Santa Clara County Biographies


This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm



CAPT. JAMES SCOTT, 
 
deceased. No history of Santa Clara County would be complete without special 
mention of one of its earliest pioneers, the subject of this sketch. He was born 
in Woolwich, England, January 20, 1811. His parents, William and Martha 
(Davidson) Scott, were natives of Scotland, his father serving in the English 
army and his mother residing in England at the time of his birth. His early 
boyhood was spent in attendance upon school, but at the youthful age of fifteen 
years he went to sea, thus beginning an eminently successful career. A bright 
and intelligent youth, of industrious habits, his strict attention to his duties 
soon won the confidence of his superiors. While yet in his teens, the vessel to 
which he was attached was wrecked on the barren coast of Nova Scotia, and though 
he was but a common seaman at that time, it was his forethought, intelligence, 
and energy that extricated the crew from the difficulties surrounding them. It 
was the display of such qualities as these that led to his promotion, at an 
early age, to the position of Second Mate, and from this time he rose rapidly in 
his profession, the age of twenty-four years finding him in command of one of 
the finest merchant ships under the English flag.
        He followed his profession with honor and credit until 1849, when he 
came to San Francisco. He arrived when the gold fever was at its height, and he 
sought for wealth in the mines. His experience in the mines was not that of many 
who were disappointed in the results of their labor; on the contrary, his 
success was remarkable. On some days he secured as much as $3,000 from his 
claim. After amassing quite a competency, he returned to San Francisco, where he 
became a hotel man, opening to the public one of the largest hotels then in the 
city. In 1853 his brother William (whose biography appears in this volume) 
joined him in San Francisco, and upon his arrival Mr. Scott sold his hotel 
interests and accompanied his brother to the mines. He was again successful in 
his mining ventures, coming, however, with his brother during the following year 
to Santa Clara County, where he purchased 120 acres of land, immediately 
beginning its improvement and cultivation. Thus commenced a useful, active life 
of eighteen years in this county, and during that period the same qualities 
which won recognition in his earlier pursuits gained for him the respect of his 
fellow-citizens. A wide experience and sound business principles assured his 
success in this as in other undertakings. His active life closed December 18, 
1872.
        His wife, formerly Miss Ann Lambert, a native of England, departed this 
life several years previous to his death. Their two children, William and Ann, 
are also deceased. In 1863 Mr. Scott visited Scotland, and upon his return to 
Santa Clara County was accompanied by his sister, Miss Elizabeth Scott, who was 
born September 22, 1822. On the twenty-eighth of December, 1863, she became an 
inmate of her brother's home, where she has since resided, and of which she is 
the present owner. This property is located on Scott Lane, in the Jefferson 
School District, about one and one-half miles from the business center of Santa 
Clara. Her farm contains ninety-five acres of the original 120 acres owned by 
her brother. The land is beautifully situated and is very productive. Twenty-six 
acres are in strawberries, of the Longworth and Sharpless varieties, four acres 
are in raspberries, while the remainder, with the exception of a small tract 
planted with fruit trees, is devoted to the growing of hay and grain. Artesian 
wells supply a plentiful amount of water for irrigation and other purposes.
        Another member of this family was Thomas Scott, who came to the United 
States, and, enlisting in the Twenty-sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
Colonel Owens commanding, was killed in battle in '63.
 
Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, 
Illustrated. - Edited by H. S. Foote.- Chicago:  The Lewis Publishing Company, 
1888.
Pg. 556-557