Finding Scoatney's Family: An Unexpected Migration

Masonia (Scott) Worthen Funeral Notice. The Oregonian (Portland, OR) 27 June 1951, P27.

On June 28, 1951, my maternal 2x great-grandmother's sister, Masonia Scott Worthen, was laid to rest in Portland, Oregon. Born in Georgia about 1863, she somehow came to live in Portland between 1910 and 1920, widowed and with 3 sons, a widowed daughter and a granddaughter - all born in Georgia - living with her. How did they come to make this move all the way across the continent - and frankly, across climates - and what was life like for them as they tried to make new lives on the West Coast?

As my Cooper Cumming Family Reunion approaches - this being the family that Masonia's sister Scoatney married into, or was matriarch of, depending on your chronological starting point - I'll be exploring the answers to these questions and more.

My exploration into this branch of the family started with Scoatney, anyway. I've always felt like I've known more about July Cooper, Scoatney's husband, though this may simply because I've seen the name July Cooper so many times - there were at least four of them!* But what about Scoatney? Who were her people and what could I learn about them?

I started by going back to the first record I find Scoatney in, the 1870 Federal Census for Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia.

I've always focused on Scoatney and her parents, Solomon and Cherry ("Chansy," here) in this record, but I recently took a closer look at her siblings: Fed, Mason, Daniel, and "Baby" Scott. I figured I'd start with Fed and so, a few clicks later, I'd come across an 1880 Census with a 32-year-old Fedrick Scott whose father was Solomon Scott.

Notice that Cherry is no longer listed as Solomon's wife - Nellie Scott is. A quick search on FamilySearch.org brought up a marriage record for a Solomon Scott to a Nelly Little in Putnam County, Georgia in 1872.

I don't know what happened to Cherry - presumably she passed away, though I don't yet have proof - but this explains Solomon and Fed's 1880 household. Solomon and Nellie had married and blended their families, making Fed the eldest of 13 siblings living in the home.

What does this have to do with Masonia Scott, the subject of this post? Skipping ahead 20 years - thanks to the (mostly) destroyed 1890 US Census - I found Fed Scott again, this time in Hancock County, Georgia in 1900. He's living with his brother John Scott, and his stepmother, Nellie.

But notice who's living next door: A woman named Mason Worthen, born in 1863, with her husband Henry and their six children. A woman named Mason... Huh, I thought, and clicked back over to the record I'd started with, Scoatney's 1870 Census listing. Sure enough, she and Fed had a sister named Mason, born about 1863. Could they be one and the same? Searching for Mason Scott didn't prove terribly useful, but switching to her husband's name (after whom one of her sons was named) got me to their 1910 Census record, where she is listed as Missonie Worthen!

Once I had this tidbit, Ancestry's Hints opened the floodgates!** And the floodwaters pointed me straight to...Oregon! I was able to track Masonia's family through quite a few records online - census records, city directories and the like - but in order to cement this Masonia Worthen as my own, I needed to send away for her death certificate. And there, in boxes 12 and 13, I found what I needed: the names of her parents: Solomon and Cherry Scott.

So how did Masonia (Scott) Worthen end up in Portland, Oregon? What was life like for her and her family? Keep checking back as I share more of what I've found!


Do you know anything about Masonia? Better yet, do you have any PHOTOGRAPHS of her and her family? If so, please contact me below!


*They are: My 2x Great-Grandfather July Cooper (abt. 1858-1935); possibly his father (dates unknown); his nephew, son of his brother Ely Cooper (dates unknown); and his grandson, the son of his son Flag Cooper (1913-1974).

**You can't always trust Ancetry's hints - due diligence is required - and sometimes you don't get any hints at all, but Ancestry definitely gets the win here.