James Solomon Scott is the younger brother of my 2x Great-Grandmother, Scoatney (Scott) Cooper. His name has showed up a number of times on the blog, but mostly as he relates to other people – either as I was trying to figure out “The Case of the Second Masonia” or as I was beginning to learn about his brother, Sydney Borden Scott. He’s never had his time to shine! Well, creating a timeline for his life to lift him out of the shadows has been on my list for a while. Now, I’m making it happen. As usual, continue to expect more posts about him in the future, which will be linked as relevant to various points on the timeline below.
 |
| Signature from his WWI Draft Registration Card. Credit below. |
1872-1877: James Solomon Scott is born in Georgia, likely in Hancock County. His father is Solomon Scott. His mother is either Cherry [Unknown] or Nellie Little, and he has at least 4 older siblings: Fed, Scoatney, Masonia, and Daniel Scott. His father Solomon marries Nellie Little in November 1872, and she brings several children into the family, so James is either born into or very quickly becomes a part of a blended family. It is unclear what happened to Cherry.
1880: James and his family are living in the northeastern tip of Washington County, Georgia, the county directly southeast of Hancock County. At about 8 years old, James is one of the youngest children in the household, and while his father is a farmer and his older siblings are listed in the federal census as “working in farm,” he is not. However, as part of an agricultural family, he was almost certainly also being counted on to lend a helping hand.
1895 or 1896: While James is still a young man, his father, Solomon, likely passes away.
1896: James has moved to Atlanta and picked up a job as a porter at the Arlington Hotel. By the following year, he has become a waiter there, perhaps suggesting a strong work ethic and an ability to “clean up well.” When the census enumerator documents the household where he is a 20-something “sleeper” in the home of widow Rosa Williams in 1900, he is still working as a waiter, though it’s not stated whether this is at the Arlington or elsewhere. There is another young Black man surnamed Scott in the household at 10 Dover, first name either Ananias or Isie, depending on the record; this may be James’ younger brother Sydney Borden Scott, who may have changed his name from Ananias S. Scott in 1897.
1906: James’ older brother, Daniel Scott, has also moved to Atlanta and is working at the Farlinger Apartments and CafĂ©, as a waiter. By 1909, James has joined him at the same location, as a janitor. This is a position he holds – perhaps consistently, perhaps off-and-on – until sometime between 1915 and 1917.
About 1912: James presumably marries Sarah Ella Hunter. She is the daughter of a shoemaker father and a laundress mother, and has learned her mother’s trade. She hails from Abbeville, South Carolina, and - at about 18-20 years old - is roughly 20 years his junior.
1913, January 25: James and Sarah welcome daughter Masonia Cherry Scott. She is named after his older sister (Masonia Scott) and his probable mother (Cherry).
1914, June 18: James and Sarah welcome a second daughter, Ruth Elizabeth Scott.
By 1917: The Great Migration has begun and African Americans from the south have started moving north and west in search of safety and better opportunities. James and his family are among them; they have moved all the way across the country to Portland, Oregon. By May, when he and Sarah welcome a third daughter, Virginia Dogies Scott, James has a job at the Union Meat Company. His 20-year-old brother-in-law, James D. Hunter, lives with them.
1918, March 18: Tragedy strikes James and Sarah’s home, when 9-month-old daughter Virginia passes away from bronchopneumonia. She had been ill for at least a week. They lay her to rest in Mt. Scott Park Cemetery, now known as Lincoln Memorial Park.
1918, September 12: James registers for the draft for WWI. This is the third and final round of the draft and includes all men between the ages of 18 and 45, increasing the pool beyond those who are between 21 and 31. James is in his forties and would not have qualified for earlier rounds. Described as of medium height and medium build, with brown eyes and black hair, he is still working for the Union Meat Company, specifically, as a drayman or flatbed wagon driver.
1920: James, Sarah, and their young daughters are living at 706 East 13th in Portland. Sarah’s 23-year-old brother James Hunter is again living with them after some time on his own. James Scott is working as an assistant engineer at a packing plant (probably meat), while his brother-in-law is working at a barber shop. Daughters Masonia and Ruth are attending school; wife Sarah has no job listed, so she is likely keeping house. James’ older sister Masonia, four of her children (Grant, Thomas, Henry, and Cherry Ann), and her granddaughter (Cherry Anne’s daughter) Lena, are now also living in Portland. Perhaps they were drawn by stories of James’ life and experiences there?
Date Unknown: James joins the Rose City Lodge of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World, a fraternal organization for African American men.
1927, May 11: James passes away due to a cerebral hemorrhage, somewhere between the ages of 50 and 55. He leaves behind his wife, Sarah, who is now in her mid-thirties, and two teenaged daughters. His funeral service is held at the Chapel of Miller and Tracey on May 13th and he is laid to rest at Lincoln Memorial Park.
After his passing, his widow Sarah remarries and continues to raise their daughters with her new husband, railroad porter Joseph Dickerson. They remain married until her death in 1954.
* * *
Image Credit: James Solomon Scott. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.
Special thanks to J. Sellers for helping me decipher an important piece of information re: James' infant daughter, Virginia.
No comments:
Post a Comment