Individual Details

Larkin Skaggs was a descendant of Old Richard Skaggs, one of the Longhunters, younger brother to the famous Henry Skaggs. Larkin was born in Edmonson County, Kentucky about 1831. He and his brother Willis moved to Cass County, Missouri in the early 1850s. Not long after, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed the voters of Kansas and Nebraska to determine if slavery was allowed within their borders. The border between Missouri and Kansas became a flashpoint in the national debate over slavery. Missouri was a slave state and Kansas outlawed slavery. Larkin Skaggs participated in the border war over slavery from the start. In Larkin Skaggs' Last Ride the author, Tom A. Rafiner describes the life and times of Larkin Skaggs leading up to the Civil War. In 1863, after neighbors were burned out by Kansas Jayhawkers, Larkin joined Quantrill's bushwackers. They planned a raid on Lawrence, Kansas, at the time it was half the size of Kansas City and home to many prominent abolitionists and Northern political leaders. Larkin Skaggs was the only one of Quantrill's men killed in the raid and his body was dragged through town, mutilated and left in the town dump. Larkin, a Quantrill Raider, was balding and paunchy with wisps of scraggly hair. For him, the raid was a thrill and an opportunity to garner more whiskey for himself.
Jesse and his brother Frank James were Confederate guerrillas or Bushwhackers during the Civil War. While Frank was a member of Quantrill’s guerillas, Jesse rode with Bloody Bill Anderson and Larkin Skaggs. Also William Quantrill knew the Skaggs, James,and Cole families lived in Kentucky.

Birth	1 Jan 1831	Edmonson, Kentucky, United States
Death	21 Aug 1863	Lawrence, Douglas, Kansas, United States

Father	James Squire Skaggs (1784 - )
Mother	Elizabeth F (1784 - )
Sibling	Sarah "Sallie" Skaggs (1822 - 1885)
Sibling	Willis Skaggs (1822 - 1863)
Sibling	Phebe "Fenley, Trudy" Skaggs (1828 - )