Williams Robert Scott

     Williams Robert Scott was born in Greenbrier County West Virginia in 1797.  His father and original settler of Sinks Grove,  James Scott would have been 47 years old at the time of his birth and Monroe County,  West Virginia,  had yet to be established as a governmental seat.    His mother is  Mollie (Margaret) Kincaid, who would have been 35 years of age when Williams was born.  James's first wife's name is not known,  and it is not clear how many of the nine children are Williams's half brothers or sisters.  but it seems that Williams might be the last of James Scott and the only child of Mollie Scott.   William Burdett Scott ,  the first child of James, is a half sibling,  and somewhat interesting that their first names are essentially the same, only differentiated by an "s" added to make the last child's identity a little more individual than the first.  There is some evidence that Williams  often went by Robert in his social and business life.   That would make sense as his half brother was known to be a bit off kilter in some manner,  having been mentioned as impaired in some aspect of mental capacity,  noted in James Scott's will and acknowledged in court filings.  While the elder patriarch James left detailed record of his life in  a will through probate,  Williams is not so well documented and doesn't seem to have prospered to the same extent as his father.  

    The first evidence we have of Williams life in  Monroe County is  his marriage bond with Peggy Leake in 1822.  This makes him 25 years old.   Peggy is the daughter of Nicholas Leake and Elizabeth Jane Leake (Ryan) and appears to be 7 years older than Williams.   The marriage license below is the contains Williams signature. 

    At the time of his marriage,  the patriarch,  James Scott is 72 years old and has accumulated about 650 acres of land and planted crops and has an orchard big enough to produce fruit that was transformed into gallons of brandy.  James is thinking about how he wants his estate settled an draws up a will that attempts to provide some security to his wife and children.   Luckily,  the entire history of  his estate is preserved in the will and probate documents in Monroe County.   In summary,  he leaves 1/3 of the estate with all the infrastructure, housing  and orchard to his wife,  Margaret.  This was a customary part of  estates at the time.   He stipulates that 2/3 of the real estate be leased or rented to cover the expenses of maintaining his first child (William Burdette Scott) and his 4th child (John Scott), both of whom are described as "in a state of mental derangement".  James asks his daughters  Nancy Agnes and Betsy Elizabeth in care of William Burdette Scott.   Betsy Elizabeth eventually has William B  declared a lunatic  in court and manages his affairs.   The big news in the will is that patriarch James  demands that once his wife Margaret dies,  he wants all parts of his farm and estate sold and proceeds split between all family members.  Matthew Scott,  the next to the last child is listed as the executor of the estate (along with friend James Miller.)

    James dies in March of 1825.  The will was presented in court just a month before his death so their must have been a noticeable illness or decline.  Williams is two years into a marriage knowing that he will get part of inheritance,  but that the large  estate will be sold and each of the children will have to manage with the money provided.   The first estate sale takes place in 1828  where a number of items, including  gallons of brandy are auctioned to the public.  Williams purchases  a horse collar, hames, and chains from his father's estate. He also seems to rent "a tract of land" for $4.00, which is listed among the rents and leases prescribed by James Scott in his will  and purchases  a quantity of wheat for $.68.  Recall that James desired to have his lands rented to pay for the  upkeep of his two impaired children. 

    Mollie,  James's wife, lives  until 1835,  and in keeping with the directives of the will,  Matthew sets about dissolving the  estate.   He sells 2/3 of  land,  which amounts to 409 acres to Addison and John Perry of Greenbrier County.   The other third,  with the home, orchard, spring and farm infrastructure is taken purchased by Matthew Scott takes this in lieu of the cash. The entire estate nets $2560,  and each child,  except Matthew receives about $250.00.  The entire estate is settled by 1839.  Doing the math,  that makes the land worth about $6.25 cents an acre.  A couple of other payments are made to Williams and the entire James Scott estate is settled in 1837.   

    After marrying Peggy Leake in 1822,   the couple begins their family.   Peggy is already seven years older than Williams and is starting her family as a 33 year old women.  Their first child is James Kincaid Scott,  born in 1823 followed by David E. Scott in 1824, Isabella Scott is born in 1827 and one final child Sarah Scott was born in 1832,  but dies two years later.  Of all the children,  only James Kincaid Scott goes on to marry and have a family.  David Scott goes into the ministry and moves to Halifax County,  Virginia,  and dies as a young man.   His eloquent and sincere eulogy is linked here and the paper copy is in my possession. 

    The earliest census that lists Williams in a property independent of  the rest of his family is in 1840. The census at that time does not record the names of  household members,  but it shows a total of six people living in their home.  The 1850 census shows 4 people,   and the 1860 census shows just Williams and Peggy,  his occupation listed as farm laborer with and estate valued at $350 dollars.  By 1850,  James Kincaid Scott, the oldest child who is 27,   has his own land and farm and also has is living with his Aunt,   Nancy Agnes Scott.   Nancy Agnes ends up leaving her personal estate to James K.   The location of all of Williams census information is listed as Peterstown,  which is some distance from Sinks Grove where the original Scott farmstead is located.   It's worth noting that Williams's half brother,  Matthew,  who took his share of  the family inheritance in the 1/3 of the estate with all the infrastructure,  is show to have an estate worth $10,000 in the 1850 census.  Matthew is doing pretty well,  Williams,  not so much. 

    Unlike his father,  Williams left no will or estate.  Peggy dies sometimes in 1860 and Williams dies on September 21st of 1862.   The only one of their children alive is James Kincaid Scott who  inherits the estate of Nancy Agnes Scott and moves his family to land he acquires on Hungards Creek near present day Talcott,  West Virginia. 

    The most interesting piece of  history found in the Monroe County  Court house pertains to the education of  Williams's  children.   In the record,   the school commissioners of Monroe County  accept the record of attendance for "poor" children  at  John B.  Hogshead school  which James (14), David (12) and Isabella (10) attended during that year.   There are several Erskine children listed as well.  William's Scott is listed as the parent .  The school operated for three months and the teacher seeking compensation is a Mr. James M. Diddle who ultimately earns $7.73 cents from the County for teaching.  The original document is shown here:

    The Hogsheads lived in Monroe for a long time and held on to their property for many generations,  This real estate listing shows property which may have  been the location of the school as well.  The map below shows  both the Sinks Grove area where the original Scott land was and the area of the Hogshead property where the school was likely located.  The Sinks Grove Baptist church shown is on land that was donated to the church by Matthew Scott.   

    
    In summary,  Williams was the last child born to James Scott and possibly the only child with his wife Mollie Kincaid.  He was a farmer or farm laborer  who had 4 children with his wife, Peggy,  an only one of those children lived to created the next generation of  Scott ancestors.  He does not seem to have been as wealth or successful  as member of his family.  He died in 1862 and the last census listed his location as Peterstown,  West Virginia.