John Wilson III & Mahala W. Atherton Scott family

John was the subject of a sketch in the Portrait and Biographical Album of Dewitt & Piatt Counties (1891), from which here are some details:

...(John) had to work hard to help his father in the development of a farm (and) seldom had an opportunity to indulge in hunting.  But he sometimes killed deer and in the winter of the deep snow (1830/31) had much sport, as he and his companions used to get the deer down in the snow and tying their feet together, dragged them home with a horse.  There were some Kickapoo Indians here when he came (1827) but they left soon after.  He used to have to go to Pekin on the Illinois River to obtain groceries for the family and he also marketed grain at that time... Mr. Scott began life on his own account at the age of twenty years (1835).  He first worked out, finding employment with a man who lived at Bloomington Grove, who gave him $12 a month for his work, and he continued with him a year and a half.  He was often engaged in the hard pioneer task of breaking praries and used to drive four and five yoke of oxen for that purpose.  After he left the employ of the gentleman referred to he was engaged in breaking prarie for a considerable time and recieved from $1.50 to $2.50 an acre for it.  Mr. Scott finally entered land, first in this township (Wapella) on section 20.  He actively entered another place on section 31, and also improved that farm.  He afterward obtained a land warrant which gave him the southwest quarter of section 32, where he now lives... (in) his present house, which he erected in 1861 at a cost of $900 aside from his own labor- and also the frame barn that he built in 1862.

Mr. Scott at one time owned two hundred and forty acres of land, but has divided it among his children and now lives with his son, Thomas F., in honorable retirement... He farmed one hundred and sixty acres till 1870, when he abandoned his occupation, having accumulated a handsome competence... Mr. Scott is a Democrat in politics...

John or his cousin John W. Scott was indicted for assault with a knife in Dewitt county in October, 1851.

John and Mahala and family lived for a time in Daviess co. Missouri.  They bought land there in 1859 and were listed in the 1860 in Grand River township, Daviess co. Mo., but Thomas Franklin Scott's birthplace (b. 4 Sept 1860) has always been listed as Dewitt county.

The above picture was taken at the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary, which fell on 22 Jan 1895.  The rocking chairs pictued were gifts from their children.  Another, much larger group photo is here.

John & Mahala had 7 children:

• Leannah- b. 10 Feb 1847  Dewitt co. Ill.  d. 31 Mar 1866 Dewitt co. Ill.  m. 20 Jun 1861 Dewitt co. Ill.  John Andrew Maxwell s/o John & Elizabeth Scott Maxwell b. 28 Mar 1836 Bloomington, McLean co. Ill.  d. 1 July 1919 Dewitt co. Ill.  One son (Leannah might have died giving birth to a second child, or at least that's what some family members believed) -
• John Hiram  b. 19 Oct 1864 Dewitt co. Ill.  d. 11 Feb 1865 Dewitt co. Ill.
• Jonathan William "Billy"-   b. 9 Nov 1847 Wapella township, Dewitt co. Ill.  d. 19 Apr 1921 Pond Creek, Grant co. Oklahoma  m. 5 Sept 1873 Ida Mae Ragen d/o Levi & Elizabeth Lisenby Ragen  d. 10 Mar 1855 Springfield, Clark co. Ohio  d. 31 Aug 1931 Pond Creek, Grant co. Oklahoma.  I don't know for sure that this first picture is of him; it was simply labeled "Uncle Billy Scott" and is a tintype; that makes it most likely, but not certainly, him.
• Sarah Ellen- b. 1 Jan 1850  d. 23 Sept 1852 Dewitt co. Ill.
• James Stephen-  b. 1852 Dewitt co. Illinois  d. 13 Aug 1937 Archer City, Archer co. Texas  m. 25 Dec 1873 Anna Jane Harrold d/o Jonathan II & Abigail Bishop Harrold  b. 1852/3 Illinois  d. 12 Dec 1928 Archer City, Archer co. Texas
• Mary Emaline- b. 11 Aug 1855 Dewitt co. Ill.  d. 10 Dec 1936 Wichita Falls, Wichita co. Texas  m/1. 22 Dec 1870 Dewitt co. Ill. George Peter Stagner s/o Amos J. & Mary Stagner  b. 1848/9 Fayette co. Ohio  d. 1895-1900 Denton co. Texas; 7 children, and they lived for a time in Cedar co. Missouri before arriving in Texas.  Mary m/2. 1 Jan 1904 Denton co. Texas  Joshua Price Dooley, b. 7 Jul 1845 Virginia  d. 13 Nov 1930 Justin, Denton co. Texas, buried Prairie Mound Cemetery, s/o Joshua & Caroline A. Bramlitt Dooley, but was divorced from him by 1920 (possibly by 1910), when she was still living in Denton, Texas. 
• Jarvis- Mahala's obituary says she had six children (3 sons, 3 daughters);  John's biographical sketch 1891 says they had seven (4 sons, 3 daughters, "of whom five grew to maturity- Laura, William, James, Frank, and Elizabeth (deceased)").  This may or may not mean that the Martin Scott buried in Rock Creek Cemetery ("Martin Scott s/o J. & M. ae 3d or 3m 17d") belongs to this family.  Then again, when Thomas Franklin Scott (below) compiled his own history of the Scott family, he did not list a Martin Scott here (as his own brother), but did list a "Martin II" in the family of John W. II & Mary Keith Scott, so perhaps there is a missing son in this family who died young, not named Martin.  Also, if the missing son falls between Mary and Thomas, as I feel it should, this is the period of time that the family was likely in Daviess co. Mo., so the baby would have been buried there.  I have named him Jarvis here because I have an old sheet of paper that lists a son named "Jarvis (James)" for this family, but there are numerous other mistakes on it.
• Thomas Franklin- b. 4 Sept 1860 Wapella township, Dewitt co. Ill.  d. 16 Dec 1941 Clinton, Dewitt co. Ill.  m/1. 6 Oct 1887 Sophia Quinton d/o William & Mary Ann Mooney Quinton  b. 15 Feb 1864  d. 15 Mar 1911 Dewitt co. Ill. (peritonitis)