Utah Digital Newspapers

I have been searching the newspapers of Uintah and Duchesne Counties in Utah for tid bits of information about the Scogings on the website, Utah Digital Newspapers. One surprising find was that they were known as Scroggins. Myton is about 12 to 15 miles south of Cedarview.
On May 14, 1908, the Uintah Chieftain was launched in Myton with this fanfare: "Today the Uintah Chieftain makes its bow to the settlers of the former Uintah Indian Reservation".

The Myton Free Press
Feb 20 1919 page 2
Philip Scroggins has moved back to Bennett. He occupies the Rasmusen quarters. For the past two years he and his family have resided in Cedarview.

Mar 6 1919 page 2
Leeton: Mrs Philip Scroggins left Saturday for Cedarview to attend her mothers funeral.

Sep 18 1919 page 4
Leeton: Philip Scroggins and family also Richard Colton have moved from their ranches to Bennett for the school term.

Dec 4 1919 page 4
Leeton: Phil Scroggins has started building on the town site at Bennett.

Mar 9 1922 page 4
Alton Scroggins is reported to have tuberculosis in a very bad state.

Mar 30 1922 page 4
Leeton: George Evans and Oral Scroggins left last Tuesday for Salt Lake City where they were to be united under the bands of matrimony. They got as far as Roosevelt and the mud and failure of the stage to arrive forced them to remain their several days during which time they suffered a nervous shock but recovered the following Sunday when the mud laden stage started toward Price. Everyone here wishes them well in their new undertaking.

The place names are farming or ranching communities. Indian Bench is south of, Bennett, and Leeton is north of Bennett. Cedarview is about 5 miles west of Bennett. Montwell and Cedarview is in the same area. Montwell is no longer on the map. Roosevelt was the market or main community in the area now and then.
The Scroggins were part of the land grab that took place in 1905 when the government opened up Indian land for homesteading on the Uncompahgre and Uintah Reservations. It was reported that Alton Scogings was the first white to be born on the Indian land in 1905. The land was harsh and barren. Now to look at a aerial view it is just roads and empty lots where houses use to be.

I found some articles in the Salt Lake Deseret News pertaining to Rockville that are of interest. This is where William Bye Scogings was from 1862 to 1877. Rockville is 300 miles south of Salt Lake City. There are many articles pertaining to communities throughout Utah in the Deseret News. I could not get the search engine at the website to pull up Scogging. I found the article searching for Rockville.

Deseret News 1867 Aug 21 1867 page 6
Rockville, Kane Co., July 29
Editor Deseret News: Dear Brothers: - A few words from the upper valley of the Rio Virgin, will probably be interesting to the very numerous readers of the News. The weather has been hot and dry thus far through the summer. The wheat crop is light; there was but little cotton planted, and that is late; corn and cane are excellent; fruit is average. Health is generally good, though this climate is a little severe on children. Education is progressing, though feebly as yet. Improvements are advancing steadily. Religion is reviving. Our morals are not tainted with "regenerators." The Indians are quiet, and peace prevails. The 20th anniversary of the entrance of the Pioneers into Great Salt Lake Valley was celebrated in the usual manner, with a right good will, evincing that the people here duly appreciate the labors of that noble and honored band of veterans. Finally, "Mormonism" in these craggy regions is in the ascendancy. Yours, morst respectfully, G. Spilsbury

Deseret News Aug 19 1868 page 7
Celebration of the 24th in the Settlements
At Rockville, Kane Co., the people were fully up to the times in festive matters. They wasted their full complement of gunpowder, had a procession, music, speeches &c. In the afternoon the children had a dance in which a few of the Lamanites, attracted by the sound of the violin, participated. In The evening there was a ball for the citizens. Committee of arrangements, Thomas Bowman, H.B. Scogging, J.C. Hall

H.B. Scogging is William Bye Scogings.

London Marriage Registers on ancestry.com

I have a number of marriages that I identified through the civil registration indexes in the London area. Since there are a number of churches in each district it would be unlikely that I would find the specific church the marriage took place in. I don't have access to all the church records nor the time to search them. I was going to have to buy the certificates from the registrar office.
How complete is this ancestry marriage index? I found 12 marriage records of the Scoggins that I am researching. I found almost every marriage I was looking for. This tells me that this index, linked to images, is very extensive. Yes, I was able to download the images as well. I also found a marriage not recorded in the civil registration indexes. My pioneer ancestor, William Bye Scogings, married Sarah Raper about 1850 in London. I found that marriage in the parish of St Mary, Rotherhithe. Now I have the certificate. I thought I would never find that record. He joined the Mormons in 1853. Sarah never did join. The story goes that he had to choose between his family and the Mormons. William left his family in 1859 for Salt Lake City never to see his family again.
It use to be that a methodical search was required to find most records. Now with the indexing that is going on it is increasingly only necessary to know the name and the place and the search engine finds the records. The new term added to the genealogist vocabulary is 'wild card'. The methodology of genealogical research is changing with this massive indexing effort. It pays to know the subscription sites. Library's now have subscriptions to some of these sites so it may not be necessary to buy one. The largest free site is familysearch.org and there are many others as well.
I would imgine that a small portion of the records in the world are indexed, and the subscriptions sites focus on those records of most use to the researcher ranging from census record, church records, directories, military records, etc.

John Rawling Scoging (1778 - 1827)

The will of Thomas Scoging in 1785 mentions his son Robert Scoging (1742-18??). It does not say where he is. He is not an executor in the will so it appears that he is not close-by. He is the oldest surviving son. He married Elizabeth Rawling in Ipswich in 1772. Elizabeth's father, John Rawling was a man of means. When he died in 1779 he left 20 pounds for his grandson, Robert Scogging then age 5. John Rawling had property in Lindsay. Lindsay is about 13 miles from the parish of Clare and about 13 miles from Ipswich in the opposite direction. The parish of Clare is where we next pick up the trail of Robert Scoging and Elizabeth Rawling. They had six children; Robert, Elizabeth, John Rawling,Susannah, Mary, and Thomas. Robert is married in Falkenham, Suffolk in 1796, and John Rawling is married in London in 1810 and he is a victualer. I believe that I have found Thomas in London as well. The burial record of John Rawling Scoging has recently been found in St Leonard Shoreditch. Lacking direct evidence the following clues provide convincing evidence of the connection of John Rawling Scoging in London to our Scoging family. Due to the rarity of the surname 'Scoging' and then being combined with 'Rawling' and his age being recorded on the burial record as 49, I feel certain that this must be the son of Robert Scoging and Elizabeth Rawling baptized in 1778 in Clare. His name at baptism was recorded as John Ralling Scoging. John Rawling Scoging married Elizabeth Stuckey in 1810 in Shoreditch and they had 6 children. When Harriet died in 1876 she left a fortune of nearly 5000 pounds. It appears that she inherited it from her marriage in 1829 to Daniel Hagen. This is the wealthiest Scoging family we have in our family tree. The search continues for the burial, and probate records of Robert Scoging (1742-18??). I think it may be in London.

Google Earth uncovers Brown Homestead in Dry Fork Canyon

David Emanuel Brown (1851-1927) was a most remarkable man. He was a carpenter, builder, and farmer and left a mark in every community that he lived in. By wagon he traveled from Georgia to Monroe, Utah then to Marysvale, then to Dry Fork Canyon in Uintah County, Utah where he homesteaded land next a Utah State Monument, 'Remember the Maine'. It is a painting on the side of a cliff. The family arrived the same year that the painting was completed, 1898. I have the homestead case file describing the land. His nine children all lived in Uintah and Duchesne counties and have written a history of their times there. I hope to get in on the website soon. Their lives are interwoven with the lives of the Philip Scogings and Mary Elizabeth Brown, his daughter. David moved his family to Marysvale and this is where Mary met Philip Scogings. Soon after David move to Uintah County, Philip and Mary followed. Were talking a lot of cousins growing up in rural Utah, over 40. After 10 years in Dry Fork Canyon he then homesteaded the land of his daughter, Martha Jane in Cedarview. Cedarview was about 35 miles west of Dry Fork. By visiting Cedarview one can get an idea of the hardships and the wear the land had on its occupants. It was in Bennett, Utah, not far from Cedarview that the family of Philip Scogings and Mary Brown homesteaded.

Thomas Scogings a Woolwich shoemaker

I have been going through the census records of Thomas Lay and Mary Scoging. I now have gone through the census records of their children. I have made a connection to another brother of Mary Scoging. I found Ambrose Lay living with Thomas and Hannah Scogings in the 1841 census of Woolwich. Ambrose would be his nephew. His age in the census puts his birth about 1776. Thomas Scoging and Elizabeth Loyd (Lord) had a child before their marriage in 1776. The Otley parish transcript mentions a child being baptized after their marriage. This it appears is the same child born to Elizabeth Loyd before the marriage named Thomas. I think I need to buy the Otley parish registers from the Suffolk Record Office as the research is taking me in that direction.

Thomas and Hannah Scogings had a child recorded in the 1841 census named Abigail. I did not find Thomas and Hannah in the 1851 census, but I found Abigail with her husband, George Smith, living at the same address. Abigail was born about 1821 in Woolwich. The civil registration indexes do not record the death of Thomas and Hannah. It may have not been recorded. I have determine that Thomas was a shoemaker and established resident of Woolwich. The last record I have him in is an 1845 directory of Woolwich I need to search Probate records to see if I can find him prior to 1851. I have found a marriage in Bedfordshire in 1805 between Thomas Scogings and Hannah Evans in 1805. There are more questions than answers. Now I have a location to search and more records to uncover.

Suffolk Ancestors

Thomas Scoggins and Elizabeth Lloyd had 11 children between 1777 and 1800. I have just discovered the marriage of Mary their daughter who was born in 1796. Mary was the last one to be discovered. I have accounted for all eleven children now. Ten of them survived to adulthood and married. William I believe was killed in the Napoleon Wars in 1815. Their average age at death was 77 years. Elizabeth and Deborah lived to near 100 years old. It must be assume that our ancestors lived to old age unless we can prove otherwise. They all remained in East Suffolk except for Richard who lived in London. The Ipswich Journal reported the death of Deborah. Some of the facts do not jive with what the records say.

Ipswich Journal; Feb 8, 1889: Whitton: Death of a Centenarian. Last week there died at Whitton an old lady who had reached the patriorenial age of 100 years, named Deborah Baker. The widow of Thomas Baker, a carpenter of Claydon. Mrs Baker who was the daughter of a small farmer, named Scogings was born at Badingham in November, 1788 and was the youngest of thirteen children. The old lady had been a widow 45 years and had eleven children of whom only three survive. Mrs. Baker retained the use of her faculties to within a few weeks of her death. and could also sew, &c, three months ago. She was a small woman active very simple in her manners and mode of living, and it is said a total abstainer for many years. Mrs. Baker was related to Mrs. Edwards, of Baylham, who has attained her hundredth year.

The most important clues in identifying them came from the census records. The fact that Scoggins is a relatively uncommon name and they lived to the census years when the parish of birth was recorded became invaluable clues. English research is a challenge in that death records do not record that parents names. Marriage records after 1837 only record the father’s name and those before 1837 only record witnesses. Mary mentioned above married in Little Blakenham in 1816. That is about 20 miles from Badingham. It is only three miles from where her two other sisters, Deborah and Elizabeth married and lived. A witness at Mary’s marriage was Robert Fenning. Robert Fenning is the husband of Elizabeth. It becomes obvious that we must search for clues in every record we can find. Relying on parish registers alone is not enough.

Hand Cart Pioneer William Scogings 1859

The journey of my handcart pioneer, William Bye Scogings, was recorded in journals. From the time he got on the ship in Liverpool till the time he arrived in Salt Lake City there are accounts of the trip. Some of the journals have been partially transcribed and are at the Church Archives website. While on the journey he is mentioned many times by name.

June 18 McIntyre, Thomas, Journal
We have a thunder storm this morning preventing us from starting out early. We try it at 11 o’clock[.] the roads are soft and many pools of water are formed[.] On the roads we make circutious routes to avoid them which makes it very tedious travelling. We reach a place about 5 o’clock tired and weary called "Cleveland" Travelled 10 miles[.] Our little trials are finished off today by the pesty mosquitoes. Prayer by Wm Scroggins.

Smith, John Young, [Diary],
August 14. Sabbath morning. Call to a general meeting when we are addressed by captains of Gen. Br. Scroggins thinks the Sisters are too familiar with Strangers of Gentile and Apostate Trains that we meet and instructs the Saints concerning the Sin of Selfishness . . Time is given to the saints to bear testimony, and a good time is enjoyed.

When they arrived in Salt Lake City there was quite a celebration:

Deseret News; Sept 7, 1859, page 4: News from Utah: Arrival of the handcart company.-- On Friday evening, Mr. J. Harvey arrived from Bridger with the intelligence that Capt. Rowley, with the handcart company, would arrive near the city, Saturday evening, but would not come in till Monday morning. About 2 p.m., on Suuday, a messenger arrived from Elder Benson, who went out to there camp in the morning, announcing that the company were so anxious to come in that Capt. Rowley had resolved to accede to their wishes, and they would arrive at five o'clock. Immediately every house and vehicle in the city was seemingly in motion, conveying those who were anxious to witness the egress of the company from the kanyon in that direction. Within a few minutes of the designated time, the company arrived, escorted by two or three bands of music and a vast concourse of citizens of all grades and professions, and passing through the streets lined with anxious spectators, went to Union Square, accompanied by the thousands that joined the escort as they passed along. It was certainly a stirring scene, and such a one as has not been witnessed for some time past by this community, calling forth many expressions from the beholders, mostly of the joy, but some of detestation that human beings would endure so much, leave their houses in foreign lands, traverse the seas, and cross the deseret plains with handcarts, all for their religion. The liberality of the Saints was abundantly manifest on the occasion by the amount and variety of the provisions that were provided through the Bishops of the several Wards for the wayworn emmigrants composing the company, who were thus made welcome to these once, and will be again, ere long, peaceful vales; for surely "Mormonism," so called, is not dead, as some have supposed; and truth, seemingly crushed to earth, will rise again, although it has not in these days been overcome.

Scoggins, Scogings England Probate

Due to the uncommon surname of ‘Scoggins’ I have been able to extract every person with that surname and its variants from the England national probate index which started in 1858. Prior to 1858 it is necessary to check various court records to find a probate record. The different spellings in the index are as follows: Scoggin, Scoggins, Scogging, Scoging, Scoggings, Scogings, Scroggins. Scoggins is the most common spelling. From 1858 to 1900 there were 15 probated records; of those, I can connect 7 of those people to my tree. From 1900 to 1945 there are 50 probated records. The most consistent family to hand down wealth in my tree was that of Isaac Scoggins who was a farmer in Laxfield. He had numerous children and they can be found in the probate indexes. The most useful probate record was that of Jarvis Scoggins who died in 1866. He never had children so he left his property to other relatives which are named in the will. The index entry reads as follows: “The Will of Jarvis Scoggins late Friston in the County of Suffolk Yeoman deceased who died on the 10 January 1866 at Friston aforesaid was proved at Ipswich by the oaths of Isaac Scoggins of Laxfield in the county aforesaid Farmer the Brother Jarvis Scoggins of Laxfield aforesaid Farmer the Nephew and Isaac Crisp of Friston aforesaid Fisherman the Executors, Effects under £200.” If you want to know if your Scoggins ancestor is in the index email me.

DNA Genealogy

There are a lot of genealogy DNA companies that test the various markers. I found a website that lists all the companies and the markers that they test. I don’t know if it is current but it still gives a relatively good comparison. One of my Scogings cousins had the test done over at Family tree DNA. The 67 marker test is on the Scoggins group over on their site. It really helps to join a group where others share the same surname so as to have something to compare with from the start. Out of the 13 people who have submitted tests none of them even come close to matching my Scoggins line. My cousin in England recently had his test done over at ancestry. I find it interesting that out of the 40 or so markers tested between my two cousins that three markers do not match. Both were born in the 1930’s and their common ancestor was three generations removed. The only difference is the maternal line. They have different great grandmothers. My cousin in England had his test done at Oxford many years ago and it tested the DYS 425 marker and it was null. DYS 425 is not a standard marker tested by DNA companies. My U.S. cousin’s marker DYS 425 is Null or zero. Apparently only a small percentage of people have a null reading on this marker. Once you have submitted your DNA over at Famiy Tree DNA you can add tests for groups and individual markers like DYS425 for a small fee.

Newspaper Research

Small town newspaper hold a treasure trove of information about those in the community. Now with the indexing and digitizing of so many newspapers it is becoming easier and easier to find those hidden treasures. I found the following article in the Utah Digital Newspapers website. It is from the 'Free Lance Newspaper' out of Marysvale, Utah on Nov 20, 1903. His tombstone says he died in 1904.
"Claimed By Death; Wm Scroggings Died Last Monday; After lingering painfully between life and death and after firm hope had been entertained that he was on the high road to recovery, word was recieved Monday that Wm Scroggings a well known and respected citizen of this city had passed away in the hospital in Salt Lake. Mr. Scroggings went to Salt Lake about 3 weeks ago to undergo an operation for cancer of the stomach; the cause of his death. One operation about two weeks ago seemed successful and it was thought the cancer had entirely removed, but later another operation was deemed absolutely necesary, but owing to his weakened condition, the result was fatal and the end came about 1 o'clock Monday morning. Mrs. Scroggings and her brothers, Charles and Ab Peterson being with him in his last moments. The remains were brought to this city Tuesday evening, a large concourse of friends meeting the remains at the depot. The funeral services were held at his late residence onThursday morning at 10:30. Remarks were made by J.F. Gibb and S.L. Page, and music furnished by the choir. The pall bearers were the Messrs Harry Cuff, Harry King, Ed Longley, H Hanan, James Ber?elsen, Da?? Gibbs, Wm E White and Albert Hardy. There was an immense outpouring of freinds to pay their last respects to the late departed. Mr. Scroggings was born Feb 12, 1864 in Rockville, Washington County this state being 39 years old. He was married about 10 years ago in Junction to Miss Sadie Peterson of this city. He leaves a wife and two children to mourn his loss. The remains were interred in the Thompson grave yard being followed to their last resting place by almost the entire community and friends from miles around."

Scogings Mckenzie

Scogings and variants; Scoggins, Scroggins, Scoging, Scoggin: Families originated from Suffolk, England. Few have been traced to the United States and some to Australia. The research is on my website http://donjaggi.net/winnifred/index.php.
Mckenzie: My family lived in Kirkcudbrightshire and you may be surprised that there were not many in the county. No Mckenzie's from this line are a live today. My great grandfather moved to Barre, Vermont in 1890. He worked in the granite sheds as a granite cutter, as he did in Dalbeattie. He started to go by Mackenzie instead of Mckenzie. around 1900.