Paging Dr. Scott!

Many moons ago, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the siblings of my 2x great-grandmother, Scoatney (Scott) Cooper. The hunt took me (digitally, at least) from rural Georgia to Washington State to Portland, Oregon, as I traced her sister Masonia (Scott)Worthen. There I uncovered another Masonia Scott, which led me to discover that a second Scott sibling had also migrated to Oregon: James Solomon Scott. And it was through James that I “met” another Scott sibling, the man I’ll introduce you to today.

We’ll start with a death.

On May 11, 1927, Scoatney’s brother James Solomon Scott passed away in Portland, Oregon. A notice announcing his passing was published the next day in The Oregonian, the local newspaper of record. As useful death notices do, it listed a series of family connections, those loved ones he had now left behind: there was Sarah, to whom he had been a “beloved husband;” Masonia and Ruth Scott, his daughters; and several brothers and sisters: Mrs. Masonia Worthen and Mrs. Scoatney Cooper, with whom I was already acquainted, and Mrs. Lulu Crew, Dr. S.B. and J.W. Scott, three names that I knew I’d need to do more research on.

Death Notice for James Solomon Scott. 12 May 1927, The Oregonian, p. 22.

But wait. Pause. Rewind. Doctor? There was a doctor in my family, in 1927? A black man practicing medicine in America at this time? Of course it happened – it wasn’t outlandish at all – but, wow! What could I learn about this S.B. Scott? His full name would be helpful, as a start.

Cue research frenzy. Or, rather, controlled research frenzy. First I went back to see if he had been mentioned in the records of any of his siblings that I’d already researched. It turned out that he had been, in his sister Masonia’s 1951 obituary. Unfortunately, it gave no more information – he was just Dr. S.B. Scott.

Death Notice for Masonia Scott Worthen. 27 June 1951, The Oregonian, p. 27.

 But, going back through James’ records I was reminded that James had listed a brother as his nearest relative when he registered for the draft for World War I in September of 1918. It was a man named Sydney Scott, who lived at 3243 State Street in Chicago, Illinois. 

James Solomon Scott, WWI Draft Registration Card. Original: NARA

 Were this Sydney Scott and Dr. S.B Scott the same person?

I went to the 1917 Chicago, IL city directory to see if I could find likely candidates – men with the surname Scott living at 3243 State Street. And while you didn’t ask, I’m going to tell you: over 3 pages of names, with 5 columns of names on each page, and each column holding at least 125 names, there were 8 and 2 halves columns of Scotts!! Imagine the size of that font and then you’ll know how grateful I am to be able to use zoom to magnify images on the internet!

Once I’d put my eyeballs back in, I came up both with a Sidney B. Scott (a physician – bingo!) and with a Borden Scott (a clerk with the post office). Huh. Deciding that one smoking gun wasn’t enough, I continued searching for both men. And I’m glad that I did, because it turns out that they were one and the same! Tracing addresses, occupations, relatives, birth dates and locations through city directories, draft registration cards, federal censuses, and more, it became clear that the man I was looking for was Dr. Sidney (or Sydney) Borden Scott, a licensed physician and postal clerk who was born about 1880, the child of Solomon and Nellie Scott, in either Petersburg, VA or Sparta, GA.

(Do the occupations and birth locations seem like too much confusion? For the occupations, see his  WWI Draft Registration Card - he really did do both!

Sydney Borden Scott, aka Borden Scott, WWI Draft Registration Card. Original: NARA

As for his birth location, I think that's it's own post. Mystery Monday, perhaps?)

 

I am fascinated by what I am learning about him, and hope you will be, too. That’s why my next several posts will be about him. But before I end, here’s one other interesting note from the hunt:

In searching the 1917 Chicago city directory for Scotts at 3243 State Street, I actually came across two other names: Benjamin F. Scott, a bricklayer and Eugene Scott, a porter. You can bet I’m researching each of them!

Do you know anything about Dr. Sydney Borden Scott? Please share in the notes below!