ESTATES: MOSES SKAGGS HEIRS, ESTATE CASE # 3871, GREEN CO., KY, 1836 Part 1 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Lula (Hankins) Hunter hunter@pixie.com and Jemima Gee Morse morse@shentel.net ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** INTRODUCTION Green County, Kentucky Circuit Court in Chancery Jeremiah & Aaron Lewis } Complainants vs. Heirs and Admrs. of Moses Skaggs dec'd, } Defendants The Moses Skaggs Heirs Chancery Suit #3871 (MES) is a basis for genealogy of one branch of the early Skaggs, Whitt, Hankins, Harman, Thompson, Meredith, Mirady, Chriswell, White, Maloney, Mitchell, Beavers, Combs, Howell, Samples, Quary, Ellis, York Ratliff, Despain, Roark, Combs, Simpson, Blevins, Jones, Whitten, Lockhart, Cecil, Bruster, families in Kentucky and Virginia. Abstracts of copies of the depositions in this suit, published by Barbara Wright, have been available for several years through the Green County, Ky., Historical Society http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygreen/historical society.htm The following is a line-by-line transcript of the set of MES documents in the Green County, Ky court file, transcribed by Lula (Hankins) Hunter, who traces her descendancy to Elizabeth (Skaggs) Hankins. Filed in 1836, the suit was brought about forty years after the death of Moses Skaggs who died intestate and without children, possessed of a quantity of real & personal property. The Bill further stated that he left his only legal representatives at law, five brothers and four sisters namely: Henry, Richard, Charles, Jacob, John, Susannah, Lydia, Elizabeth, and Nancy. NOTE: Moses Skaggs' two brothers, Henry and Charles Skaggs, are further identified in a diary in which Henry and Charles' wives are identified as sisters to Archibald Thompson. Archibald Thompson, born in 1736, left a diary recording events in early Virginia and Kentucky history, including births and marriage records for his and allied families in the New River Valley and in old Lincoln Co., Ky. The diary is in the possession of an Archibald descendant in Monroe County, Ky., and a copy is in the William B. Harlan Memorial Library, Tompkinsville, Ky. Measuring about four-by-five inches, it is one-hundred pages and includes some loose papers. In late 1999, a color photo copy was made of the original diary, and a line-by-line transcript was made, which is now posted at Doug Moore's web site http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/archibald/ CIRCUIT COURT CASE #3871 AARON & JEREMIAH LEWIS BILL SKAGGS heirs & Admrs. No. 801 Page 1 _____________________________________________________________________________ To The Honerable Judge of the Green Circuit Court in Chancery sitting. Your oraters Aaron & Jeramiah Lewis would respectfully represent unto your Honor that many years since Moses Skaggs departed this life intestate and without issue in this county of Green leaving at his death a tract of land situate & being in this county afsd containing ( ) acres and a negro Woman Slave named Rachel and her ( ) children named ( ) and personal property consisting of horses cattle hogs and sheep to the value of $500 besides various articles of farming utensils, household and kitichen furniture worth $300 that said Moses left at his death ( ). Skaggs his widdow who lived on the tract of land afsd and kept and retained the slaves and other property named afsd in her possesion without Administering on the estate of said Moses until the ( ) day of ( ) when she departed this life leaving the slaves and a part of the persoal property afsd & she having made use of and otherwise disposed of most of the personal property afsd before her death and the said slaves having since the death of said Moses incresed ( ) in number which is children of the said Rachel and has been born since the death of said Moses. That on the ( ) day of ( ) after the death of the widdow after a certain William Jones was regularly appointed Administrator of all and singular jt goods & chatle rights and credits of the said Moses Skaggs deceased by the County Court of Green Page 2 _____________________________________________________________________________ of the said Moses Skaggs deceased all of which will more fully and at large appear from instruments of writing executed by the said heirs and distributees of the estate of the said Moses Skaggs deceased as afsd which writings marked one, two, three & four are herewith filed and made a part of this Bill that your orators have since their purchase as afsd called on and demanded of the said Cavin and Blevin a settlement and distribution of the Estate of the said Moses Skaggs deceased that the said Blevin and Cavin utterly failed and refused to settle and make distribution of said Estate with your oraters. That the said Blevin and Cavin took possession of the tract of land belonging to the estate of this said Moses Skaggs deceased as the Administrators of said Estate and has as such rented the same out and received the rent therefor and now has as such the possession of said tract of land and fails and refuses to deliver the possession of the same to your oraters. All of which acting and doings of the said Cavin and Blevin are contrary to Equity and good conscience and manifestty tends to the injury and oppression of your oraters and in as much as they are remadies in the premises at law & can only be relieved in Equity when proved hardships & care more properly when one may have Page 3 _____________________________________________________________________________ executed bond as Administrator of said Moses as afsd with James T Carter, John Meirs and Charles Blevins his securities and that the said Jones took possession (marked thru) the slaves and what personal property yet remained into his possession and had then appraised and returned an inventory and said appraisement made in due form by him as Administrator of said Moses as afsd to the County Court of Green which was approved of by said court and ordered to be recorded all of which will more fully appear from a copy of said order Bond and Inventory and appraisement which is herewith filed marked (A) and is made a part of this Bill. That Jones made no sale of the personal property that came into his hands afsd, that he kept and applied to his own use the work and labour and hire of said slaves from the time he was appointed administrator as afsd untill the day of ( ) 1834 when he departed this life which work labour & hire was reasonably worth the sum of $300 per year from the time he Administered untill his death that afsd Jones when he was the Administrator of said Moses as afsd collected and received large sums of money that was due & coming to the Estate of said Moses towit the sum of $1000 That after the death of said Jones towit on the ( ) day of October 1834 the said Charles Blevins, and William Cavin was on their motion regularly appointed Adminis- Page 4 _____________________________________________________________________________ trators of the Goods chattles rights and credits of the Estate of the said Moses by the County Court of Green and they executed bond with William Coakly, James Mears and Robert Scoot their securities and the said Blevins and Cavin took possession of the slaves and the personal property which was yet unsold belonging to the Estate of the said Moses, and had the same regularly appraised and returned to the County Court of Green, which appraisement was approved of and ordered to be recorded by said Court all of which will more fully and at large appear from a copy of said order bond and appraisement which is herewith filed marked (B) and is made a part of this Bill that the said Blevin and Cavin since they was appointed Administrator of the Estate of said Moses as afsd sold one of said slaves towit Rachel worth $700 and has applied the money to their own use. That the hire of said Rachel is & has been ever since the said Cavin and Blevin received the possession of her as afsd reasonably worth the sum of $50 per year that the said Blevin and Cavin have ever since they received the possession of the said slaves as afsd kept and applied their work and labor to their own use which is now & has been ever since they received them as afsd reasonably worth the sum of $300 per year that the said Blevin and Cavin have received and collected since they was appointed Administrators of the estate of the said Moses as afsd large sums of money that was due and owing the Estate of said Moses towit the sum of $1000 all of which they have Page 5 _____________________________________________________________________________ invested. May it please your Honer the premise considered to Grant them chancery process against the said James T Carter, John Meers and Charles Blevins the securities of the said William Jones deceased and the said Charles Blevins and William Cavin and William Coakly, James Mears and Robert Scott their securities, and the said sons and daughters and their husbands as before stated of the said John Skaggs deceased and of the said Susanah Whit and her husband Richard Whit and of the said Lydia Harman and her husband Mathias Harman and of the said Elizabeth Hankins and her husband John Hankins and of the said Nancy Merady and her husband William Merady who are the only heirs and distributees of the said Moses Skaggs deceased, all of whom your orators makes defendants to this Bill may be compeled to appear and answer all and singular the allegations of the same on oath that the said Blevin and Cavin answer and say how many children of the said Slaves has been born since they came into their possession as before stated what is their age, names and sex. That your Honer decree in favour of your orators against the defts Carter, John Meers and Charles Blevin for such sums as may be coming to them as afsd from the said William Jones deceased that was Page 6 _____________________________________________________________________________ applied to their own use that the said Moses Skaggs deceased left at his death four sisters to wit Susannah Skaggs had intermarried with one Richard Whit, Lydia who had intermarried with Mathias Harman, Elizabeth who had intermarried with John Hankins, and Nancy who had intermarried with William Merady and brothers to wit John Skaggs, Henry Skaggs, Richard Skaggs, Charles Skaggs, Jacob Skaggs that the afsd brothers all except John Skaggs have since the death of the said Moses departed this life intestate and without issue leaving the said John Skaggs and the afsd Susanah Whit and her husband Richard Whit, Lydia Harman and her husband Mathias Harman, Elizabeth Hankins and her husband John Hankins and Nancy Merady and her husband William Merady [and the said John Skaggs, marked thru] their only heirs at law that the said John Skaggs, Susanah Whit & her husband Richard Whit, Lydia Harman and her husband Mathias Harman, Elizabeth Hankins and her husband John Hankins, and Nancy Merady and her husband William Merady have also departed this life intestate leaving the following persons their children and heirs at law towit the said John Skagg had one daughter named Susanah who is now the wife of of William Quary and one other daughter named ( ) now the wife of Thomas York and one other daughter named ( ) now the wife of Laban Ellis and one other daughter named Rebecca Skaggs who remains unmarried. The only children and heirs at law of the said Richard Whit and his wife Susanah late Susanah Skaggs are Susanah Criswelll, late Susanah Whit who intermarried with ( ) Criswell who after his marriage with said Susanah departed this life and Edmond Whit and the only children and Page 7 _____________________________________________________________________________ heirs at law of the said Lydia Harman and her husband Mathias Harman are Adam Harman, Henry Harman and Mathias Harman and one daughter named ( ) who is now the wife of Robert Beavers and one other daughter named ( ) now the wife of Moses Beavers and one other daughter named ( ) now the wife of Thomas Christian. The only children and heirs at law of Elizabeth Hankins and her husband John Hankins are one daughter named ( ) who is now the wife of Archabald Maloney, one other daughter named ( ) now the wife of John Mitchell and one other daughter named ( ) now the wife of John Howell and one other daughter named ( ) now the wife of Joseph Whit and Prathena Hankins, Lucy Hankins, and Lydia Hankins and Joseph Hankins & Moses Hankins and the only children and heirs at law of the said Nancy Merady and her husband William Merady are James Merady, John Merady, Daniel Merady, Mathias Merady and William Merady that the afsd sons and daughters of the said John Skaggs and of the said Susanah Whit and Richard Whit her husband and of the said Lydia Harman and her husband, Mathias Harman and of the said Elizabeth Hankins and John Hankins her husband and of the said Nancy Merady and her husband William Merady are now the only heirs at law of the said Moses Skaggs deceased. They state that the widdow of the said Moses after the death of the said Moses and Page 8 _____________________________________________________________________________ before her death afsd sold and conveyed all her right title interest and claim in & to the Estate of the said Moses to the said Charles Blevin and that at her death she had no interest whatever in said Estate. Your orators state that the number names and sex of the afsd slaves that came into the possession of the said Jones and afterwards into the possession of the said Blevin and Cavin as the Administrators of the estate of the said Moses Skaggs deceased will fully and at large appear from the copies of the afsd inventory and appraisement made out by them and returned to the county court of Green as afsd which is made a part of the Bill as afsd. They charge that there has been other slaves children of the afsd slaves born since they came into the possession of the said Cavin and Blevin as afsd. Your orators charge that they have recently purchased for a valuable consideration the intire interest right and title of the sons and daughters and the husbands of the daughters as before stated of the said John Skaggs, Susanah Whit and her husband Richard Whit, Elizabeth Hankins and her husband John Hankins and Mathias Harman and his wife Lydia Harman and the said William Merady and his wife Nancy Merady who are now and was at the time afsd the purchase the only heirs at law & distributees Page 9 _____________________________________________________________________________ (Parts of this page missing, torn, lines slanted] __?__ decree in favor of the said Blevin and Cavin __?__ to your oraters the afsd and the __?__ of land Honer decree against said & heir securities value __?__ Rachel together with __?__ __?__ the amount that the said Blevin __?__ may be found indebted _?__ final __?__ of said Estate and further Grant unto your oraters all such other and further relief as they may show them selves entitled to and they as in duty bond will ever pray (appears to be a signature, not legible) Page 10 _____________________________________________________________________________