The theory of the Sheckles/Sheckels
I have been watching this message board for some time and I have seen where some believe the Sheckles/Sheckels came from places such as Germany, (this spelling would have a ”c” as the second letter. Ireland as some have suggested, other say we may be of Jewish descent and many believe as I do, we are of English descent. I have researched the profile of the people of
Wales, and find it to be very similar to that of the
Sheckles. I believe we came from
Wales or the Southern part of
England.
I have been doing research since 1985 and will try to explain what I believe to be the path the Sheckles/Sheckels took in their attempt to find better places and improve lives for their families.
My line begins with one Thomas
Shekell in
Maryland and ends with one William Lafate
Sheckles in
Tennessee. The spelling as many have found varies. The spelling when they first came to the colonies was
Shekell or SHEKEL and through several stages became
SHECKELS and for some reason unknown my line spells it
Sheckles.
Two people may have been the start of the
Sheckles in Colonies. They both were transported. Peter Rigby and George Kibble were granted 600 acres of land in
Lancaster County VA. for paying for the passage of 12 people among them was Barbry
Shekell. They were transported from
England to
Lancaster County VA. in 1656.
Next person to be transported was John Shackues, because handwriting of that period is hard to read this name may be Shekells. Jesse Wharton was granted 1050 acres for transporting John Shackues and 19 others on 16th of February 1670. No connections have been made to either of these man.
Now coming into the picture is Thomas
Shekell who marries Mary Budd Dec. 11th 1701 in
Anne Arundel County Maryland. Assuming he was around 20 or 21 when he was married, this would place his birth ca. 1680. He dies 1722 in Anne Arundel,
Maryland. Thomas produced 4 children, Thomas, John, Elizabeth, Richard
Shekell (there is a little question here).
Next person in my line is John
Shekell. According the will of John
Shekell he may have been a man of wealth and a slave owner. John lived in the
Anne Arundel County Maryland area, and owned 3 tracks of land he called “Hard Bargain”, “Bear Ridge”, and “Sorry Bargain”. John married Frances Birkhead and produced 8 children, Elizabeth,
Abraham, Rebecca, Richard, Susanna, Mary, Deborah, and Francis
Shekell.
The person leaving
Maryland in search of new land was Richard
Shekell the next person in my line. Richard married Sarah Simmons and produced 7 children. James, Mary, Eleanor, John, Deborah,
Abraham S. and Elizabeth
Shekell. Richard traveled with Captain Bealors company to Nelson County Virginia to what is now known as
Hardin County Kentucky. Richard owned 100 acres of land on the Rolling Forks River (I think this land is now part of Fort Knox military base). Richard leaves 1 son (John) in
Maryland when he left or that son went back to
Maryland. Richard came to this area around 1782. Richard leaves his part of his fatherÂ’s will to his son John for 5 shillings. In RichardÂ’s will he leaves all land to son James. James is to pay
Abraham John and Elizabeth $200.00 within 2 years of death of his wife for their part of the plantation. James died before Sarah and again we find a different spelling of
Sheckles (Shickell) as listed in his will. John Sheckell may have came to the plantation for a little while and the moved to
Crawford County,
Indiana or may have went straight to
Indiana which is across the Ohio River from
Hardin County,
Kentucky. John married Sarah
Coy. From here John and Sarah children went to places like Minden Missouri, the west coast (California, Washington State, Oregon).
Next in my line is
Abraham S. Sheckell later spelling found as
SHECKELS and at times as
Sheckles. Abraham may have felt left out because of what happened in the will. He married Rebecca
Coy and lived in
Crawford County,
Indiana for a short time before moving to
Hawkins County,
Tennessee. Abraham obtains land on the South side of the Holston River near the Rock Spring Branch. It has been hard to find the children of
Abraham but I believe these are his and RebeccaÂ’s children, Eleanor, (born in
Crawford County,
Indiana and may have stayed there) Rebecca, (3 children and never married) William, Louisa, Leamer, Nancy and Sarah. I Think Rebecca died ca. 1835 to 1840 in
Hawkins County,
Tennessee (no proof). Abraham moved later to
Union County,
Tennessee where he married a second time to Mary
Keller. They had I believe 2 children Timothy and maybe a girl I have not found out for sure. Most of the
SHECKELS found living in
Knoxville,
Tennessee or has ties to
Knoxville are descents of Timothy. Timothy was a Civil War Veteran and was on the Union Side as was many of the East
Tennessee Veterans.
William Kendrick
Sheckles is next in my line and was born 1828
Hawkins County,
Tennessee and died 19 Feb. 1900 in
Union County,
Tennessee. William married Sarah
Keller and produced 8 children, Franklin (left
Union County,
Tennessee and settled in Middlesboro,
Kentucky), Mary (died as a baby),
Rutha, Annie, (Both never married,
Rutha had a daughter Rebecca Jane, never married), Amanda (married John Guy), Jonah (married Martha Shelby 2 offspringÂ’s, Clurden and Clayton),
Abraham (married Mary Molbey no children), and my grandfather William LaFate who settled in LaFollette, Campbell County,
Tennessee.
I hope this will help some of you doing research and if you have information that ties into the above I hope you will share that information. I have been working out of town for about 7-1/2 years and just recently took a job back in my hometown. I have not put my computer back on the net and have not re-established a personal email account. In the mean time you can reach me via my wifeÂ’s email (
bettie50@bellsouth.net) or my work email (
rtowe@franceformer.com). I look forward to hearing from you all.
