Charles Scaggs: Eldest Son on a Maryland Plantation

Charles Scaggs (c. 1709–1749) was a colonial Maryland planter and the earliest documented progenitor of the branch of the Scaggs family that produced the 20th-century retail innovators behind the Scaggs, Safeway and Osco chains.

Born around 1709, likely in Prince George's County, Maryland (later part of Frederick County after 1748), Charles was the son of Aaron and Susanna Scaggs. He established himself as a landowner and farmer in the fertile Potomac River region, acquiring property through inheritance or purchase in an area transitioning from frontier to settled agriculture.

Charles married Elizabeth (surname unknown) and raised a family amid the colonial Maryland backcountry. His will, dated and proved in Frederick County in 1749, named his widow Elizabeth as executrix and his three sons as heirs, confirming his status as a substantial planter for the era.

Charles died in 1749 in Frederick County, Maryland, leaving his estate to be administered by Elizabeth and providing for the next generation's southward and westward migrations.

Spouse

• Elizabeth (surname unknown; c. 1710–after 1749), executrix of his estate and mother of his children.

Known Children (named in 1749 will)

• Charles Scaggs Jr. (c. 1740s–c. 1811); married Mary (surname unknown); migrated post-Revolution from South Carolina to eastern Tennessee and Elk River frontier; father of the Sims' Settlement group, key ancestor in the line leading to retail innovators.
• James Scaggs (c. 1734–1814); married Susanna (likely Moredock); migrated to New River Valley of Virginia, then eastern Tennessee and finally western Kentucky; 
• Samuel Scaggs (c. 1740s–unknown); named in father's will. Possibly migrated with brother Charles to South Carolina under surname Staggs.

Shab Row in Frederick, Maryland

While Charles himself lived and died in colonial Maryland with no direct involvement in later retailing, genealogical research and Y-DNA testing identify him as the key patriarch of the distinct "Safeway Scaggs" lineage—separate from Longhunter Skaggs branches. His son Charles Jr. was the progenitor of the R-FT12801 haplogroup, a subgroup under R-FT6584. Charles' grandson Eli Skaggs (son of James) was the progenitor of the R-BY93447 haplogroup, also a subgroup under R-FT6584. Charles' other grandson, Abraham Moredock Skaggs (also son of James) had descendants testing R-FT6584. Therefore, Charles himself must have been R-FT6584 along with his son James.

Charles' descendants' migrations—from Maryland through South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and beyond—laid the foundation for the family's enduring frontier resilience, culminating generations later in Rev. Samuel M. Scaggs (b. 1861 Tennessee) and his son Marion Barton Scaggs (1888–1976), who expanded the Scaggs cash-store model and merged it with Safeway in 1926.

References

• Frederick County, Maryland Will Book A1 (1749), will of Charles Scaggs naming widow Elizabeth and sons Charles, James, Samuel (primary source for birth order and heirs).
• Prince George's/Frederick County land and probate records (contextual family groupings via Aaron Scaggs/Susanna Hyatt).
• Y-DNA evidence: R-FT12801 subgroup (core "Safeway" line via Charles Jr. descendants); subclades R-BY93447 (Eli branch) and R-FT6584 (Abraham branch) confirming descent from this colonial patriarch.
• Genealogical compilations (e.g., "The Scaggs Saga," Scaggs DNA projects) tracing the line from Charles (1709–1749), son of Aaron Scaggs, through South Carolina/Tennessee migrants to the retail branch.