Nancy Scotton-Skinner:A Hoosier Pioneer

With celebrating Mother’s Day last weekend I was curious to see what info I could find on my direct maternal line. I know a lot about my own mom, and her mom (my wonderful grandma), her mother and even her mother and her mother as well, that takes me to my g-g-g-grandmother Martha Ellen “Mattie” Parsell-Brewer, her mother was Sarah Skinner-Parsell and her mother was Nancy Scotton-Skinner, my g-g-g-g-g-grandmother. I know very little of Nancy and her life. So I will see what I can discover!

Sarah Skinner-Parsell, Jessie Brewer-Bishop with son Clarence and Mattie Parsell-Brewer. 

I consider myself lucky to know the maiden name of my g-g-g-g-g-grandmother, Nancy Scotton. The name was listed on the death certificate of her daughter, Sarah Skinner-Parsell, the informant being Sarah’s daughter, Mattie Parsell-Brewer. 

The 1850 census shows us a farmer named Daniel Skinner living in Hancock county Indiana, with his wife Nancy and their children Elizabeth, Susan, and Ebenezer. I know from other family records that my g-g-g-g-grandmother Sarah had a sister named Susan and brother Ebb. This Elizabeth is a new name for me. Further proof that this is the right Daniel and Nancy is that they are living next to John and Sarah Parsell with their daughters, Mattie and Mary.

One of my favorite parts of Nancy’s paper trail is that her eldest daughter, Sarah was born in Indiana on the 12^th of November, 1816. For those of you who don’t know, Indiana officially became a state on the 11^th of December, 1816, so Daniel and Nancy Skinner were settled in Indiana before it gained its statehood!

So where did Nancy come from before she made her way to Indiana? She was born in either Delaware or Maryland, based on census records. I was lucky enough to find the headstone of Nancy on find-a- grave.com and confirm her birth and death dates. Nancy was born 12- Nov- 1797 and died 14-Apr-1868. 

I am without a lead as to who were the parents of Nancy, but I believe that I have found a brother. Nancy is buried in the Scotton (or Scotten) cemetery in Hancock County, Indiana. Also in the cemetery is an Emery Scotton.