Roberts-Brown-2016 Research

Roberts/Scott Line
By Don Taylor

Samuel Vaden Scott c. 1902

Samuel Vaden Scott was married twice. The first time with Amanda Jane Haley.  He and Amanda had four children. Amanda died in 1889 and Samuel remarried. The original children seemed to scatter and Samuel and new wife Luvenia had five children. There isn’t any evidence that the children of the first marriage ever interacted with the children of the second marriage.

RB-18 – Samuel Vaden Scott (1860-1931)

Again, I find that creating a table showing the various records which speak of an individual’s birth can bring clarity out of conflicting records. I think this is particularly important when other researchers suggest conflicting dates for an individual’s birth.

Records indicating birth year of Samuel Vaden Scott

It is a clear case where the early records provide consistent birth information; however, Samuel became younger as he aged.

It is not clear how many siblings Samuel grew up with. He had a sister, Viola, one year older, and had two brothers, Francis and William, who were ten and 11 years younger respectively. I need to do more research to determine if there were other siblings, so far unknown.

Samuel was born in Franklin County, Illinois. At age 9, the family lived in Freeburg, Saint Clair County, Illinois. The family consisted of his parents, William and Emily Scott, his older sister, Viola, and his infant brother, Francis.

Samuel married Amanda Jane Haley on 24 May 1879.  And their daughter, Clara was born seven months later, in December 1879. (They say the first child can come anytime, the rest take nine months.)

Crop of 1880 Census – Samuel & Amanda Scott

The 1880 Census records the family living in Barren, Franklin County, Illinois. Samuel is a farmer and his wife is keeping house. Daughter Clara is present and shown to have been born in December. Interestingly, Amanda’s entry indicates that her age is 19-2/12.  I don’t believe I’ve ever seen the months entered for a person that old. That age is consistent with other records which indicate Amanda was born in March, 1861.

In February 1883, their second daughter Clora was born.  Their having daughters named Clara and Clora has made my research more difficult because a handwritten “a” and a handwritten “o” can look much alike, particularly when followed by an “r”.

Amanda died in 1889. More research is needed to understand her death at only 27 years of age.

On Christmas Day 1892, Samuel Vaden Scott married the widow Lavina (Allmend) Shockley; Lavina had had two children with her first husband. One child is unknown, the other was, I believe, Alma Gertrude Shockley.  Gertrude, as she was known, adopted the surname Scott.

Sam and Lavina had five children,

Elmer, Amanda, Lillie, Flossie, and William.  It is unusual that their first girl of Sam and Lavina was named Amanda, the same first name as Samuel’s deceased first wife.

Lavina, Lillie (on lap), Gertie, Elmer, Samuel V. Scott c. 1902
From the Chris H. Bailey family photo collection.

We may never know if it was the death of Amanda that sent the family moving west but, by 1900 the family had located 110 miles west to St. Francois Township, St. Francois County, Missouri. Besides Sam and Luvina (Lavina) and their children (Gertrude is identified as Samuel’s daughter, not his step-daughter as I believe she was) are two boarders, Robert Montgomery and Clarence Williams.

The 1910 Census finds the family had moved 30 miles east to Sainte Genevieve Township, Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri. The family, Samuel and Livina (Lavina), included four children, Gertrude, Elmer, Lillian and Edward. Flossie Ann was  born and had died during the previous decade. Samuel was still a farm hand and they were renting a house (not a farm).

The 1920 Census found the family had returned to Franklin County, Illinois. Now to Goode Township. Only William was still with Sam and Lavina. Elmer died in 1916; I presume that Lillie had married Jessie Wilkerson.

By 1930, Sam and Luvina had returned to  Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri.  They were living in Union Township (not to be confused with Union, Missouri).

Samuel Vaden Scott died of liver cancer on 28 July 1931 at the home of his son, William Edward Scott in Goode Township, Franklin County, Illinois.  He was buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser, Franklin County, Illinois.  He was survived by his wife, Lavina; three daughters, Clara Maybelle (Scott) Mooneyham, Clora Dell (Scott) Roberts Adams, and Lillie Ellen (Scott) Wilkerson; a son, William Edward Scott.

Further Actions / Follow-up

• Research the period between Samuel’s birth and the birth of Francis.
• Research Amanda’s (the child) death closer.

List of Grandparents

• #4 – Grandfather: Bert Allen Roberts
• #9 – 1^st Great-grandmother: Clora Dell Scott
• #18 – 2^nd Great-grandfather: Samuel Vaden Scott
• #36 – 3^rd Great-grandfather: William Hunter Scott

————-DISCLAIMER————-

Sources

1. Family Search: 1870 Census – Willim [William] Scott – Freeburg, St. Clair County, Illinois, Page 18, Line 30-34. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6WN-2W2
2. Family Search: 1880 Census – Samuel Scott – Illinois, Franklin, Barren, ED 11, Page 8, Line 10 – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXJN-MBL
3. Family Search: 1900 Census – Samuel Scott – Missouri, Saint Francois County, Saint Francois Township, ED98, Sheet 19A, Line 35 – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M38N-FCP
4. Ancestry.Com: 1910 Census – Samuel V Scott – Sainte Genevieve Township, Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri – ED 137, Sheet 16A, Lines 5-10.
5. Ancestry.Com: 1920 Census – Sam Scott – Goode, Franklin, Illinois –  ED 40, Page 34B, Line 92-94.
6. Ancestry.Com: 1930 Census – Samuel Scott – Union, Sainte Genevieve, Missouri, ED 0009, Page 4B, Lines 72-73.
7. Bailey, Chris H. File: “The Samuel Vaden Scott Family” – Samuel Vaden Scott – 1 – (Contact information provided upon request.)
8. Find a Grave: Memorial# 110524184 – Samuel V. Scott
9. Family Search: Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 – Samuel Scott (1864-1931) – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3WJ-YLL
10. Family Search: Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934 – Samuel V. Scott – Amanda J. Haley – https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFK4-RF1
11. Chris H. Bailey Photo Collection.

Endnotes

[1] Some researchers suggest his name was Elmer Daniel Scott rather than Elmer W. Scott as indicated in the 1900 Census.