James K. & Elizabeth Scott family

JAMES K. SCOTT s/o John Wilson & Nancy Keith Scott b. 8 Apr 1793 (I have yet to see proof of this birthdate), probably South Carolina (though he reported North Carolina in the 1850 census)  d. 5/6 Jun 1853 Dewitt co. Ill. (dropsy) m. ca. 1814 Elizabeth _____ (Scott?  Clark? Campbell? Crafton?) b. 1796 S. C.?   All records say James died on June 5th, but his obituary in the Bloomington Intelligencer says the 6th.

There is some confusion as to when and where Elizabeth died- one record says 1863 in Daviess co. Mo., another says 1874 or 1878 in Madison co. Iowa, and I don't know what the source is for any of them. There is also no info on her maiden name. It was long thought to be Glenn- apparently one record stated that James was brother-in-law to the Glenns, Samuel Porter and Thomas Morrow, and that was interpreted to mean that Elizabeth was a sister to Samuel and Thomas. In fact, he was their brother-in-law anyway, being the brother of Samuel & Thomas' wives (Rutha B. and Anna Carolina).

To further complicate things, on the DAR application of Ethel Scott Fraser, submitted in 1959, she lists James' wife as "Elizabeth (his cousin)" (she also listed James' mother as "Ann Craytin", though).  This seems to come from a short history given at the 1956 anniversary celebration of Old Scotland Church near Jameson, Missouri.  It was beleived that the information came originally from Vesta Williams of Gallatin, Missouri, who was descended from Thomas & Anna Scott Glenn.  Thomas Franklin Scott also did research on this family in the early part of the 20th century, and listed Elizabeth as James' cousin as well.  However, there is some speculation that he was thinking of the James A. Scott (s/o John W. Scott II) who married his cousin, Letitia Jane Glenn.

There is also this: James Scott married Elizabeth Janes 21 Mar 1819 in Adair co. Kentucky.  James K. Scott's aunt and uncle David & Isabella Scott Clark lived in Adair co. Kentucky from about 1807-1826.  It's just possible that Elizabeth was the daughter of David and Isabella, was married first and had two sons, then married James K. Scott and had the Scott children with him listed below.  It would account for why the first two males listed in the 1820 census in their household haven't been found- they'd have a last name of Janes instead.  To make this work, though, John Wilson Scott (below) would have to have an incorrect birth date listed.

James was a minister in the Christian church, a physician, a justice of the peace, and served two terms in the state legislature from 1842-1846.  In the first election when Dewitt county was formed in 1839, he lost 263-206 in the race for Justice.  He was also foreman of the grand jury in Dewitt county in September 1847 and again in September 1848.  He is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, but there is no stone, and I don't think there ever was.  Elizabeth was said to have been returned to Illinois and buried in Rock Creek, but there is no stone for her, either.

In 1840, James wrote a letter to a medical journal called "The Botanico Medical Recorder" that survives.  In it, he thanks Dr. A. Curtis for his "letter in relation to the health of my son", and says his "practice is so great that I have but little time to be at home, day or night".  He also says his "success is good in curing all curable diseases common in this country [but] [t]he most difficult... are chills and fevers, or cold extremities and warm head and body".  Curtis provided advice on curing chills, and admonished James, saying "[i]t is not right to neglect your own son, in your efforts to relieve the distressed.  Many [doctors] have neglected their own families and themselves also, till too late to do good... and this done injury instead of good to the cause".

In 1843, James and four other men were tasked with locating the county seat of Woodford county, Illinois, which they did at Metamora on 21 Feb 1845.

On 12 Feb 1850, James wrote a letter to Stephen A. Douglas, probably asking for help pleading the case for Dewitt county to recieve new construction projects from the state.  The letter will soon be available in the Stephen A. Douglas archives.

In the 1820 census, James & Elizabeth  had 3 sons under 10 years old; in 1830, they had 2 aged 10-15, 1 aged 5-10 and 1 aged under 5.  That would mean either Lorenzo's birthdate is very wrong (and possibly John W.'s, to allow enough time between their births) or there were two unnamed sons who died young, one in the 1820's and one in the 1830's.

They had at least 9 children:


Author: Matt Scott