Solomon Scoggin birthday

Solomon Scoggin is my oldest known ancestor on my mother's side. While we do not know when he was born, we know that his marriage was recorded in Frederick County, Virginia in 1792. This page records our thinking of when he was born.

In wandering the net, there seems to be a lot of records saying ol' Solomon was born "about 1750", but before I take that as Gospel, I thought I'd look at the sources. Just because it is printed on the 'net doesn't mean it is true.

Reasons why he was born about 1750?

Q:

I guess that he could have been born as late as 1773 or so, and still met most of the known records. Back then men of 15 clearly fought and got married. And died....

If the 1750 date is correct, he'd have been 42 when he married. That seems very old. It is pretty old now. Even 1760 would have him be in his mid twenties for the Revolution, and 32 for the marriage to Jane Taylor.

The 1750 guess comes as a result of several things. The 1790 census shows Solomon's household as having one free white male over 16 (Solomon), one free white male under 16 (probably Joel), and two free white females (a wife and a female child). I know that Joels' wife was born in 1792. Joel, probably being the oldest child, must have been born several years before the 1790 census, or about 1787. If Joel was born in 1787, and Solomon was 27 at the time of birth, that would put Solomon's birth at 1760 (rather than 1750). I believe that Solomon's marriage to Jane Taylor was his second marriage. Solomon died in 1818 and left 9 children (probably from 2 wives). Solomon had a child who died in 1821 (Reuben). Joel died around 1833 "in the prime of life" (about 46).

Q:

I expect that ideal soldiers then, as now, are a lot younger than that. 18 maybe. If he were born in 1764 or 65, he could still have served in the Revolution as a teenager, and marrying as a peace dividend.

OK, I can see that, but in the 36 years between marrying Jane and dying is plenty of time to have 9, or 19, or 29 kids. But the census data sure seems to say he had an earlier wife in Pennsylvania. They did kill off the women folk all the time back then, and both Chester PA and the Winchester VA area were very rural and probably serious frontier. After all, this isn't that long after the French and Indian War.

I'll admit my 1775 seems like an unlikely guess, but I don't see how you get 1750 instead of something like 1765. Dying in 1818 from 1750 would make him 68, which is older than my mother was, or your grandmother Georgia. Do you really think he lived that long?

I guess I'd be happier with a guess arround 1762, maybe plus or minus 10 years.

Our earliest record on Solomon is as a member of the Chester County Militia in 1780. He shows up in a tax record a few years later. He was probably emancipated by the time of the tax record and at least 20 years old. Thus, I feel the latest practical date of birth for him would be about 1762. That would put him at 18 years old at the time he entered the militia. Of course, he could have been older. He was said to be the first Scogin immigrant in our line. Would he have immigrated from Wales during the war? Only if he was an English soldier. It seems to me he got over here before the war. And if he was the first Scogin here, I doubt he would have been a child when he came, but would have either been emancipated or orphaned. Thus, Solomon could very well be older than we think.

Q:: Yes, the tax date is a solid fix. I don't think the militia was as serious about age as our local Marine recruiter is today, so I don't put that much strength in its date. You wrote: " He was said to be the first Scogin immigrant in our line."

I didn't know that. While your records say he was a Welshman, and has the oldest records, I didn't make the jump that he was first. On the Farrell side of the tree, there are several sets of families that came over, mom, dad, kids,... And I've always considered myself an Irish American, even tho I've never been to Ireland, so I didn't make any inference that he was born in Wales.

Q:: Would he have immigrated from Wales during the American Revolutionary war?

We thing this is likely only if he was an English soldier.

Other possibilities: Conscript maybe that wanted not to go back to the mines? Of course, this was way pre-industrial revolution, maybe they didn't mine coal that early.

I agree that it is unlikely that he came during the war unless he was a soldier. And the war was brewing for a while, so unless times were really bad in Wales, it would not make sense to come in the mid 1770s

So, if you say he got here before the war. And if he was the first Scogin here, I doubt he would have been a child when he came, but would have either been emancipated or orphaned. Thus, Solomon could very well be older than we think.

Q:: OK, I'm partially with you. If he were a strong, block-headed teenager aiming to start a great life, he'd want to be here by the mid 1770s, so a 1760 birthdate is a reasonable guess. Not far from my 1762. But I don't see moving it back to 1750, unless he came over in 1765 or so. I'm making the assumption that if he made it into his 20s in Wales, that he'd have enough success to stay. "Young man, make your fortune" sorta thing...

The book "Good Old Times in McLean County", by E. Duis, 1874, has a biography on Andrew W. Scogin. It states "His paternal grandfather was a Welchman, while his mother's father was Irish." I took the first part of this sentence to mean that Solomon was born in Wales. I would not make the same conclusion as to the second part, because it does not say he was an IrishMAN, only Irish. Now, my presumption about Solomon, based on the above wording, may be presumptious. However, Andrew was alive when the book was written, and I would imagine that the author interviewed Andrew for the article. Hopefully, Andrew had accurate information about his grandparents.

Solomon certainly could have come out of a Delaware Scoggin/Scogin family. I also know that Chester Co., PA had a sizable Welsh community. I really don't know where he came from, but feel the answer lies in Cincinatti, because that is where his son Joel A. Scogin farmed and died..

Delaware Genealogy resources

Historical Society of Delaware http://www.hsd.org/
Delaware Genealogy Sociery http://www.delgensoc.org/

Help, ideas, etc. wanted

If you have additional information on Solomon Soggin, please email me, pfarrell@pfarrell.com Thanks