Household #134: Scruggs, John Greene

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In the 1900 Barney census, John Scruggs headed a 9-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.

Household Snapshot

John Scruggs headed a 9-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 spouse or marital partner, 6 children, and 1 boarder, employee, servant, or other non-kin resident.

John Scruggs's listed occupation was Farmer.

All listed household members were reported as born in Georgia.

Newspaper and Public-Record Trail

This section flags public-record leads separate from the census table. The detailed discussion stays in the family narrative, research status, and source citations below.

1900 Census Household

Name	Relation	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
John Scruggs	Head	38	Georgia	Farmer
Martha E Scruggs	Wife	32	Georgia	—
Edwin Scruggs	Child	10	Georgia	—
Ada Scruggs	Child	8	Georgia	—
Horace Scruggs	Child	6	Georgia	—
Ruby Scruggs	Child	4	Georgia	—
Robert Scruggs	Child	3	Georgia	—
Eleanor Scruggs	Child	1	Georgia	—
Joe Bryant	Boarder	18	Georgia	Laborer saw mill

Children and Later Trails

This section is reserved for later-life child evidence. No later spouse, death, burial, obituary, probate, separate household, or descendant-line identification has been added here yet from direct records.

Family Narrative

The 1900 Barney household contains John G. Scruggs, wife Martha E. Scruggs, children Robert E., Ada M., H. V., Ruby, and Eleanor, and boarder Joe Bryant.
John can be followed in Brooks County from the 1870 and 1880 censuses, through Morven district tax digests from 1883 through 1887, to his 1888 marriage, the 1900, 1920, and 1930 censuses, and his 1934 death certificate.
Martha E. Griffin Scruggs is anchored by the same marriage record, the 1900-1930 census chain, and her 1930 death certificate naming her parents as James Edwin Griffin and Ellen Judy Dorminy.
The household's later children are well represented in the records. Ada Moore, Horace V. Scruggs, Ruby Culpepper, Robert E. Scruggs, and Edwin Richard Scruggs all have substantial adult documentation, while Eleanor appears to have died young.

John G. Scruggs appears in 1900 as a farmer born in November 1861 in Georgia. Martha E. Scruggs appears beside him, born in August 1867 in Georgia. The census states that they had been married eleven years, which fits their Brooks County marriage on 19 July 1888. Their home in Barney included children Robert E., Ada M., H. V., Ruby, and Eleanor, along with boarder Joe Bryant. John owned the farm free of mortgage in 1900.

John's Brooks County placement starts before the marriage. In 1870 he appears as a child in the Richard and Susan M. Scruggs household. In 1880 he is still in that household, working on the farm. Tax digest records then place John G. Scruggs in Morven district 660 in 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, and 1887, showing him as an adult in the same local area before the 1888 marriage.

The 1920 and 1930 censuses carry the household forward and show the later child set. In 1920 John and Martha were renting in Barney, with John Leon, Sam Stevens, Agness, Angus, and Arnold still at home. In 1930 John was back in an owned farm household, listed as a farmer and employer. Martha appears there as Mattie E. Scruggs, and the household also includes sons Angus and Samuel S., daughter-in-law Elsie M. Scruggs, and grandson Arnold J. Scruggs. The 1930 census therefore confirms that Mattie E. was not a second wife but the same Martha E. Scruggs seen earlier.

The death certificates close the parents' records cleanly. Martha Ellen Scruggs died in Brooks County on 31 December 1930. Her certificate gives a birth date of 15 August 1867 in Lowndes County and names her parents as James Edwin Griffin and Ellen Judy Dorminy. It also places her burial at Corinth Cemetery, Morven. John G. Scruggs died in Morven district, Brooks County, on 3 December 1934. His certificate describes him as a widowed farmer, gives a birth date of 15 November 1861, names his parents as Richard Scruggs and Margaret Horne, and places his burial at Corinth Cemetery on 4 December 1934. The two death certificates are the best direct records for the burial location.

Several children can now be stated with confidence. Ada May Scruggs married Elmer B. Moore in Brooks County on 28 July 1912 and can be followed in Morven through the 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 censuses. Her 1952 obituary identifies her as a daughter of John G. Scruggs. Horace V. Scruggs married Ruth Whipple in Brooks County in June 1916, registered for the World War I draft in Brooks County, and can be followed through the 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 censuses. His 1976 Macon obituary names siblings Ruby Culpepper, Reeves Suber, and Arnold Scruggs, which fits the family seen in Barney.

Ruby Scruggs married Samuel C. Culpepper in Brooks County on 22 January 1919. She appears with him in Bibb County in 1920 and 1930, as a widow in Morven in 1940, and later in Orlando in 1950. Samuel C. Culpepper's 1931 obituary states that his wife before marriage was Miss Ruby Scruggs and names their children Harold and Janet. Robert E. or Robert Edward Scruggs is tied directly to John through his World War I draft registration, which gives his birth as 14 November 1896 at Barney and names nearest relative John G. Scruggs of Barney. He can then be followed through the 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 censuses and later death-index material.

Edwin Richard Scruggs is also strongly supported as a son of this household. He appears in adult records as E. R. or Edwin Richard Scruggs, with a World War I draft card, a 1920 Morven census household with wife Rosa May, a 1930 household in Lake County, Florida, and later returns to Brooks County in 1940 and 1950. A World War II draft card for James Edwin Scruggs naming Mrs. Edwin Richard Scruggs of Morven as contact supports that family unit. The sons John Leon, Sam Stevens, Angus, and Arnold are directly present in the 1920 and 1930 household records, though some of their later-life trails still deserve tighter direct-record work if the entry is ever expanded further.

The 1900 child Eleanor should be read carefully. The census gives her as a daughter born in December 1898. A cemetery memorial for Margaret Elenor Scruggs, born 28 December 1898 and died 31 August 1906, likely refers to the same child rather than to an additional daughter, but that identification still rests on secondary cemetery material rather than a preserved death record.

The strongest unresolved point in the parental generation is John's mother. The 1870 and 1880 censuses place him with Susan M. Scruggs, while the 1934 death certificate names Margaret Horne. Those records may refer to the same woman, but the entry should not flatten that difference without a direct record that bridges the names.

Open Research Questions

The identification of Eleanor in the 1900 census with Margaret Elenor Scruggs in Corinth Cemetery is likely, but it still needs a direct death or cemetery record stronger than the memorial page alone.
Agnes in the 1920 household is likely the later Mrs. Reeves Suber named as Horace's sister in 1976, but that later identity should be stated cautiously until it is anchored by her own marriage or death record.
John Leon, Sam Stevens, Angus, and Arnold all belong in the household, but fuller later-life documentation would make each child entry firmer.
John's mother's name remains unresolved between the Susan M. of the census records and the Margaret Horne named on his death certificate.

Research Status

Well-researched. The household rests on a direct 1888 marriage record, a census chain from 1870 through 1930 for John or the family, Morven tax digest records before the marriage, and death certificates for both John and Martha. Several children are now anchored by their own marriage, census, draft, obituary, and death-index records, though a few child identifications still need tighter direct proof.

Sources

1870 U.S. census, Brooks County, Georgia, Richard Scruggs household, including John Scruggs.
1880 U.S. census, Brooks County, Georgia, Richard and Susan Scruggs household, including John G. Scruggs.
Brooks County tax digest records, Morven district 660, 1883-1887, including John G. Scruggs.
Brooks County, Georgia, marriage record, 19 July 1888, John G. Scruggs and M. E. Griffin.
1870 U.S. census, household of James Edwin Griffin, used as Martha's parental context.
1880 U.S. census, household of James E. Griffin, used as Martha's parental context.
1900 U.S. census, Barney Precinct, Brooks County, Georgia, John G. Scruggs household.
1910 U.S. census records for adult children of John and Martha Scruggs, used where applicable for later child identification.
1920 U.S. census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, John G. Scruggs household.
1930 U.S. census, Brooks County, Georgia, John G. Scruggs household.
Georgia death certificate, 31 December 1930, Martha Ellen Scruggs, naming parents James Edwin Griffin and Ellen Judy Dorminy and giving burial at Corinth Cemetery.
Georgia death certificate, 3 December 1934, John G. Scruggs, naming parents Richard Scruggs and Margaret Horne and giving burial at Corinth Cemetery.
Brooks County, Georgia, marriage record, 28 July 1912, Ada May Scruggs and Elmer B. Moore.
1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 U.S. census records for Ada May Scruggs Moore and Elmer B. Moore.
1952 obituary of Ada May Scruggs Moore, identifying her as a daughter of John G. Scruggs.
Brooks County, Georgia, marriage record, June 1916, Horace V. Scruggs and Ruth Whipple.
World War I draft registration card for Horace V. Scruggs.
1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 U.S. census records for Horace V. Scruggs.
1976 obituary of Horace V. Scruggs, naming wife Ruth Whipple Underwood Scruggs and siblings Ruby Culpepper, Reeves Suber, and Arnold Scruggs.
Brooks County, Georgia, marriage record, 22 January 1919, Ruby Scruggs and Samuel C. Culpepper.
1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 U.S. census records for Ruby Scruggs Culpepper.
1931 obituary of Samuel C. Culpepper, stating that his wife before marriage was Miss Ruby Scruggs.
Social Security Death Index and Georgia death-index entries for Ruby S. Culpepper.
World War I draft registration card for Robert Edward Scruggs, naming nearest relative John G. Scruggs of Barney.
Georgia World War I service card for Robert E. Scruggs.
1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 U.S. census records for Robert E. Scruggs.
Social Security Death Index entry for Robert Scruggs of Morven.
World War I draft registration card for Edwin Richard Scruggs.
1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 U.S. census records for Edwin Richard Scruggs.
World War II draft registration card for James Edwin Scruggs naming Mrs. Edwin Richard Scruggs of Morven.
Cemetery memorial material for Margaret Elenor Scruggs, used as secondary support for the likely identification of Eleanor, daughter of John and Martha.
Cemetery memorial material for Robert Edward Scruggs and Elizabeth Betty Giddens Scruggs, used as secondary burial support only.

If you have photographs, family records, oral history, corrections, or additional information about this family, please contact the project with the details.