Moving back one more generation from J.P. we arrive at Zachariah T. Scott. I’ve spent a lot of time working on Zachariah and I have a lot of information to put out here since he’s been an enigma. People have made so many bad connections with this man that there were many false leads to follow and dismiss. So let’s get started with what we know to be true and the evidence of his existence that everyone can agree on.
Rather than present this case in the usual manner of birth to death, I am going to work backwards through Zachariah’s life based solely on the evidence.
The tombstone for Zachariah is located in Elderton Cemetery, Elderton, Armstrong, Pennsylvania.
With the death date, I went in search of a death record. Death certificates for Pennsylvania did not begin until 1906, so I contacted Armstrong County and received a copy of his Death Registration.1 It did not provide any confirmation of his parentage, although it did provide his cause of death and his occupation.
This document and the tombstone are the only instances in which a middle initial is used for Zachariah. His great-grandson, Royden Blair Scott, told me the ‘T’ stood for Taylor, but I have found no other documentation concerning his middle name.
Working back through the census records it’s easy to locate Zachariah from 1900 back through 1870. I have attached the records.
1900 Census – Elderton, Armstrong, PA, (line 40-41) birthdate Dec 1842, married 36 yrs (abt. 1864) to Margaret. I will discuss Margaret Olinger in her own post along with the Olinger family. The census lists no occupation, but indicates that he owns his home and it is free of a mortgage, and it is a house not a farm.2
1880 Census – Elderton, Armstrong, PA, (line 7-11) age 37, wife Margaret, children John, Danl., and Anne, his occupation is Laborer, but he only worked 3 months out of the census year in that occupation. He does not list a sickness or illness and he is able to read and write.3
1870 Census – Plumcreek Township, Armstrong, PA, line 10-13) age 28, wife Margaret, children Jonah P., Daniel G. His occupation is listed as Works on farm.4
Zachariah and Margaret had three children:
John Pettigrew Scott (1865-1938) m. Anna Mary Beatty (1872-1950)
Daniel George Scott (1867-?) m. Lorena Ensaline Lawton (1870-?)
Annie Naomi Scott (1872-1959) m. Marshall Clement Schall (1874-1905)
I have attached their family group sheets.
The oldest record I found for Zachariah Scott was from a Draft Notice List in The Indiana Register dated 20 July 1864.5 It was nothing more than a list of names in the paper. There is no record of Zachariah enlisting or being drafted into service.
Records for Zachariah T. Scott simply do not exist prior to 1864. My next post will detail what I searched for and could not find.
1. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, “Vol 1, Page 160,” Registration of Deaths, Z. T. Scott; Clerk of Orphans’ Court, Kittanning.
2. 1900 U.S. census, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Elderton, enumeration district (ED) 11, p. 3A, dwelling 64; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.Ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll T623 1373
3. 1880 U.S. census, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Elderton, enumeration district (ED) 5, p. 121, dwelling 210, family 228; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.Ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll T9 1096.
4. 1870 U.S. census, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, Plumcreek Twp., p. 354, dwelling 74, family 74, Zachariah Scott; digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Jul 2008); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll 1301.
5. Draft Notice, “Draft Notice List,” The Indiana Register, 20 Jul 1864; digital images.