Sydney Borden Scott, or Borden, as he seems to have preferred being called, was the younger half-brother of my maternal 2x Great-Grandmother, Scoatney (Scott) Cooper. Because he left so many records behind, he has been an absolute joy to research, and if you’ve been following my blog for a while, or have seen my Facebook feed, you know I’ve written more than a few posts about him, exploring his life as a student, doctor, and post office employee. As usual, those posts are linked in their appropriate places on the timeline below, and as additional ones are written, I’ll drop them in as well.
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About 1880: Sydney Borden Scott is born in either Petersburg,Virginia or Hancock County, Georgia to Solomon Scott and Nelly Little. His name may have been A. S. Scott at birth. He is part of a large blended family that include Solomon’s children with his previous wife Cherry, Nelly’s children from one or more previous relationships, and – at the time of his birth, at least 1 older full sibling.
1895 or 1896: Borden’s father Solomon likely passes away. Borden is about 15 or 16 at the time.
About 1897: Borden seems to change his name from A.S. Scott to S.B. (Sydney Borden) Scott, while attending Atlanta Baptist College in Georgia. (Fittingly, the school would later change its name, to Morehouse College.) Prior to his name change, he *may* have been working as a schoolteacher in Atlanta, though he was still a student himself.
1898: Borden graduates from the Academic Course at Atlanta Baptist College. He immediately enrolls in the College Course to continue his education.
1901: After three additional years of study, Borden graduates with an A.B. from the College Course at Atlanta Baptist College at about the age of 21.
1903-1904: Borden moves to Athens, Georgia and serves both as the 3rd and 4th grade teacher, as well as the Principal, of the East Athens School, which serves “colored” children.
1904-1905: After originally agreeing to return to the East Athens School for another year, Borden instead takes on a role with the Isthmian (Panama) Canal Commission.
1905-1908: Borden moves to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Meharry Medical College at Central Tennessee College (later Walden College) and completes his training in 3 years. He has a little fun along the way.
1909, Summer: Perhaps inspired by encounters with Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, or perhaps frustrated by limited opportunities to further his medical education in the South, or possibly wanting to be closer to his older brother John William Scott, Borden packs his bags and moves to Chicago. He enrolls in at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at the University of Illinois.
Late 1909: Borden’s mother, Nelly, passes away. Borden is about 29 years old at the time.
1910: Borden completes his medical training and graduates on June 7th with a license to practice, which is registered in November.
1914: Borden is actively advertising his medical practice. He will continue in this line of work until at least 1950.
1918: Perhaps to supplement an inconsistent income from his medical practice, Borden can also be found working as a postal clerk for the United States Post Office. Like his medical work, this will continue until at least 1950.
1918, September 12: Like thousands of men across the nation, Borden registers for the draft for World War I. In his late 30s, he was too old for both the first and second drafts, only being required to register when the upper age limit was extended to 45 years old from 31. He is never called to serve, and the armistice is signed just 2 months later.
1919, July-August: Chicago is rocked by a deadly and devastating race riot during the Red Summer of 1919. Dozens are killed and hundreds lose their homes.
1920, June: With Prohibition sweeping the nation, a medical prescription is one of the only legal ways to get liquor, beer, and wine in the United States, but rules are strict. Borden is named in the newspapers as having run afoul of the law by over-prescribing the banned beverages.
1942, April 27: The U.S. has been pulled into World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and needs more and more men to be registered for the Draft. At the age of about 61, Borden again registers – in what is known as the Old Man’s Draft - to potentially be called into service. Again, however, the call does not come.
1950, April: Across the country, census enumerators visit from home to home and institution to institution to learn about the nation’s population. Borden isn’t home the first time enumerator Nena L. Jones drops by, but she catches him on a subsequent visit. Aged somewhere in his 60s, he is still living in an apartment on Chicago’s South Side, has never married, and continues to work as a postal clerk for the federal government. Thanks to the order in which she visited him, he provides more information than the average American, informing her – among other things - that her worked 49 weeks in 1949, earned $3500 as an employee working for wages or salary, and earned another $500 working in his own “business, professional practice, or farm,” suggesting that he is still running his medical practice. And he seems to be investing his money, as he reports that he earned $3360 in “interest, dividends, veteran’s allowances, pensions, rents, or other income.”
1965, July 31: After a brief stay at Henrotin Hospital, Borden passes away at the age of 85. Malnutrition, probably due to gastrointestinal issues, is the primary cause, though he also suffered from heart disease.
1965, August 4: After services at the Metropolitan Community Church, Borden is laid to rest at Burr Oak Cemetery, on the outskirts of Chicago. He has never married or had children, but leaves several siblings and other family to remember him.
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Image Credit: Class of 1910, University of Illinois College of Physicians and Surgeons, by The Wallinger Co. UA027.01.05.05_0001_0008_01, College of Medicine Class Composite Photographs, University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago.
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