Note: Due to space limitations, I cannot provide all the documentation available.
There are numerous family trees claiming to show the family of John Skaggs and Catherine Hicks. John Skaggs was the son of Thomas Skaggs (1728-1806) of Wolf Creek, Greenbrier/Monroe County, Virginia (later West Virginia). The name of John’s mother is not known, but it was NOT Ann Wollard. At this time, I do not believe we know for sure who Catherine Hicks’s parents were.
John and (the first) Katherine Skaggs were charter members of Greenbrier Baptist Church when it was formed in 1781. Shirley Ulaki, a Skaggs descendant and long-time researcher, identifies this Katherine, last name unknown) as John’s first wife. The first Katherine died between 1780 and 1785 and was the mother of Elizabeth Skaggs, who later married Samuel Ingles.
The focus here is on the children of John Skaggs and Catherine Hicks Skaggs. It is important to note that there is NO evidence that John’s middle name was Henry.
The exact date of birth for John Skaggs is not known. The DAR places his birth in 1762. John Skaggs and Catherine Hicks Skaggs are buried in the Old Greenbrier Baptist Church Cemetery in Alderson, West Virginia. The tombstone was put up much later and the death date for Catherine is not correct. According to the 1850 census, she was age 85, living in the home of her son, John Skaggs, Jr, so she obviously did not die in 1842. This would put her birth year as 1865. John’s date of death on the tombstone agrees with Greenbrier Baptist Church records. According to Greenbrier County marriage records, John and Catherine were married in February of 1786 by Rev. John Alderson. Catherine would have been 21 at this time and John would have been around 24.
The children are shown below. Documents proving the names will follow.
Mary (Polly) married John Foster.
Jane married Peter Miller.
Thomas married Susannah (sometimes seen as Susan) Johnston.
Lucretia married Bailey Wood, Jr.
John Jr. married Sarah (Sally) Campbell.
James Russell married Rebecca Callaway.
Susan married Joshua Ellis. He was the son of James (below) who married Sarah.
Catherine (Kate) never married.
David married Elizabeth Jane Foster.
Oliver married Mary (Polly) Ellis.
Levi married Clara (Clarey) Callaway.
Sarah (Sary) married James Ellis. (It is incorrect as shown in Monroe County History.)
The following land documents from Monroe County, Deed book, v. P-Q 1846-1852 prove that these names are correct. The documents show that after the death of John Skaggs, Sr., John Skaggs, Jr. inherited the land by agreement with his siblings.
I have both Rebecca and Clara Callaway in my tree and had both James Russell and Levi Skaggs as their husbands. I am descended from Rebecca and Clara's aunt, Nancy Callaway who married Felix Williams.