California Biographies Mendocino and Lake Counties, California Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California With Biographical Sketches History by Aurelius O. Carpenter And Percy H. Millberry Illustrated, Complete In One Volume Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1914 J. RIDLEY NOTT, M. D.� Professional skill and humanitarian prin- ciples have characterized the connection of Dr. Nott with Lake county, where he is known to the entire population as a pioneer physician, being in fact in point of continuous residence, the oldest doctor in Lakeport. Descended from English ancestors who were honored and influential in various walks of life, he was born at Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England, April 11, 1860, and is a son of the late James and Patience (Winnow) Nott, lifelong residents of Great Britain. Ten children formed the family and of these three sons and six daughters attained mature years, the doctor having been fourth in order of birth. Through his mother he traces his lineage to a gallant young Norman who accompanied William the Conqueror to England and after the conquest was donated allotments of land that gave him and his descendants rank with the aristocracy of the country. The mother died in England at the age of about seventy-six. The father, who passed away in 1902. was a man of exceptional ability. Not only did he possess the business insight which enabled him to amass a competency as a wholesale grocer, but in addi- tion he had literary talent and under the nom de plume of Aldwynus Mal- verniensis contributed to the local press, besides becoming the author of a number of books. With a love of research that made him a student in many different lines of thought, he especially excelled in his knowledge of antiquities and through his writings he gained a wide reputation as an antiquarian. A deep love for his chosen community and a thorough knowledge of its religious history led him to give lectures on such subjects as "Malvern's Monk," "The Stained Glass of Malvern's Abbey" and "The Church and Monastery of Great Malvern." A series of articles on the "Vision of Peers Plowman" brought him into popularity with a thoughtful class of readers. Nor was he less popular as a temperance advocate, writer and lecturer, and some of his contributions, among them the "Temperance Song of the Shirt" and the "Story of the Water Cure" were widely quoted by workers in the cause of prohibition. Educated at private schools at Scarborough and successful in passing the Cambridge examinations at the ag^; of sixteen, J. Ridley Nott thereafter spent some time in travel through Ireland, Scotland and England, and meantime registered at the Royal Medical Colleges of Edinburgh. At the age of twenty- one he came to the United States and took the entire course of lectures in the medical department of the University of Maryland, from which he re- ceived the degree of M. D. Returning to Edinburgh, he completed his med- ical course at the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, from which in 1887 he received the degrees of M. R. C. P., M. R. C. S., and M. F. C. & P. After traveling through France and Africa and visiting the Canary Islands with a desire to study the different forms of leprosy, he next toured in the West Indies and thence came via Panama to San Francisco in 1888. For eight years he practiced at San Luis Obispo, where he met and married Miss Lottie Laird, the daughter of H. S. Laird, then the leading architect at San Luis Obispo. By this marriage there are three daughters, Patience, Pauline and Felicia. After three years of practice at Salinas, Monterey county, in 1899 the doctor came to Lakeport, where he has since practiced, having been for eighteen months of the period in partnership with Dr. C. W. Kel- logg, now of Bakersfield. In 1911 he was chosen county physician and has since filled the office. In Lakeport he owns an office building on Main street and a residence which he has remodeled, while between Lakeport and Upper Lake he owns forty acres largely planted to walnuts. Reared in the faith of the Church of England, he has connected himself with the Episcopal Church since coming to the United States and has reflected in his own experi- ences the dignity and sincerity of that faith. A friend of the people and a believer in co-operation for the common good, he has wielded an influence in Lake county that is not limited to professional service, but extends into every sphere of humanitarian activities.