California Biographies

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 the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin 
Valley, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from 
its earliest settlement to the present time.
Prof. James Miller Guinn , A. M.
The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1905
Notes: Missing Page: 865-866,983-984,1175-1176


JOHN W. SCOTT. Actively identified with the horticultural and agricultural interests of 
Fresno county is John W. Scott, proprietor of a small but well improved ranch, which in its 
appointments compares favorably with any in the community. A son of Joseph Scott, he was 
born October 3, 1839, in Limestone county, Ala. Born and reared in Tennessee, Joseph Scott re- 
moved to Alabama when a young man and lived there until after his marriage. Subsequently re- 
moving to Mississippi, he lived first in Monroe county and later in De Soto county, where his 
death occurred while he was yet in the prime of manhood. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Elizabeth Mays, was born in Virginia and died in De Soto county, Miss. Of their eight chil- 
dren, John W., the subject of this sketch, was the fifth in order of birth. 

Brought up principally in Mississippi, John W. Scott there acquired his rudimentary educa- 
tion, and later, in order to prepare for the ministry, studied for a while at Bethel College, in 
Carroll county, Tenn. In 1862, in Arkansas, where he had been teaching school for three 
months, Mr. Scott enlisted in Company A, Tenth Mississippi Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and 
served until the close of the war. He took part in many of the important engagements of the 
conflict, including the battles of Shiloh, Missionary Ridge and Chickamauga, and Cairo, where 
he was captured and put on parole. He served first under General Bragg, then under Johnston, 
and later under General Hood. Toward the close of the war Mr. Scott was promoted from 
the ranks, being made chief color bearer, and in the battle of Atlanta he fell with the colors 
in his hands, while each of six guards surrounding him was shot down. 

On returning to Mississippi Mr. Scott taught school in De Soto county for two or more years. 
Subsequently embarking in mercantile pursuits, he was in business at Fort Smith, Ark., until 
1879, when he removed to Seattle, Wash., where he continued as a merchant for two years. Com- 
ing to California in 1881, Mr. Scott was a resident of San Francisco for four years, being at 
first employed as bookkeeper for the Judson Manufacturing Company of Oakland, and later 
for the Pacific Rolling Mills of San Francisco. Locating in Fresno in 1885, he purchased twenty 
acres of land, which are included in his present ranch, and has devoted his attention principally 
to berry raising and fruit culture, in which he has been successful. 

In 1867, in De Soto county, Miss., Mr. Scott married Lida Beauchamp, who was born in Elk- 
ton, Todd county, Ky., a daughter of Milton Beauchamp. Her father, a native of Frankfort, 
Ky., came with the gold seekers to California in 1849, sailing around Cape Horn. Not meet- 
ing with success as a miner, he returned to Kentucky and was engaged in farming until his 
death near Lexington. Mr. Beauchamp married Mary Daniel, who was born near Elkton, 
Ky., the descendant of a family of wealth and prominence, and died in Texas. Of their nine 
children, Mrs. Scott was the fifth. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are the parents of seven children, 
namely: William Walter of Seattle, Wash., an insurance agent ; Eula, wife of D. A. Stivers of 
San Francisco; Mary, wife of A. P. Jordan of Fresno; Wirt D., of Fresno; Lyda, wife of 
Harry Cornell of Watsonville ; John Franklin, of San Francisco ; and Gilman Winfield, living 
at home. Mr. Scott is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and is a 
member of the Christian Church of Fresno.