Tomahawk rights were a means by which settlers during early period of frontier settlements in the United States would claim title to a tract of land. The process was to deaden a few trees near the head of a spring, and mark the bark of one or more of them with the initials or name of the person who made the claim. Tomahawk rights gave the settler no legal title unless followed by occupation or a warrant and a patent secured from the land office. But the Tomahawk rights were quite generally recognized by the early settlers, and many of them were purchased cheaply by other settlers who did not want to enter into a controversy with the claimants who made them. The first white men to come were adventuresome French and English traders with the Indians and a few Scotch-Irish “squatters” who staked claims in the 1740s. The latter were among the settlers ordered to move back east by the provincial government in 1750 to appease the Indains. Following shortly after the Scotch-Irish were Germans who settled along the headwaters of the Yellow Creek. Earliest reference to the latter is the statement that “About 1755 a colony of Dunkards took up the southern portion of the Cove, making “tomahawk claims” to the land. Movement of the white man into the area of Pennsylvania appears to divide into three periods of time. First, that of the scattered and moving Indian traders and “squatters” prior to 1765, of which there is little record. Second, the period following the peace treaty with the Indians in 1765, which brought land speculators and few settlers to the area. Third, the major movement into the area, predominately by Germans from Maryland and eastern Pennsylvania, which began around 1780, and the close of the Revolutionary War. The earliest settlers here had the advantage of choice in laying claim to the land. For a few years following the 1754 purchase from the Indians of the territory west of the Susquehanna River, reduced to that between the Blue Mountains on the east and the Allegheny crest in 1758, this was vacant land owned by the Penn heirs as Proprietors of the Colony. As vacant land the brave pioneers considered it theirs for the taking. They occupied it under what became known as “tomahawk claims,” or “improvement claims.” The heart of such a claim was usually a spring of water or other prominent place and the settler marked it by deadening a few trees at the spot and at the corners of the claim. Most important, however, defending the claim from future claimants was the act of occupying and improving the land. This included at least a crude shelter and the clearing of some of the ground for planting. Few “tomahawk claims” were made in different area. However, land scouts soon arrived and procedures for sale of the newly acquired territory were implemented by the Proprietors. The procedure for purchase that was established involved application to the land office in Philadelphia (or Carlisle from 1750 to 1771) for a survey warrant. A patent (government deed) followed after the survey was made and the land paid for completely. In the case of a disputed claim, the date of the earliest application for a warrant was honored. A “tomahawk” or “improvement claim” was recognized, however, and pre-empted a warrant. For the few “squatters,” however, getting a documented title of ownership for their land claim was not easy due to the distance to the land office. Also, they sometimes had a problem in proving that they had occupied the land before the date a speculator had applied for a warrant on the same piece of land. Some such “tomahawk claims” were not settled until passage of the Divesting Act (1799) by which the young Commonwealth took ownership of all the unsurveyed lands held by the Penn heirs prior to the Revolution and granted the “squatters” a clear title to their “improvements.” The price to be paid for the land in 1766 as set by the Proprietors was five pounds in Pennsylvania currency per 100 acres (approximately 35 cents per acre), plus a quitrent of one penny per acre per year to be paid “in perpetuity” . The “quitrent” specified about in the early land transactions was a symbolic means of reminding the land holder of the sovereignty of the provincial government, a carryover from feudal Europe. It was applied by William Penn to prevent the settlers from purchasing land directly from the Indians, a practice that he felt would be to their detriment. The amount usually specified was “in coin,” although “in kind” — a red rose, a bushel of grain, an Indian arrow head, a beaver skin, etc., was sometimes demanded as a token instead of money rent. Quitrents were very unpopular with the settlers and were abolished by the Divesting Act of 1799, among other provisions. 270 acres of land by old land claim Tomahawk right. It was surveyed for John Skeggs . In the church minutes John was described as being old and infirmed and exempt from paying any taxes. In 1782, Kings Mountain was a mountain, that had a small flat area on top. This is where Ferguson and his men stopped and camped. The mountain men attacked and fought like Indians. The Tories charged and drove them down the slope at the point of a bayonet three times, but the mountain men continued to fight like Indians, hiding behind trees, and rocks. It was hard for the British to fire on the setters hiding in the trees. This meant that they had to lay on their stomach to fire at the setters, and their old blunder busters would not fire that far. They lost 28 men, and 62 were wounded. John Skaggs was one of the men that was wounded. He was wounded in the wrist. John can be traced from Montgomery Co. Va. to Barren Co., Ky. by this pension. Every time he moved he had a change of address. He received land grants, and was listed in Washington Co. tax list with 400 acres, for the year l782. Montgomery Co., Va., John Skeggs had this one of the land grants. Skeggs Gap was named after his daughter Nancy. Skeggs Gap can be seen from the Towers Overlook at the Interstate Breaks Park.The highest peak visible from the Parks is the massive Skegg Wall which caps Pine Mountain. The upper portion of it stands much above the water level of Bark Camp Lake in the High Knob. A hike up to Skegg Knob, adjacent to Skegg Gap and the massive Skegg Wall, is a difficult but rewarding experience. On a clear day its possible to see the High Knob high country capping the horizon upon looking across the upward sloping crest of the massive Skegg Wall. Skeggs Gap and Potter/Hall Cemetery. You can find water from a spring if you find the trail that leads to the left. This same trail merges with the spur trail from trail merge. An old gravel quarry adjacent to Skegg Wall, in Pike County, Ky., has been expanded in size during recent years, with the extensive quarrying of Greenbrier Limestone outcrops. The mountains have always held a special place in the soul of man. From the beginning of time mankind has been fascinated with mountains. The ancients believed that mountains formed the foundation of the world, that mountains surround the world and provide a resting place for the firmament (an inverted, transparent bowl separating the heavens from the earth), and that gods ruled from the top of mountains. If you wanted to see Skegg Wall its not easy to get to Skegg Wall. You either have to park at Birch Knob parking area and hike the Pine Mountain Trail north to get to it (which is rough country and only a few miles) or you have to climb the northern terminus of the Pine Mountain Trail to access it. When you are standing at the Towers Overlook at Breaks Interstate Park if you look in the southwestern direction youll see two peaks jutting up. The flat one to the west is Skegg Wall and the opposing one to the east is Skegg Knob. The furthermost left trail is the PMT, the furthermost right trail past the strewn rocks will take you to an overlook 2600 feet up that gives you a birds eye view of KY, silica mine and part of Skegg Wall. At Skegg Wall check out Indian Council Arch which is off the PMT in this area. The area around Indian Council Arch is very interesting with several other cave like structures and small arches some locals called it Kings Castle. In Virginia, the Northern Terminus of the Pine Mountain Trail runs through Breaks Interstate Park even though KY contains part of Breaks Park, this part of the trail is in Virginia. Take a left down the mountain where the PMT goes through Skegg Gap. This is the spur trail that takes you to Blue Head Overlook that gives you spectacular views of Skegg Wall. The break in the Appalachian chain was formed by the New River. Although this river (which becomes the Kanawha farther north) begins in North Carolina and flows all the way to the Ohio River; part of the river is not navigable, because of dangerous rapids. , and a little farther north, a branch of the Big Sandy River. Skeggs Gap route was used to cross the Appalachians and follow the Big Sandy River which also flows into the Ohio River to its headwaters. In 1750‘s, Matthias Harman and James Skaggs Sr. others from the first white settlement in Southwest Virginia “established a hunting station and built a large cabin of logs, prior to the Big Sandy Creek Voyage, on the identical spot which afterwards became the site of their blockhouse” Since white settlements were few and far between, Harman’s Station became a gathering place for hunters, traders, and other whites who passed through the region. An article hosted by Rootsweb, refers to the location as “Harmon Station in Historic Block House Bottom . Harman’s Station is well known for its part in the 1789 captivity narrative of Jenny Wiley. Mrs. Wiley, while her husband was away, was attacked by Indians who slaughtered her children and took her into captivity. After eleven months, Mrs. Wiley managed to escape from the Indians and is said to have clung to (or straddled) a sizable tree branch as it floated down the river with Henry Skaggs {LONG HUNTER}. At Harman’s Station, which was on John’s Creek, she was rescued, but not without a fight between her rescuers and the Indians who were pursuing her at Skaggs Gap. Lydia Skaggs Harman was a sister to John and Henry Skaggs( Skeggs). She married Mathias Harman or “Tice” as he was referred to as. Tice was a small man with a sharp nose and good hunting skills. The Indians referred to him as The little devil with the big nose or for short, Old Sky Gusty.” Although he was barely over five feet tall, he had a reputation for having an iron constitution, rarely ever giving in to fatigue, and killing Indians. In fact, the Indians thought that he might have made a deal with the devil due to the sheer volume of kills he had made. Lydia Skaggs Harman {Nee Skaggs} had brothers who was noted Long Hunters. Her father James Skaggs Sr. and his sons and the Harman’s founded Harman’s Station, close to what is now present day Paintsville, Kentucky in 1755. It was burnt down three different times before 1789. Harman Station was also called Block House Bottoms located below the mouth John’s Creek in now Johnson County Kentucky near where the Airport is today. Lydia Skaggs Harman and Tice settled in the area in 1803.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 16:46:20 +0000
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