Thomas Jefferson Scott

From Rootsweb:

   Dear Cousin Phyllis!!!!,

   Yes, I believe there is a strong probability that we are related. I was born and raised in Floyd Co., Texas. In 1976, my late aunt, Blanche Scott Rutherford, in honor of the bicentennial, wrote out in long hand, a history of our family as she knew it. She was age 80 at the time. My wife and I typed up her manuscript and made copies for family descendants and that got us interested in genealogy and it has been a labor of love ever since. Most of what she wrote concerned her maternal line, the ZANT family of GA and Stephens Co., TX but she did have some information on the SCOTT/RAY families as well. Much of the efforts of my wife and I has been to prove or disprove much of her information.

   It was her belief that her GF, Hiram Ray Scott, was named after his mother’s brother, Hiram RAY. Another story she related concerned how the Scott’s got to Texas. She said Thomas Jefferson Scott was a bit of a ‘scraper’ and was involved in a fistfight in Alabama. But when his opponent drew a knife on him, he picked up an axe handle and knocked him out. Thinking he had killed him, he left out for Texas, only to find out later that the man survived. [As I started to check out this story, I found evidence that leads me to believe it was Hiram RAY who was the ‘hot-headed’ one.] In 1855, in Nacogdoches Co., Thomas Scott and Jesse Burk signed a bond for the release of Hiram RAY, who had been charged with Assault on one John R. Leavy. No further information as to the outcome of this case was found, but it definitely ties Thomas and Hiram as probable kin.

   I have not been able to find Thomas and his family on the 1840 census of any county of Alabama or Mississippi, although 8 of his 11 ch ultimately list AL as their bp. With one, Sarah, claiming MS. This is what led me to the suspicion that their residence may have been in the border area between these two states. I finally found the family in Jackson Co. Arkansas, [Bird Twp, p.9 #12] in 1850, but not in 1840! In the introduction to my book, I speculate that the family maybe resided in the household of an older Thomas Scott [perhaps his parent?]

   in Jackson Co. AR, 1840, as it almost fits. [There are TAYLOR families there also.]

   The oldest son of Thomas and Peggy, Robert S.[no one seems to know what the ‘S’ stood for, I wonder now if it could have been ‘Solomon’] was married 3 times. The first in Coryell Co., TX to Rebecca Jane BEARD, the dau of Isabel (or Lucy) BEARD – a widow who appears to have migrated to TX along w/ the Scott’s. Rebecca died after giving birth to 2 ch., Isabel b ca 1856 and Hiram b ca 1858. They were enumerated in the 1870 Coryell census in the household of widow Polly Ann or Mary TAYLOR [Lucy BEARD is also in this HH] No further info has been found (of a certainty) on these offspring. Robert and 5 of his brothers served the Confederacy in the Civil War. In 1864, Robert went to Monroe Co. MS and md Lucinda Wilkerson [a James M. RAY (possibly a cousin?) was his bondsman]. They had one dau, Mary J. and the mother must have d during childbirth, because in 1868 he md the CW widow Desdemona D. (WEBB) REED. They li in or near Detroit in Sanford Co.(now Lamar) AL by 1870. They had 10 ch.

   Robert and Desdemona are buried in the Pickle cemetery, Monroe Co. MS (a few miles from Gattman/ practically on the boarder between Monroe Co. and Lamar Co. AL.) A gs filled in info on Robert’s death certificate, saying he was the s/o John Scott and Margaret Taylor, (obviously in error, but again may indicate a relationship to the Taylor family…Taylor is a recurring given name in many of the Scott descendants). There is a Ray Cemetery near Greenwood Springs, MS not far from where many of Robert’s descendants currently reside.

   Tom Scott Jr., 5th son of Thomas and Peggy, d in 1922 and his widow later applied for a CW widow’s pension [TX Archives, TX Confederate Pension Application #46733, Bk 7:32440] stating that her husband was b in Fayette Co. Alabama. [However, his obituary stated that he was b in Pontotoc Co. MS!]

   This is a brief summary of some of the information I have gathered, which is listed in my book. A copy of which should be found in the Gatesville, TX Public library. If any of this seems to be supported by what you may have on the RAY family, I would be anxious to know of it. 

1850 United States Federal Census about Thomas Scott

Name: Thomas Scott

Age: 36

Estimated Birth Year: abt 1814

Birth Place: Georgia

Gender: Male

Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Bird, Jackson, Arkansas

Family Number: 12

Household Members:

Name Age

Thomas Scott 36

Margaret Scott 34

Robert Scott 16

Hiram Scott 15

James Scott 13

John Scott 12

Thomas Scott 11

Sarah Scott 9

William Scott 7

Mary Scott 6

Wesley Scott 2

Joel Scott 0