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Surnames: SCAGGS PEARSLEY CROWLEY VAN OSDOL COLLINS MULFORD MILLER
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Ui.2ADE/374
Message Board Post:
My great grandmother was Susan Olive Scaggs. I find her and her family intact on the
Ohio County, Indiana 1860 census extracted here:
1) Riley Scaggs age 58 white male farmer b. in VA.
2) Mary Scaggs age 48 b. in VA (I know that she was Miss Mary Ann
Crowley and that she married Riley in 1836 in Dearborn Co., IN and that an Elizabeth
Crowley was married to Nathan Van Osdol that same year in Dearborn Co.)
3) David Scaggs age 22 white male farmer b. IN (m. in 1859 Margaret Jane Van Osdol)
4) William Scaggs age 18 white male farmer b. IN (m. in 1871 Johnson Co., NE to Elizabeth
R. Miller)
5) Elizabeth Scaggs age 16 in school b.IN
6) Van Croley Scaggs age 14 in school b. IN (may have died in Civil War)
7) Susan Scaggs age 12 in school b. IN (m. John Pearsley 1869 Whiteside Co., IL)
8) Lida Scaggs age 8 in school b. IN (m. 1869 in IN to Armstrong Collins)
9) George Scaggs age 5 in school b. IN (died age 24 in Johnson Co., NE)
10) Margaret Jane age 3 b. IN (error here)
By 1865 the Scaggs family is scattered. I found guardianship papers filed on behalf of
Susan Scaggs signed by a William Van Osdol and David H. Scaggs among court records of
Whiteside County, IL. These papers make no mention of the other Scaggs children but state
that Mary Ann Scaggs is deceased. I do not have a grave site for her in either Whiteside
Co. IL or in Ohio Co. IN. Also, I don't know of any other Scaggs buried in either
place.
Later I found that Riley Scaggs and David H. Scaggs had gone to Johnson Co. NE where
they are buried--David in 1868 and Riley in 1869. No other children are mentioned in
Johnson Co. NE records that I can find. I don't know when they moved there, whether
there was a divorce between Riley and Mary Ann or he simply went ahead to start a new home
for the family. Could there have been an epidemic that killed Mary Ann and the three
younger children and perhaps the other older children? Why then did Susan NOT go to
Johnson county NE where her father was? And the guardianship papers mention a sum of money
held by the Ohio Co. IN courts, Nathan Van Osdol executor. Who died and left that money?
I have written all of this info to Whiteside Co. IL but would also like to research
these questions here since one of you may have a clue that will help.