 1800 North Carolina census.
March 19
William Scoggins is a witness of the indenture between Joseph Carter
and John Irby for 250 acres of land in Brunswick County, Virginia.
1760
March 24
An indenture is made between William Scogin and Samuel Craft for, 12
pounds and 10 shillings, for 100 acres on both sides of Reedy Branch in Brunswick County,
Virginia.
April 28
William Scoggin is appointed “our true and lawful attorney” to
Richard Rabon, John King and Robert King in their suit against Thomas Wise regarding 225 acres of land
in Brunswick County, Virginia.
August 25
William Scogin is a witness in the indenture between Henry Williams
and Matthew Harris for 465 acres
of land in Brunswick County, Virginia.
October 27
An indenture is made in 1760, “between William Scoggan and George Berry, witnesses that whereas William Eaton at Court held for the said County (Brunswick) on the 22nd day of May, in the 26th year of the reign of the King, did recover against the said William Scoggan as brother and heir at law of John Scoggan, dec’d., and whereas Writ of Extent being issued, a jury summoned, and inquisition made, James Parrish, Gentleman Sheriff of the said County did on the 16th day of July, 1753, the said land and premises...to the said William Eaton deliver, to hold to the said William Eaton until his debts and damages were paid and then to revert to the said William Scoggan, for 15 pounds paid by George Berry, conveying the 144 acre tract.” It was signed by William Scoggin. The indenture was acknowledged in Court on October 27, 1760, by William Scoggan and Elizabeth, his wife, appeared and relinquished her right of dower.
November 19
William Scoggin is a witness in the indenture between William Short
Junior and Robert Short for 116 acres of land in Brunswick County, Virginia.
1761
March 22
Indenture made the 28th day of January, 1761, between William Wall of
Northampton County, North Carolina, and William Scogin, for 20 pounds, conveying
110 acres on Reedy Branch, and being part of land granted to Mathew Evins by Patent dated July 12, 1750.
March 23
Indenture made the 24th day of February, 1761, between
William Scoggin and David Tucker of Sussex County, for 150 pounds, conveying 300
acres, beginning on the North side of a branch called Reedy Branch, and being
part of a 383 acre tract granted to William Scoggin, dec’d., by Letters of
Patent dated September 28, 1728. Indenture
was acknowledged in Court on March 23, 1761, by William Scoggin and Elizabeth,
his wife, was privately examined.
April 27
William Scogin was a witness of the indenture between George Tillman
and Robert Lucy for 150 acres of land in Brunswick County, Virginia.
1763
The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War.
1773
March 1
John Scoggin enters 400 acres of land on both sides of
the north fork of Stewarts Creek in Halifax County, Virginia. He pays 40
shillings.
1775
Fighting breaks out between British
troops and American “Minutemen” at Lexington and Concord.
Sometime between this year and 1784 John B. Scoggins is born to John
Scoggins and his wife.
1776
On July 4th of this year the Continental Congress
adapts the Declaration of Independence. The
American Revolutionary War starts.
Some time before this year, John
Scroggie ships from Scotland and settles in Jamaica, Virginia.
His children are John, Alexander, Elizabeth, and Murdoch.
This information comes from a book on Scottish immigration to America. The entry in the book said “prior to 1776.”
This could be 2 years or 20 years prior, it didn’t specify.
1777
American Troops defeat the British Army at Saratoga, New York.
1778
The Americans sign a Treaty of Alliance with France.
March 19
William Scogin and John Scogin are mentioned in the land
warrant of Spencer Watts in Wake County, North Carolina.
William and John’s land borders Spencer Watts on Little Lick Creek.
John is at least 19 years old at this time which puts his birth date on
or before 1759. This is the
earliest record that I have found of the Scroggins family in Wake County, North
Carolina, which is where our branch of the family is from.
John is my 4th great grandfather. This
William does not appear in the 1790 Census for North Carolina.
Maybe he moved back to Virginia prior to 1790.
John has obviously ust recently moved to this state from Virginia. It is believed that
John’s brothers were William, George and Alexander (Alec).
Alexander later moved to Georgia and died about 1811.
May 9
John Scoggin enters 640 acres of vacant land in Wake
County, North Carolina on the north side of the Neuse River and Chunck a Pipe
Creek. My sister, Brenda, provided
me with some maps of this part of North Carolina.
The area where this land was located is now in Durham County, just east
of the city of Durham, north of Highway 98 and between County roads 1804 and
1808. Chunk a Pipe Creek is now
called Chunky Pipe Creek.
May 15
John Scoggin is mentioned in the land warrant of William Nichols, Senior
in Wake County, North Carolina as having land bordering his.
William enters 500 acres of vacant land on both sides of Lick Creek joining the improvement of John Scoggins and others.
1779
Richard Scoggin has a will this year in Sussex County, Virginia.
I have not seen this will, so do not know what is in it.
May 24, Monday
John Scoggin deeds land to Allen Scoggin at the Courthouse in
Hillsborough, Wake County, North Carolina. Allen is
obviously a kinsman, but I don’t know how he is related.
1781
General Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington at Yorktown,
Virginia.
1782
March 22
John Scoging is a buyer at the estate sale of Edmund
Bird in Wake County, North Carolina. John
is now at least 23 years old.
1783
The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution.
1784
January 4
William Scoggins enters 200 acres on both sides of Parkers Creek in Wake County, North Carolina. I haven’t located this creek yet. This is the last mention of William that I have found in Wake County, North Carolina.
March 2 John Scogin of Orange
County, North Carolina sells John McCoy of Wake County, North Carolina, 253
acres on Lick Creek for 50 pounds. This
creek is south of Chunky Pipe creek on the Neuse River.
There is also a Little Lick Creek in the same area.
1785
Sometime between this year and 1790, Repps Scoggins is born to John
Scoggins and his wife in Wake County, North Carolina.
1788
The States ratify the Constitution.
1789
George Washington is elected as the first President of the United
States. The first Congress convenes.
1790
John Scroggins is listed in the census for Wake County, North Carolina
with a wife and 2 boys under 16 years old and 5 females of undetermined age.
He owned no slaves. In this
entry his name was spelled Scroggins. His
children’s names were John B., Repps, Smith, Charity, Leah, Sarah, Elizabeth and Polly Mary. Smith
and one of the girls has not been born yet.
1791
The States ratify the Bill of Rights.
April 9
John Scogin is a buyer at the estate sale of William Cummings in Wake
County, North Carolina. He is at least 32 years old.
1792
George Washington is re-elected as President of the United States.
May 15
John Scoggin is a buyer at the estate sale of Humphrey Davis in Wake
County, North Carolina.
1793
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin.
Smith Scroggins Sr. is born in North Carolina to John
Scoggins and his wife. Smith Sr. is
my 3rd great grandfather.
February 28
John Scogin is a witness in the sale of John Gayle’s Negro, Sue, to James Ray for 57 pounds in Virginia currency in Wake County,
North Carolina. He is now at least
34 years old. So far I have found
no evidence that any of the Scroggins clan owned any slaves.
July 20
John Scoggin receives payment on an account current from William Cummings
in Wake County, North Carolina. I don’t
know whether or not this is the same William Cummings that had an
estate sale on April 9, 1791 in which John was a buyer. If it is an estate sale, I don’t see how it could be, because he would be dead!
Maybe Mr. Cummings estate owed John money and he just now got
it. That is probably what account current means.
November 28
William Scoggin marries Elizabeth Tomlyn in Frederick
County, Virginia. Maybe this
William is kin, maybe not. I also
do not know if this is the same William as mentioned before in Virginia.
1796
John Adams is elected President of the United States.
December 14
William Scoggin marries Polly Crook in Brunswick County,
Virginia. Surely this is not the
same William as the previous one.
1797
March 21
John Scoggin is the best man at the wedding of George
Roberts and Charity Scoggin in Wake County, North Carolina.
I originally thought that this was the senior John, but have since
decided that this must be his son, John B. Scoggins, who would be between 13 and
22 years old. John Scoggins had a
daughter named Charity and this is obviously her, as a father would not be the
best man at his daughter’s wedding. This
is John B. Scoggins’ sister.
June 16
John Scoggin is a buyer at the estate sale of William Nichols in Wake
County, North Carolina.
August 2
John Scoggin is the executor of Samuel Jenkin’s will in Wake County,
North Carolina.
1799
July 15
John Scoggin is a buyer at the estate sale of William Watts in Wake County, North Carolina. This Watts is probably related to Spencer Watts mentioned in 1778.
October 16
John Scoggin is the executor and witness in the will of ohnJ ordan in
Wake County, North Carolina.
October 17
John Scoggin is the executor in the inventory of John Jordan’s personal
property in Wake County, North Carolina.
1800
Thomas Jefferson is elected President of the United States.
John Scoggin is listed in the Wake County, North Carolina census with 1
male under 10, 1 male between 10 and 15, 1 male between 16 and 25, 1 male over 45 ( John
himself), 2 females under 10, 1
female between 10 and 15, 2 females between 16 and 25, and 1 female over 45 (probably his wife). That is
3 boys and 5 girls in the household with the parents.
Smith Scroggins Sr. would be 7 years old this year.
John B. is the oldest boy. Repps is the middle son and Smith Sr. is the youngest son. As
mentioned before, the girls are; Charity, Elizabeth, Leah, Sarah, and Polly Mary. I
don’t know which ages they are, but I believe the order in which I have them listed is oldest to youngest, with Charity being the eldest.
I believe this to be true according to the year they were married or had children.
July 19
John Scoggin is a bondsman in the bastardy bond of Elizabeth Scoggin in North Carolina.
A bastardy bond was a bond posted by the father of an illegitimate child
to ensure that the child was supported without public expense.
It could also be posted by a family member if the mother refused to give the name of the father.
This Elizabeth is John Scoggins’ daughter.
I do not know
if this is John Scoggins or John B. Scoggins, but my guess would be that
it is her father. Elizabeth is also listed as a bondsman for herself, along with John
Evans. John Evans could possibly be the father of her child.
1801
March 17
John Scoggins is a witness in the will of John Holder in Orange County,
North Carolina.
1803
The United States purchases the Louisiana territory.
Meriweather Lewis and William Clark depart from Saint Louis, Missouri to explore the new territory.
1804
August 30
Leah Scoggins marries Robert Glen in Wake County, North Carolina.
This is Smith Scroggins Sr.’s older sister. Smith
Sr. named one of his daughters Leah, probably after this sister.
1808
James Madison is elected as President of the United States.
1810
John Scoggin and R. Scoggins are listed in the Orange County, North
Carolina census. I haven’t seen this census, so I don’t know which John this is.
The R. is Repps.
January 30
Sarah Scroggins marries James Davis in Orange County, North Carolina. This is one of the first times that we find our last name spelled correctly. This Sarah is also one of Smith Scroggins Sr.’s sisters.
1811
William Scoggin has a will this year in Sussex County, Virginia.
I have not seen this will, so do not know what is in it.
Alexander Scoggins, John Scoggins’ brother, dies this year in Georgia.
September 11
Polly Scoggin acts as a bondsman for herself in a bastardy bond.
Also listed as bondsmen for her are Nelson Rancher and Thomas Roycraft.
One of these men could be the father of her child.
November 2
Repps Scoggins marries Rebeckah Morris in Wake County, North Carolina.
Repps is between 21 and 30
years old. Repps stayed on the
Morris family lands in north Carolina, where he died in February of 1844.
1812
The United States declares war on Britain. The War of 1812 begins.
1814
The Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812.
1816
James Monroe is elected as President of the United States.
February 5
John B. Scoggin marries Rhody Lewellyn in Wake County, North Carolina.
John Lewellyn is the best man.
February 26
John B. Scoggin marries
Rhodah Lewellyn in Orange County, North Carolina.
Smith Scoggin Sr. is the best man. John is
between 32 and 41 years old. Smith
Sr. is 23 years old. I can not explain why John marries the same lady twice in 21 days in neighboring
counties. They used a different
best man at each wedding. This John
is the brother of Smith and Repps, who are the sons of the earlier John, who is now at least 58 years old.
1818
October 8
Smith Scoggin Sr. marries Tabitha George with Repps Scoggins as the best
man in Wake County,
North Carolina. Smith is 25 years
old, Tabitha is 24, and Repps is between 28 and 38. These are my 3rd great grandparents.
1819
The United States acquires Florida.
Sometime in this time period Smith Scroggins Sr. and Tabitha George had a
son born. He was
Jesse Scroggins. This was their first born son.
1820
Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
John Scoggin and Repps Scoggins (who is now 30-39) are listed in the Orange County, North Carolina census. John has 1 male under 10, 1 male over 45 (himself), 1 female under 10, and 1 female between 16 and 26 (his wife) in his household. That is himself, his wife, 1 boy and 1 girl. R. Scoggins (Repps) has 2 males under 10, 1 male between 26 and 45 (himself), 1 female under 10, and 1 female between 16 and 26 (Rebeckah). Presumably that is himself, Rebeckah his wife, 1 boy and 1 girl. I don’t know which John is referred to here, but I assume it is the younger John B.
Smith Scoggins Sr. is listed in the Wake County, North Carolina tax
rolls. He is 27. These tax rolls usually
listed people who were delinquent in paying their taxes.
Many times this meant that these people had left the county. Could
this have been when Smith Sr. and Tabitha moved out of
state? They obviously
didn’t leave the state before September 12, as shown by the next entry.
Smith was not listed in the 1820 Census for North Carolina or Alabama.
I haven’t checked Kentucky yet.
January 20
John Scroggins marries Wincy Pearcy in Wilson County, Tennessee.
Jonathon Reggs was the surety in the marriage.
I don’t know who this John is, but he the first Scroggins that we have found in Tennessee.
September 12
Smith Scoggin Sr. is the best man at the wedding of Nimrod Howington and
Milbery Bradley in Wake County, North Carolina.
1821
March 10
Repp Scoggin has land adjoining a 50 acre grant from the State of North
Carolina to George Brasfield. Entered 24 August
1820.
1821/25
In 1825, John Quincy Adams is elected as President of the United States. The Erie Canal opens in New York.
Alexander Scroggins is born
sometime in this 5 year period to Smith Sr. and Tabitha Scroggins. I don’t
know if he was born in North Carolina. I
arrived at his age by a process of elimination using the 1840 census for Lincoln
County, Tennessee.
1826
Noah Webster publishes an American dictionary.
1828
Andrew Jackson is elected as President of the United States.
Sarah Scroggins is born to Smith Sr. and Tabitha
Scroggins. In the 1850 Lincoln
County census she is listed as 22 years old and born in Tennessee.
The state must be incorrect. Smith’s family is not listed in the 1830 census for North Carolina or Tennessee.
Our family probably hasn’t migrated to Tennessee yet. Smith
would be 35 and Tabitha 34.
1829
Smith Scroggins Jr. is born to Smith Sr. and Tabitha
Scroggins in North Carolina. I
presume it was in Wake County if the state is correct.
The 1860 census lists his birthplace as North Carolina.
Surely a 31 year old man (in 1860) knows what state he was born in.
This Smith is my great great
grandfather.
1830
A daughter, Leah C. Scroggins, is born to Smith Sr. and Tabitha
Scroggins. The census records say that she was born in Tennessee.
This state could be correct, but who knows for sure.
In adulthood she will marry to Joseph B. Smith.
April
Ellender (Wells) Holt is born in Tennessee.
She will marry Smith Scroggins Jr. in 1849.
1831
March 4
John Scrogs, who is 72, receives
a pension of $69.99 for service as a Private in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary
War. The age of this man works out
almost perfectly to be our older John
Scroggins from Wake County, plus he is the only John listed from North Carolina with a last name that could possibly be Scroggins.
This may not be him, but it is at least a possibility. I have
also found a John Scoggins and a William Scoggins who both served in the 15th Virginia Militia in the Continental Army.
1832
Andrew Jackson is re-elected as President of the United States.
Cyrus McCormick successfully demonstrates his reaper. Congress
passes the Tariff of 1832. South
Carolina threatens to secede in protest.
Abner Scroggins is born to Smith Sr. and Tabitha Scroggins. I don’t know if Abner was born in North Carolina or Tennessee. Smith
Sr. is 39 and Tabitha is 38.
Smith Sr. and Tabitha Scroggins presumably move the family to Lincoln County, Tennessee, but it could have been the year before when Leah was born. The most common route into Tennessee was from the north thru the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. This was because the route from the east was blocked by the Appalachian Mountains. There was no access thru them at this time. This is assuming that they were coming from North Carolina. They might possibly have been coming from Kentucky. More research is needed here.
1834
Tabitha E. Scroggins is born to Smith Sr. and Tabitha Scroggins in
Tennessee. Smith Sr. is 41. Tabitha is 40.
1836
Martin Van Buren is elected as President of the United States.
Texans adopt a constitution and form a Republic. Sam Houston
becomes president of the new Republic. On
March 6th, General Santa Anna’s Mexican army defeats and kills all 186 defenders of the
Alamo at San Antonio de Bexar.
Mary Elizabeth Scroggins is born to Smith Sr. and Tabitha Scroggins in
Tennessee. Smith Sr. is 43 and Tabitha is 42. In
adulthood she will marry Marcus Lafayette Ivey.
1837
John B. and Rhoda Scoggins move with their eight children to Jennings
County, Indiana.
April 15
William Jasper Scroggins is born to Smith Sr. and Tabitha Scroggins in
Lincoln County, Tennessee. William is the
last child born to Smith (44) and Tabitha (43).
1839
John B. Scoggins, Smith Scroggins sr.’s older brother, dies in
Jennings County, Indiana.
1840
William Henry Harrison is elected as President of the United States.
Smith Scoggins Sr. (who is now 47) is listed in the Lincoln County,
Tennessee census with 1 male under 5 years (William Jasper), 2 males between 10 and 14 (Smith Jr.
and Abner), 1 male between 15 and 19 (Alexander), 2 males between 20 and 29 ( Jesse and ?),1
male between 40 and 49 (himself), 2 females between 5 and 9 (Mary and Tabitha E.), 1
female between 10 and 14
(Leah), 1 female between 15 and 19 (Sarah), and 1 female between 40 and 49
(Tabitha). That is a total of 6 boys & men and 4 girls in the household with Smith
and Tabitha. Six of those
persons were engaged in agriculture.
There are twelve people in this household!
That is a lot of mouths to feed.
First mention of the Scroggins family name in the records of Tishomingo
County, Mississippi. The book that I got this information from doesn’t say who it was, but
somebody from the family was already in Mississippi.
1841
President Harris dies. John
Tyler becomes President of the United States.
June 15
Abner Scroggins (26) marries Elizabeth McCurdy (25) in Lincoln County,
Tennessee. They are married by W.R. Jones, a Justice of the Peace.
This is not Smith Sr.’s son as he is only 9 or 10
years old this year. Maybe
he is a cousin or a nephew of Smith Sr. This
could possibly be one of John Jr.’s or Repp’s sons.
1843
September
Abner Scroggins is listed among the young communicants that were received at Sacraments in
The records of the Prosperity Associate Reformed
Presbyterian Church in Lincoln County, Tennessee. Abner is 11 or 12 years old.
This church was 8 miles north of Fayetteville. It is safe to assume that the family must have lived within
10 or 15 miles of this church. In
the days when people either walked, rode a horse or a wagon, they probably would
not have traveled much farther than that to church. Also listed among the young communicants was a William Holt.
I wonder if this is Ellender’s brother?
1844
James K. Polk is elected as President of the United States.
February
Repps Scoggins, Smith Scroggins sr.’s older brother, dies in North
Carolina.
1845
Texas is admitted to the Union.
1846
The United States declares war on Mexico.
November 28
Jesse Scoggins marries Louisa J. Epps in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
This is Smith Sr. and Tabitha’s son. He is
between 26 and 27 years old.
1848
Zachary Taylor is elected as President of the United States.
Gold is discovered in California.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the War with Mexico.
1849
November 1
Smith Scroggins Jr. marries Eleanor Holt in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
They are married by Martin Towery. Her name was
actually Ellender. She could write
and this is how she spelled her name. Both Smith Jr. and
Ellender were 20 years old. Lois
Loma (Scroggins) Patton said
Ellender’s last name was Wells, but I am not sure where she got this
information. I have found two
different sources that state her last name as Holt.
The chance that there could be two people with the first name of Smith in the same county at the same time period
marrying someone named Eleanor/Ellender is very slim.
I think that the preponderance of evidence suggest that her maiden name
was indeed Holt. These are my great
great grandparents.
1850
President Taylor dies. Millard
Fillmore becomes President of the United States. California is admitted to the Union
Smith Scroggins Sr. (57 years old) is listed in the Lincoln County,
Tennessee census with his wife Tabitha, 3 girls and 1 boy. Lear
(Leah C.) 18, Tabitha E. 16, Mary (Mary Elizabeth) 14,
and William 11 ( this is
William Jasper Scroggins, born April 15, 1837.
He should be 13 years old.). Smith’s
occupation is a farmer.
Abner Scroggins (35) is listed in the Lincoln County, Tennessee census
with his wife Elizabeth (36) and 1 child, Lucinda Hull (8).
This is the older Abner who is probably a nephew or a cousin of Smith Sr.
William Alexander Scroggins is born to Smith Jr. and Ellender Scroggins
in Lincoln County,
Tennessee. He goes by the
name of Billy. Smith Jr.
and Ellender are 21 years old. This
is my great grandfather.
1852
Franklin Pierce is elected as President of the United States.
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes
her book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
April 18
Hannah Tabitha Caroline Scroggins is born to Smith Jr. and Ellender
Scroggins in Lincoln County,
Tennessee.
1854
December 27
Alexander Scroggins marries Eliza Rhodes in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
They are married by R.S. Hardin a Justice of the Peace.
This is Smith Jr.’s older brother who is between 29 and 33 years old. He apparently got
a late start on marriage.
1855
Elizabeth Scroggins is born to Smith Jr. and Ellender Scroggins in
Tennessee.
1856
James Buchanan is elected as President of the United States.
Violence breaks out in Kansas over
the slavery issue.
April 17
William Jasper Scroggins marries Elizabeth Sarah Goode in Lincoln County, Tennessee. They
Are married by R. Drennon, a Justice of the Peace.
William is 19 years old.
1857
Robert A. Scroggins is born to Smith Jr. and Ellender Scroggins in Mississippi. Smith and Ellender are 30 years old.
1859
John Brown seizes the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
Sometime before this year, but after 1856, the family moves to Tishomingo
County, Mississippi between the towns of Rienzi and Jacinto.
Alexander remains in Tennessee. I
don’t know where Jesse is living. I suspect
that he may be in Arkansas or Kentucky.
1860
Abraham Lincoln is elected as President of the United States.
South Carolina secedes from the Union
Smith Scroggins Sr. (who is now 67 years old) is listed in the Tishomingo
County, Mississippi census with his wife Tabitha (65), his daughter Tabitha E. (21), and
Bettie C. Jones (10). He has $400.00 in real
estate. Bettie is probably kin.
She may be a granddaughter.
Smith Scroggins Jr. (who is now 31 years old) is listed in the Tishomingo
County, Mississippi census with his wife Ellender (31), son William (10, my great grandfather
William Alexander), daughters Caroline (Hannah Tabitha Caroline) (8), Elizabeth (4), and son
Robert (Robert A.) (1). He has $500.00 in real estate.
William Jasper Scroggins, who is now 23, is listed in the Tishomingo
County, Mississippi census with his
wife Elizabeth (22), William Smith (3), John Abner (1) and Jesse Monday (12).
He has $520.00 in real estate.
Abner Scroggins (44) is listed in the Tishomingo County, Mississippi census as a day laborer living with another family. I cannot make out this family’s name. Also living with them is
Joseph S. Scroggins (17), born in Arkansas. This is the older Abner who is probably a cousin
or nephew of Smith Sr. The younger Abner (Smith Sr.’s son) seems to have disappeared since September 1843. He is probably living with one of his brothers, but I cannot find any reference to him until 1862. Joseph is the right age to be the older Abner’s son. This Joseph shows that someone in the family was already in Arkansas.
November 14
Abner Scroggins is the surety in the marriage of W.T. Fowler and Emily M. Cheek in Tishomingo County, Mississippi. I don’t know which Abner this is, but I assume it is the older Abner.
November 20
Abner Scroggins is the surety in the marriage of Lazarus Russell and
Amanda Cheek in Tishomingo County, Mississippi. It
seems as if Mr. Cheek unloaded both of his daughters in 6 days time!
1861
The seceding States form the Confederate States of America.
On April 12th, General Pierre G. T. Beauregard’s rebel forces fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston,
South Carolina.
Stuart Scroggins is born to Smith Jr. and Ellender Scroggins probably in
Tishomingo County, Mississippi.
1862
March 7
Smith Jr. (33) and Abner (31) enlist in the Tishomingo Avengers, a local
militia company with Captain James G. Lowrey as it’s commander.
They enlisted in Rienzi, Tishomingo County, Mississippi. Abner has
shown back up. I don’t know where
he’s been hiding.
April 2
Smith Jr. and Abner go to Corinth, Mississippi with the Tishomingo
Avengers where they are sworn into the Confederate Army.
The Tishomingo Avengers become Company A of the 32nd Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel Mark Perrin
Lowrey. Colonel Lowrey is a very
popular local Baptist clergyman.
May 30
Smith and Abner Scroggins leave for Tupelo, Mississippi (52 miles
from Corinth) with the 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment, arriving on June the 9th.
July 21
Smith and Abner Scroggins go with the Regiment, by train, to
Chattanooga, Tennessee by way of Mobile,
Alabama.
August 28
William Jasper Scroggins, who is now 23, has returned to Tennessee and enlists in the Union Army in Company C, 6th Tennessee Cavalry, U.S.A. Company C is commanded by Captain Nathan M. D. Kemp. The Regiment is commanded by Colonel Fielding Hurst and later by Colonel William J. Smith. This unit was organized in August of this year in Bethel, McNairy County, Tennessee. There is obviously some dissention in the family as William has joined the Yankee Army, while his brothers are all serving in the Rebel Army.
On this same day, Smith and Abner Scroggins cross the Tennessee River at
Chattanooga and march through Pikesville, Sparta, and Carthage, Tennessee.
They cross into Kentucky at Tompkinsville and arrive at Glasgow on September 13th.
October 8
Smith Scroggins Jr. and Abner Scroggins are with the 32nd Mississippi at
the Battle of Perryville in Kentucky at 4:30 p.m.
This is the Regiment’s first major battle and their casualties
are very high. The 32nd
Mississippi Regiment is with the Army of Mississippi.
Smith and Abner share in the hardship and disaster of the retreat afterwards to
middle Tennessee. The Army of Mississippi is depleted by battle casualties, disease, desertions
and straggling. They march over 200 miles on bad roads in terrible winter weather.
Their clothing and shoes are tattered. Rations are limited or nonexistent and the whole retreat is made worse by
a severe snowfall.
November 25
Abner Scroggins is left sick in the hospital at Winchester, Tennessee.
This was very likely a result of the cold, severe march they had just made.
This information comes from the 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment muster rolls.
December 26
Smith and Abner Scroggins are stationed at Triune, Tennessee (4 miles
north of College Grove) on the Nashville & Shelbyville Turnpike.
December 29
Smith and Abner Scroggins’ regiment rejoins General Patrick
Cleburne’s Division on Stones River,
after conducting a delaying action against General Rosecran’s yankee army.
December 31
Smith and Abner Scroggins are with the 32nd Mississippi Regiment at
Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This is during
the Battle of Murfreesboro, but the Regiment is not involved in the battle, as they are assigned to guard the railroad line between Normandie
Station and New Fosterville. General Breckinridge is ordered to send a regiment of not
less than 250 men to relieve them, but no one relieves them before the battle ends.
I am sure that this probably didn’t disappoint anyone in the Regiment.
1863
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the
slaves in the Southern Confederacy. In July,
General Robert E. Lee is defeated at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Vicksburg, Mississippi falls to General Ulysses S. Grant.
In September, General Bragg’s Army of Tennessee defeats the Federal army at Chickamauga, Georgia.
January 3
Smith and Abner Scroggins, with their regiment and the Army of Tennessee, retreat to
Tullahoma, Tennessee. The
Army goes into winter quarters here.
March 20
Abner Scroggins is detailed to cook in the Hospital in Tullahoma,
Tennessee by order of General Patrick Cleburne. He serves
as a cook in Cleburne’s Division Hospital until October.
April 23
Smith Scroggins moves, with his regiment, to Wartrace, Tennessee to
guard the mountain passes at Liberty Pass and Bell Buckle Pass.
Abner remains with the Division hospital at Tullahoma.
June 27
Smith Scroggins falls back, with the 32nd Miss., to Tullahoma in a
hard rain. The troops have a very hard retreat due to the deep mud.
July 3
Smith and Abner Scroggins, with the 32nd Mississippi Regiment and the
Army of Tennessee, march through the Cumberland Mountains.
On July 6th and 7th they march through Jasper, Tennessee and cross the Tennessee River on pontoon bridges arriving at
Tyner’s Station on July 10th.
August 2
Smith Scroggins is ordered, with the Regiment, to Blythe’s Ferry to
guard the crossing there. This was 30 miles northeast of Chattanooga where the Hiwassee and
Tennessee Rivers meet.
September 6
Smith and Abner, with the Regiment, go back to Chattanooga. The next evening, they lead the Army of Tennessee southeast down the LaFayette road, up Missionary Ridge, and through Rossville Gap. Seven and a half miles past Rossville Gap they camp for the night on Chickamauga Creek at Lee & Gordon’s Mills. On the morning of September 8th they march 14 more miles to LaFayette, Georgia.
September 9
Smith Scroggins is ordered, with General S.A.M. Wood’s Brigade, to
hold Dug Gap in Pigeon Mountain. On September 10th,
Wood’s Brigade skirmishes with yankee troops from Hindman’s
Division.
September 11
Smith Scroggins and the other soldiers of Wood’s Brigade remove the
wooden obstacle in Dug Gap at 1:30 in the morning. It
takes 3 hours and they have it removed before daylight.
They advance
in line of battle on Hindman’s Division, but are halted by General Bragg.
The yankee army is allowed to
retreat behind their defenses at Steven’s Gap.
Cleburne’s Division remains on Pigeon Mountain guarding the gaps until September 18th when they are
ordered to Doctor Anderson’s house (4 miles southeast of Lee & Gordon’s Mills)
where they go into line of battle.
September 19
General Patrick Cleburne’s Division, with the 32nd Mississippi and Smith Scroggins, marches west across Chickamauga Creek at Thedford’s Ford. This is the Battle of Chickamauga. They
go into battle in the
Winfrey field west of Jay’s mill at dusk.
The fighting is very confused in the predusk twilight and ends after full dark. They spend
a miserable night with wet clothes on one
of the coldest nights of the year. Due
to the close proximity of the enemy, no campfires are allowed. Smith Jr. is with the 32nd Miss. Inf. Regiment during this
battle. Abner is still detailed
with Cleburne’s Division Hospital near Alexander’s bridge as a cook.
September 20
Smith Scroggins Jr. is with the 32nd Mississippi Regiment when it is
ordered into battle at 9:45 a.m. The battle is on
the top of a ridge along the edge a field, belonging to the Poe family, on the LaFayette
road. The Regiment immediately loses 25% of their men to very intense Union
musket and artillery fire. Their losses are 25 killed and 141 wounded.
19 of those dead are found grouped around the Regimental Colors.
They hold the ridge for one and a half hours before being ordered to fall back. After
falling back, Colonel Lowrey tells Company A that their Major F. C. Karr still lies mortally wounded at the top of the ridge.
Major Karr is on the staff of Col. Lowrey and a former Lieutenant in
Company A. Colonel Lowrey
asks the men of Company A if they are going to leave their Major on the field.
Eight Company A soldiers go back to the top of the ridge to attempt to
bring Maj. Karr off the field. They
are immediately hit with the same intense musket
and artillery fire as before. All
eight are killed or wounded. Another
attempt is made to remove Major Karr and more Company A men are wounded,
but they finally succeed in removing Major Karr from the field.
Major Karr later dies in the field hospital.
Smith is among the fatally wounded, receiving multiple gunshot wounds.
He is taken to Cleburne’s Division Field Hospital near Alexander’s
Bridge.
October 8
Smith Scroggins Jr. dies of his wounds at Cleburne’s Division Hospital.
Abner Scroggins, his brother, is
with him when he dies and takes Smith’s final statement.
Smith’s personal effects are turned over to Abner. Smith’s
comrades in Company A, later elect him posthumously to the
Confederate Roll of Honor for his actions during the battle. This is a very prestigious award, as only 2,000 men were placed on the Confederate Roll of Honor during the
entire Civil War. This roll of Honor is the equivalent of the modern day Medal of Honor, a very
elite award. Smith
might have been one of the men attempting to keep the Regimental Colors
flying during the
Battle or, more likely, one of the men attempting to remove the wounded
Major F.C. Karr from the battlefield.
November 2
Alexander Scroggins enlists in Company F, 21st Tennessee Cavalry
Regiment at Indian Creek, Tennessee. He was enlisted
by Captain Russell for three years or the war.
This Regiment was also known as the 16th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment and as Wilson’s
Cavalry Regiment. Shortly after his
enlistment he went absent without leave until May-June 1864.
The records don’t indicate
whether he ever returned to his Regiment. This
probably indicates that he deserted his Regiment. In the last half of the War,
this was a very common occurrence as the men became discouraged with the way the
War was going due to the constant hardships endured and the defeats in battle. This was also just enough time for word to have reached Alexander that
his brother, Smith Scroggins, had died from his wounds after the Battle of
Chickamauga. Loma Scroggins Patton told my sister, Brenda Scroggins Sawyer, that Alexander deserted because
he didn’t like the way the war was going.
November and December
Abner Scroggins is employed on extra duty as a cook in the Receiving and
Distributing Hospital at Dalton, Georgia by order of Surgeon R.P. Bateman.
He serves as a cook with this hospital until April 30, 1864.
1864
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected as President of the United States.
General William T. Sherman burns Atlanta, Georgia and begins his “march to the sea.”
February 9
Ellender Scroggins, who is now 35, applies at the Tishomingo County Courthouse in Jacinto, Mississippi for money due to her late husband, Smith Scroggins Jr. Abner Scroggins and John Rhinehart act as witnesses and character references. Abner is home on furlough. John Rhinehart, who is a family friend, is also a member of the 32nd Mississippi. Abner turns over Smith’s personal effects to Ellender. The Rhinehart family still lives in the Rienzi/Jacinto area to this day.
April 2
Ellender Scroggins receives $134.06 from the Confederate government for
back pay and clothing allowances due to Smith Jr. at the time of his death.
This doesn’t sound like a lot of money today, but in 1864 it was a goodly sum, even though she was likely played
in Confederate script, which
almost worthless, even in the South. A
Confederate Private was only paid $11.00 a month. She will need this
money to take care of her 5 children.
1865
General Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse in
Virginia. Abraham Lincoln is
assassinated at Ford’s theater in Washington, D.C.
May 10
Abner Scroggins, who is now 34, is paroled by the Yankee Army in
Montgomery, Alabama. He signs a letter promising not to bear arms against the United States
again. I have found an A. Scroggins in the 1870 census for Alcorn County.
He is listed as 48 years old and married to Nancy (33). They have a 3
year old son named Wiliam and a 7 year old daughter named Nancy.
Alcorn and Prentis Counties were formed from Tishomingo County in 1870.
The age of this man seems to be too old to be our Abner, but very well could be him.
In 1870 our Abner should be 38 or 39 years old. Maybe the census taker made a mistake on his age?
His wife’s name is Nancy, which
is correct according to the LDS Library.
July 26
William Jasper Scroggins, who is 28, is mustered out of the 6th Tennessee
Cavalry Regiment, which had been dismounted in 1864, at Pulaski, Tennessee.
He has lost an arm during the war. He moves or has already moved his family to Missouri.
1866
Cyrus Field lays the first transatlantic cable.
1867
May 14
Hannah Tabitha Caroline Scroggins, who is 15 years old, marries
Houston Marion Byford in Corinth, Tishomingo County, Mississippi.
1868
Ulysses S. Grant is elected President of the United States.
Reconstruction begins in the South.
1869
The transcontinental railroad is completed at Promontory Point in Utah.
1870
Ellender Scroggins, who is now 41, is listed in the Decatur County,
Tennessee census. The
census taker spelled her name, Scrogans. Living
with her is Elizabeth (15), Robert (12) and Stuart (9). Also living with her is William A. (19) (my great
grandfather) and his wife (my great
grandmother), Margaret (17). There
is also a farm laborer named James Chandler from Kentucky living with them. Ellender’s
personal property is listed as $200.00 and William’s as $100.00. William Alexander
and Margaret obviously haven’t been married too long, but I don’t
have a date of marriage yet. Ellender
later moves to Arkansas, before 1874, as William
Alexander and Margaret’s son Huston J. is listed in the 1880 census as
6 years old and born in Arkansas. I suspect that
part of the family was already in Arkansas and had been there for a number of years.
Family
tradition says that the family had a reunion in about 1870 on a creek outside of Rienzi, Mississippi and the entire family reunited and put
aside hard feelings from the split during the war. I have
no evidence of this reunion as it has been passed down through 3 or 4 generations by word of mouth. This
information came from my 3rd cousin once removed Lois Loma (Scroggins) Patton, my great Aunt Callie Scroggins and 1st cousin
once removed Marvin
Scroggins.
1872
Ulysses S. Grant is re-elected as President of the United States.
1873
February 1
Alexander Scroggins marries C.A.F. Robinson in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
They are married by W.R. Martin. This may be
the son of Smith Jr’s older brother, Alexander Scroggins.
Somebody in the family is still living in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
1874
J. K. Glidden invents barbed wire.
Huston J. Scroggins is born to William Alexander and Margaret Scroggins
in Scott County, Arkansas. William is 23 and
Margaret is 21. I wonder if Huston
was named after Billy’s sister’s husband, Houston Marion Byford? William
A. and Margaret had at least 8 other children.
Their names
were Mose, James William, Ben R., Charles Wesley, Mattie L., Beulah, Pauline and
Callie.
Sometime between 1870 and this year the family has moved to the Arkansas/Oklahoma border area around the vicinity of Saline and Scott Counties in Arkansas. Ellender remarries to a man named Lemuel Worthy, a widower with five children. My sister found a marriage record in Saline County, Arkansas for a Ellen Scoggins (45) and John Worthy (50) who were married on November 7, 1875. I think this is probably them. Maybe her new husband’s name is John Lemuel Worthy?
The following excerpt is from Mike Webb’s Aunt Edith Byford’s family history: “While Houston and family lived in Saline County, Arkansas, he built a pole pen, covered it with brush, made a trap door and baited it with corn to catch wild turkeys. He would take them to Hot Springs to sell. He would have to spend the night and return home the next day. His mother in law, Ellender Wells (?), widow of Smith Scroggins jr., lived close by and visited the family quite regularly, bringing along with her two boys and a girl; the oldest, Uncle Robert (Bobby), the girl, Aunt Elizabeth (Lizzie) Scroggins, and a younger boy named Stuart. Stuart was so much younger that the children left off the (uncle) part. Grandma Ellender had a widow neighbor with four boys and one girl. One day they came over to Houston’s house and gave him a paper with big red lines and writing on it - he being a Justice of the Peace, made them husband and wife; Mr. & Mrs. Lemuel Worthy - they had a son, Lemuel Worthy, jr.” Mike Webb is my 3rd cousin once removed.
Two of Ellender’s children also married into the Worthy family. Robert married Martha Worthy in 1878 and Elizabeth married Ambrose Worthy and then Jim Worthy. The following excerpts are from the memoirs of Thomas Jefferson Byford. He was the son of Houston Marion Byford and Hannah Tabitha Caroline Scroggins and was born December 9, 1874 in Saline County, Arkansas. These events happened between the time he was born and August of 1880, when William Alexander Scroggins moved to Texas. The excerpts from Chapter 1 are about Stuart Scroggins, who lived with his sister, Hannah Tabitha Caroline, and her husband, Houston Marion Byford. The excerpts from Chapters 3 and 4 are about William Alexander (Billy) Scroggins.
From Chapter 1:
“The second thing I remember, my uncle (Stuart Scroggins) had gone fishing and we heard him yelling for Dad (Houston Marion Byford) to come help him, that he had more fish than he could get to the house. Dad said, ‘I’ll go meet him, but if he doesn’t have all those fish, I’m going to work him over.’ It wasn’t long before I saw them coming, carrying all the fish they could possibly carry. I can still see that large ‘catch’ of fish to this day.
The third thing I remember is a never to be forgotten episode. We were living on the north fork of the Saline River. My mother’s youngest brother, Uncle Stuart, was living with us, helping Dad on the farm. The wind had blown a small tree or sapling over on the fence inside the lot. Dad told Uncle Stuart to go and chop the limbs off, and throw them outside the fence. I was just a very small lad, but big enough to tag along. I was chattering to Uncle Stuart as he worked. As he was chopping, the axe slipped and cut his foot almost off. I started crying and screaming as loud as I could, but he told me to hush up, and the poor fellow hobbled to the house. Dad went for a doctor, but mother had no way to take care of her brother while he was gone. He bled to death that night.”
From Chapters 3 & 4:
“My dad (Houston Marion Byford) was voted the best bear hunter in the mountains of Eastern Oklahoma. I was the youngest, having started out at the ripe old age of eight years. I went with the men, but stayed mostly between the mountains and whittled while waiting for the hunters to return.
Once we were camped at the foot of the north side of Winding Stairs Mountains. Uncle Mart had an old muzzle loading rifle that wouldn’t kill a bear, although he said it would. It shot like an auger. His boy told him to take his six shooter. They all left out before daylight that morning. Uncle Mart found the bears first, an old bear and three or four cubs. He shot the old bear, then he stopped to reload ‘Old Mandy’ as he called his old gun. The cubs were playing all around. The bear was still there. Before he got ‘Mandy’ reloaded, Dad and Uncle Billy Scroggins dogs came up and run the bears all off. Dad and Uncle Billy killed the old bear and two of the cubs. Uncle Mart went over to them and said, ‘B-gad, Mr. Byford, that old bear killed your young dog.’ They had seen the dog coming toward them covered with blood, but he seemed to be alright. They were busy skinning on the old bear. Dad said, ‘Uncle Mart, you didn’t hit that bear.’ When they skinned on down to the end of the nose, they found she had been shot in the nostrils and her jaw was broken. Dad said, ‘Uncle Mart, why didn’t you take the six shooter and kill the old bear and her cubs?’ He replied, ‘B-gad, I didn’t know I had it!’
On my way to visit Uncle Billy (William Alexander) Scroggins one day, I saw a young colt in the woods, and to me it looked like a real panther with big shining eyes. I couldn’t be convinced it wasn’t, not right away at least. I ran to Uncle Billy almost scared to death, to tell him about the big panther I had seen. I am sure he knew all along that what I had seen was not a panther. But he went back with me to look for it. Even after I realized that I hadn’t actually seen a panther, I was too stubborn to admit it, so I stuck to my original story for several years afterwards.”
Mike Webb’s grandmother, Era Mae Byford Webb, wrote the following story about Ellender
Scroggins Worthy. “My parents lived in Indian Territory. When my great grandmother Scroggins lived with us I was too young to remember much. I do remember that we kept our eggs under the bed, in a box. She would take me by the hand and lead me to get the eggs to cook, in the hot ashes in the fireplace. She called me ‘Tippy toes’....”
1875
January 27
Elizabeth Scroggins marries W. Ambrose Worthy in Saline County,
Arkansas.
1876
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone. General George A. Custer is defeated by Sitting
Bull’s Indian forces at Little Bighorn.
1877
Rutherford B. Hayes is elected as President of the United States.
Troops are withdrawn from the South, ending Reconstruction.
William Jasper Scroggins moves his family from Missouri, where he had
moved after the Civil War, to Fannin County, Texas near the town of Delba.
They settle on land bought from William
Barnett. He is the first
Scroggins of our clan to move to Texas. Loma
Scroggins Patton told us that
Alexander’s son, John Scroggins, moved to Fannin County with William
Jasper’s family. He lived with them for a while, but he had a fight with his uncle.
The fight was apparently because the family was close to William Jasper because he had served in the
Yankee army. John moved to Eldorado, Oklahoma, breaking all ties with the family.
He even changed his last name by dropping the “r” in Scroggins (Scoggins).
It appears that all the hard feelings caused by the split in the family during
the Civil War were not resolved.
Mattie L. Scroggins is born to William Alexander (27) and Margaret
Scroggins (25) in Scott County, Arkansas.
1878
January 27
Robert A. Scroggins marries Martha Worthy in Saline County, Arkansas.
1879
Thomas Edison invents the incandesant lamp
Sometime between this year and 1884, Stuart Scroggins dies in Saline
County, Arkansas after an accident with an axe.
He bleeds to death. He
was not married.
1880
June 19
William Alexander Scroggins, who is 29,
is listed in the Scott County, Arkansas census with his wife, Margaret
(27), son Huston J. (6), and daughter Mattie L. (3).
Robert A. Scroggins, who is 23, is listed in the Black Fork, Scott
County, Arkansas census with his wife Mahaley (23), and daughter Ellen (1).
This is William Alexander Scroggins younger brother. I think that this
branch of the family remained in the Arkansas/Oklahoma area and his descendants are still there. The
census records show that Robert and William were neighbors, as Robert lived in dwelling #28 and William lived in #29 in enumeration
district #172. I am not sure who Mahaley is, as he married Martha Worthy in 1878.
I suspect that she is his second wife.
August 12
William Jasper Scroggins dies in Fannin County, Texas.
He was working in a field on a very hot day when he has a sunstroke. He
is buried in the Bailey Family Cemetery near Leonard in Fannin County, Texas.
1881
President Hayes is assassinated. Chester
Alan Arthur becomes President of the United States.
1884
Grover Cleveland is elected as President of the United States.
August 11
Ben R. Scroggins is born to William Alexander and Margaret Scroggins in
Fannin County, Texas. Sometime between June 19, 1880 and now William Alexander Scroggins has
moved his family from Scott County, Arkansas to Fannin County, Texas.
His mother, Ellender Scroggins Worthy,
moves to Texas with him.
1888
Benjamin Harrison is elected as President of the United States.
1892
Grover Cleveland is elected as President of the United States.
1894
The first hydroelectric plant is built at Niagara Falls, New York.
1895
May 9
Charles Wesley Scroggins is born to William Alexander and Margaret
Scroggins at Leonard, Fannin County, Texas. This
is my grandfather. William is 44
and Margaret is 42. Charlie is their last child. Sometime
after this date Margaret dies, but I don’t know when.
1896
William McKinley is elected President of the United States.
Gold is discovered in the Klondike.
1897
February 27
Hannah Tabitha Caroline Scroggins-Byford dies in McGee, Indian
Territory of blood poisoning shortly after the birth of her son, Charley Byford.
Her son Thomas Jefferson Byford and her daughter Emma Byford care for the baby after her death until the baby
dies at 10 months of age.
Caroline was 44 years old. Thomas Jefferson Byford wrote;
“Mother (Hannah Tabitha Caroline Scroggins-Byford) died from blood poisoning shortly after little Charley
was born. Emma and I cared for the baby until he passed away, when he was about ten months
old. We also helped dad
(Houston Marion Byford) take care of the smaller children.
Dad lived until 1911.”
1898
The United States declares war on Spain.
1899
The Treaty of Paris ends the Spanish-American war.
1900
United States troops help quell the Boxer Rebellion in China.
1901
President McKinley is assasinated. Theodore Roosevelt becomes President of the United States.
The Wright brothers make the first airplane flight at Kittyhawk, North
Carolina.
1903
William Alexander Scroggins remarries to Martha M.
I don’t know her maiden name yet.
I determined this date from the 1910 Texas census which says that they have
been married for 7 years.
1904
August 19
Elly Worthey dies near Cothrans in Lamar County, Texas of
“intermitting fever and old age.” The death certificate was signed by C. Z. Stidham.
She was 74 years and 5 months old. This would put her birth date as April of 1830.
This is Ellender Scroggins-Worthy, my great great grandmother. “Cothrans”
was known as Cothrans Store, which is now known as Tigertown, in Lamar County, Texas. This is about 15 miles northeast of Selfs Community where my
family lived when I was a child. There
is a cemetery in Tigertown that she could possibly be buried in.
This information came from the Lamar County Death Records Book #1, page
60, #598. She was supposedly living with William Alexander Scroggins, her son, when she
died. The following excerpt is from the memoirs of Thomas Jefferson Byford, her grandson.
“Grandmother Scroggins- Worthy lived with us. She
was such a dear old lady. We loved
her very much. One of my uncles came and took her to live with him, when we moved on west.
I have been told grandmother lived with Uncle Billy Scroggins (William Alexander Scroggins) some place in
Texas, until the time of her death. I have also been
told she was, or was near one-hundred years old at the time of her death.” The excerpts from Thomas
Jefferson Byford’s memoirs were provided to me by LaHonda
Comeaux of Louisiana.
1908
William Howard Taft is elected as President of the United States.
1910
April 21
William Alexander Scroggins is listed in the Fannin County, Texas census
with his new wife, Martha M., and his son Charlie W. (15).
1912
Woodrow Wilson is elected as President of the United States.
1913
Henry Ford introduces the assembly line in the auto industry.
1914
The United States sends troop to Mexico in pursuit of PanchoVilla.
1917
The United States declares war on Germany and enters World War I.
May 28
Charles Wesley Scroggins, who is 22, enlists as a Private in the U.S.
Army at Honey Grove, Fannin
County, Texas. His Army serial
number is 1501470. He is assigned
to Battery E, 79th Field Artillery. I don’t
know a lot about this artillery regiment yet.
I don’t think that they saw any combat action in France during W.W.I.
1918
In November, the Armistice is signed in France ending World War I.
August 18
Private Charles Wesley Scroggins goes to France during W.W.I with the
79th Field Artillery.
1919
June 20
Private Charles Wesley Scroggins arrives back in the United States with
the 79th Field Artillery.
July 1
Private Charles Wesley Scroggins is discharged from the U.S. Army at Camp
Bowie in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas.
1920
Warren G. Harding is elected as President of the United States.
The first commercial radio station goes on the air in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Nineteenth Amendment gives women the
vote.
February 1
Charles Wesley Scroggins marries Ollie Lou Williams in Honey Grove,
Fannin County, Texas. These are my grandparents. Ollie
Lou goes by the name Lula, but up until her death she told everyone her name was Lula Ollie. Charlie
and Lula are 24 years old.
June 29
For some reason when the census taker comes, Charlie Scroggins is living
with his 68 year old parents, William A. (Billy) and Martha Scroggins, on the Honey Grove to Eubell
road. The next
day, June 30, the census taker goes to the residence of Lula Wood on the
Bois D’Arc Springs to Telephone road. Charlie’s
wife, Ollie Lou, is listed as living there with her mother and using her maiden name of Williams. For
some unknown reason, Charlie and Ollie Lou (Lula) are not living together, even though they have been married for 5 months.
No one in the family knew anything about this until the 1920 Texas census was released to the
public.
1921
December 6
William Arthur Scroggins is born to Charles Wesley and Ollie Lou (Lula)
Scroggins in Trenton, Fannin County, Texas. He
goes by the name Dub. This is my
father.
1923
President Harding dies suddenly. Calvin
Coolidge becomes President of the United States.
1924
Calvin Coolidge is re-elected as President of the United States.
1925
A Tennessee court convicts John Slopes for teaching evolution in a
public high school.
January 1
Mattie Irene Scroggins is born to Charles Wesley and Lula Scroggins in
Selfs, Fannin County, Texas. This is my Aunt Martha M. Scroggins, who is 75, dies in Fannin County, Texas.
This is William Alexander Scroggins’ second wife. She
is buried in Shiloh Cemetery in Fannin County.
1927
Charles A. Lindbergh makes the first solo flight across the Atlantic
Ocean, nonstop from New York to Paris in the “Spirit of St. Louis.”
January/March
Charles Wesley Scroggins leaves Lula and the 2 children, Dub (6), Mattie
(2). Lula is pregnant with their last child Ann. He leaves during the night, stealing some tools from one of
the neighbors, the Weavers, never to return to his family.
No one knows why he has left. Lula
wants to put Dub and
Mattie in an orphanage until she can better care for them, but her brother Frank
won’t hear of it. He helps
Lula move into her mother’s home in Selfs, Fannin County, Texas.
Her mother, Julia Lula
Wood, is a widow living on a 62 acre farm, with her son Frank Howell
Williams. The 3 room house
on this farm was built between 1890 and 1900.
This farm was bought by Lula Williams
(after coming to Texas in 1901, she was married to a man named Wood
for a short time) in 1919. This
is the house that my father, Dub, and his sisters, Matt and Ann grew up in. This is also the house
that I lived in with my parents for several years after I was born. This house finally fell down about 1988.
This farm remained in our family until sold by Dub Scroggins
and his sister, Ann Marcum, in 1994.
April 7
Annie Grace Scroggins is born to Charles Wesley and Lula Scroggins in
Selfs, Fannin County, Texas. This is my Aunt.
1928
Herbert Hoover is elected as President of the United States.
1929
The stock market crashes. The
Great Depression begins.
1930
May 21
William Alexander Scroggins, who is 79, dies in Fannin County, Texas.
I have not yet found his gravesite. There is an
unmarked grave next to his second wife, Martha M., in Shiloh Cemetery in Fannin County north of Honey Grove.
I suspect that he may be buried there.
I have also found several
of William Jasper Scroggins’ sons buried in New Salem Cemetery about 2 miles
east of Selfs, Fannin County, Texas. There
are also several unmarked graves in this cemetery.
1932
Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected as President of the United States.
1936
Franklin D. Roosevelt is re-elected as President of the United States.
1937
A hired farm hand who is working for Frank Williams and Lula Scroggins
tells Lula during dinner one day that he knows where her estranged husband, Charles Wesley
Scroggins, is living. He tells Lula that
Charlie is living in Stillwater, Oklahoma and is married.
His new wife is
Lucy Irene Thornton. Charlie had
never bothered to get a legal divorce from Lula.
He had placed an announcement in some obscure newspaper disclaiming his
marriage to Lula. Apparently this
was a fairly common practice in the 1930’s even though it was not legal.
Anyway, Lula never saw this announcement.
Lula travels to Bonham, Texas and has Charlie arrested in Oklahoma.
Frank Williams tries to talk Lula out of it saying that she has probably
been better off without Charlie, but
she won’t listen to him. He is
arrested, tried and serves 7 years in the Oklahoma State Prison for bigamy.
1939
Germany invades Poland. World
War II starts.
1940
Franklin D. Roosevelt is re-elected as President of the United States
for a third term.
1941
The Japanese launch a sneak attack on U.S. Naval forces at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii on December 7th. The United States
declares war against Japan, Italy and Germany, entering World War II.
1942
The United States begins its’ “island hopping” strategy in the
Pacific.
1944
President Roosevelt dies. Harry
S. Truman becomes President of the United States. Allied Forces invade France on June 6th.
1945
Germany surrenders. The
United States drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ending World War II.
William Arthur Scroggins is honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Air
Force. He is 22 years old.
1949
April 27
William Arthur (Dub) Scroggins marries Doris Martin in Bonham, Fannin
County, Texas. Doris is 17 and was born in Silver City, Fannin County, Texas. Dub and Doris move into his grandmother’s, Lula Wood, old house in Selfs.
Lula Scroggins and her brother Frank Williams are living in the new house on the same farm off of FM 100 in Selfs.
They bought the new house this year from the Wesley Shawhart family.
1950
The Korean war starts.
January 8
William Edward Scroggins is born to William Arthur and Doris Scroggins in
Honey Grove, Fannin County, Texas at the J.J. Cappleman Maternity Hospital at 10:20
P.M. This hospital is upstairs above the drug store, west across the town square from the Post
Office.
1951
March 28
Mattie Irene (Scroggins) Clemens dies in Nevada.
She is killed on a tractor that overturns on her while she is crossing
an irrigation ditch. She leaves
behind her husband Warren Clemens and two children, Lorna and Mike.
June 11
Brenda Sue Scroggins is born to William Arthur and Doris Scroggins in
Commerce, Hunt County, Texas.
1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected as President of the United States.
William Arthur Scroggins moves his family to Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. He goes to work for Convair Aircraft Co. building B-36 bombers. They rent a house on 28th Street and later buy a house at 5301 Buchanan Street in Sansom Park.
October 8
Larry Fred Scroggins is born to William Arthur and Doris Scroggins at the
Lake Worth Clinic in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas.
December 8
Annie Grace Scroggins marries Henry Lewis Marcum in Raton, Colfax County,
New Mexico.
1953
The Korean war ends.
November 16
Dennis Lee Marcum, my 1st cousin, is born to Henry Lewis and Ann Marcum
in Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas.
1956
Dwight D. Eisenhower is re-elected as President of the United States.
September
William Edward (Bill) Scroggins, who is now 6, starts school in the 1st
grade at Sansom Park Elementary School. This
school is right across the street from their house on Buchanan Street.
1957
February 26
Charles Wesley Scroggins dies in the hospital in Fresno, Fresno County,
California. He is 61 years old and has been ill for a while and living in a rest home.
He is buried at Veterans Cemetery-Liberty Cemetery in Fresno.
September
Brenda Sue Scroggins, who is now 6, starts school in the 1st grade at
Sansom Park Elementary School.
1959
January 2
Keith Allen Marcum, my 1st cousin, is born to Henry Lewis and Ann Marcum
in Pasadena, Harris County, Texas.
September
Larry Fred Scroggins, who is now 6,
starts school in the 1st grade at Sansom Park Elementary School.
1960
John F. Kennedy is elected as President of the United States.
September
Dennis Lee Marcum starts school in the 1st grade at Heights Elementary
School in Texas City, Texas.
1962
William Arthur and Doris Scroggins move their family to 633 West Cedar
Street in Hurst, Texas.
1963
President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President of
September 9
Doris Ann Scroggins is born to William Arthur and Doris Scroggins in
Hurst, Tarrant County, Texas. Sometime this year, William Arthur and Doris Scroggins are divorced.
Doris moves out and Doris Ann, who is a baby, moves with her.
The other children remain with their father.
1964
Lyndon B. Johnson is re-elected as President of the United States.
1965
President Johnson sends American troops to Vietnam.
September
Keith Allen Marcum starts school in the 1st grade at Heights Elementary
School in Texas City, Texas.
1966
This year William Arthur Scroggins remarries to Jaqueline Norma Dent.
She has a son named Jack Mark Dent (12). The new
family moves to 5517 Waits Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas.
William Edward Scroggins goes to work part time, after school, at A&P
grocery store as a sack boy. This store is on Berry
street in Fort Worth.
1968
January 24
William Edward Scroggins enlists in the U. S. Navy in
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. He
Is 18 years old. He has just
quit high school and is a prime candidate for the military draft, as The Vietnam War is at it’s peak this year.
He is sent to boot camp in San Diego, California.
He is eventually assigned to a
destroyer escort, U.S.S. O’Callahan (DE-1051), and serves two tours of duty in Vietnam.
1969
Richard M. Nixon is elected President of the United States.
1971
November 1
William Edward Scroggins is honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in
San Diego, California. He gets a job at a 7-11 store as an assistant manager in Arlington,
Texas. He also enlists in the Texas Army National Guard as a Specialist 4 in the Mortar Platoon, Combat
Support Company,
2nd Battalion, 112th Armor, 49th Armor Division.
Larry Fred Scroggins enlists in the U.S. Navy this year and goes to boot
camp at the Naval Training Center at the Great Lakes.
He eventually serves several tours of duty off the Viet Nam coast aboard the ammunition ship U.S.S. Mauna Kea (AE-22).
1973
Richard M. Nixon is re-elected as President of the United States.