Hiram Scott’s family gets even larger

1862 ?- Horace ScottIn previous posts, I’ve written about Horace Scott’s (my 3rd-great-grandfather) service in the Civil War, and discovering that his father Hiram Scott (my 4th-great-grandfather) enlisted as well, after Horace fell ill from tuberculosis in 1864. Hiram joined his son in Company C of the 95th Regiment of Illinois Infantry Volunteers, where he contracted and died of dysentery. From Hiram’s wife’s claim for her widow’s pension, I learned that Horace had a younger brother (Winfield) who was too young to fight in the war and who stayed home in Illinois with his mother.

While looking for more information on Horace and Hiram’s service in Company C of the 95th Regiment of Illinois Infantry Volunteers, I came across the Illinois Civil War database, hosted by the Illinois State Archives. Using this database, I discovered that there were not just two Scotts in Company C of the 95th Regiments, but four. There was also a 19-year-old Willard J. Scott and an 18-year-old James H. Scott. Were these yet more brothers of Horace? Scott is not an uncommon name, so I compared the details of the four records (below) to see if I could see any patterns.

Name Scott,
Hiram
Scott,
Horace L
Scott,
Willard J
Scott,
James H
Ranks Pvt Pvt Pvt Pvt
Company C C C C
Unit 95 IL US INF 95 IL US INF 95 IL US INF 95 IL US INF
Residence Alden,
McHenry
co., IL
Alden,
McHenry
co., IL
Alden,
McHenry
co., IL
Dunham,
McHenry
co., IL
Age 45 22 19 18
Height 5′ 10 5′ 9 ½ 5′ 8 5′ 8
Hair Gray Brown Dark Dark
Eyes Black Black Gray Hazel
Complexion Dark Dark Fair Dark
Marital status Single Single
Occupation Farmer Farmer Farmer Farmer
Nativity NH NY Alleghany co, NY Bolivar, NY
Joined when Oct 3, 1864 Aug 6, 1862 Aug 8, 1862 Jan 4, 1864
Where Marengo, IL Harvard, IL Harvard, IL Howard, IL
By whom Cpt. Coon L. Blanden L. Blanden Cpt Nish
Period 1 yr 3 yrs 3 yrs 3 yrs
Muster in Oct 4, 1864 Sep 4, 1862 Sep 4, 1862 Jan 4, 1864
Where Marengo, IL Rockford, IL Rockford, IL Springfield, IL
By whom
Muster out Aug 17, 1865 Aug 17, 1865
Where Camp Butler, IL Camp Butler, IL
By whom Cpt Hall Cpt Hall
Remarks Died Apr 6, 1865
in hospital at
New Orleans, LA
Trans to Co C
47 Ill Inf
Jul 25, 1865
URL Illinois DB Illinois DB Illinois DB Illinois DB

All four Scotts were from McHenry County, but then everyone in Company C of the 95th Regiment of Illinois Infantry Volunteers was from McHenry County. The two new, younger Scotts were born in New York—in one case Allegany County, in the other, Bolivar (which is in Allegany County). I know from other sources that Horace was born in Bolivar, Allegany County, New York.

Willard J. Scott was enlisted for three years’ service by L. Blanden in Harvard, IL, mustering in on September 4, 1862, at Rockford, IL—identical to Horace Scott. The only difference in their enlistment was that Horace enlisted two days before Willard. If they were brothers, having the older brother enlist first on Wednesday, inspiring his younger brother to enlist on Friday is a believable scenario. The youngest, James Scott, didn’t enlist until early 1864. Perhaps he was waiting to turn 18 to be eligible?

What other information exists that can support or reject the hypothesis that Willard and James were the brothers of Horace and Winfield?

Scott, Hiram pension index Scott, Horace L pension index
Scott, Willard J pension index Scott, James H pension index

According to these cards, Willard and James lived considerably longer lives that their potential brother Horace. Willard lived until July 19, 1899, and James lived until January 8, 1916. James’ card also notes that he died in Alden, the town where the other Scotts hailed from.

I found the 1855 Illinois State Census record for Hiram and his family (below). The 1855 Illinois census only lists heads of household; however, the numbers of other individuals in the household are counted by sex and age group. Hiram and his family are the third household from the bottom of the page, right above his father-in-law Orra Millard’s household.
1855IllinoisStateCensusHiramScott1855IllinoisStateCensusHiramScott_headings 1855IllinoisStateCensusHiramScott_detailHiram’s household is listed as having 8 members, one of whom (almost certainly Hiram) was in the Illinois state militia. The breakdown is as follows:

  • 3 boys under the age of 10 years—Winfield, age 1; _________ and [James?, age 9]
  • 2 boys aged 10–20 years—Horace, age 13; and [Willard?, age 10–11]
  • 1 man aged 40–50 years—Hiram, age 40
  • 1 girl aged 10–20 years—_________
  • 1 woman aged 30–40 years—Mary, age 37

So Hiram and Mary’s family was indeed larger than I earlier suspected, and even if Willard and James are Hiram’s sons, there are still two Scotts left unaccounted for: a boy less than 10 years old in 1855, and a girl who was between the ages of 10 and 20 years old in 1855.

Still looking for evidence to definitively tie Willard and/or James to Hiram Scott’s family, I came across the Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths Index (1916–1947), which had this entry for James H. Scott:

Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947

Name: James H. Scott
Birth Date: 11 Feb 1847
Birth Place: New York State
Death Date: 8 Jan 1916
Death Place: Alden, McHenry, Illinois
Burial Date: 11 Jan 1916
Cemetery Name: Alden Cem.
Death Age: 68
Race: White
Marital Status: M
Gender: Male
Father Name: Hiram Scott
Father Birth Place: New York State
Mother Name: Mary Millard
Mother Birth Place: New York State
FHL Film Number: 1530825

This clearly states that James H. Scott is the son of Hiram Scott and Mary Millard, so James is definitely a brother of Horace Scott. But what about Willard?

The 1880 census (below) records that Willard J. Scott was born in New York state, of parents who were both born in Pennsylvania. Those facts are consistent with Hiram and Mary Scott as his parents.
1880UnitedStatesFederalCensusForWillardJ.Scott

I tend to believe that Willard J. Scott was also Horace’s brother, but I haven’t yet found a definitive link between Willard and the rest of the Scott family. Plenty of circumstantial evidence, but not as satisfying as a solid link. I’ll keep looking. In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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