Yolo County CA Archives Biographies.....Scott, J. Smith 1864 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 14, 2006, 3:59 pm Author: Tom Gregory (1913) J. SMITH SCOTT As chairman of the board of supervisors of Yolo county Mr. Scott is giving to his native region the benefit of his discriminating judgment, superior mental powers and enthusiastic belief in the unrivalled resources of the section. While all projects for the material development of the county receive his earnest co-operation, in no department of progress is he more interested than in the building of good roads, and the people of the county, more particularly the farmers, have been aroused to a realization of the value of his suggestions concerning the highways. When first he entered upon road construction in Woodland township, he advanced modern ideas as to methods of work, and by means of a large traction engine with plows attached he broke up the roads, refilled them with gravel and finally oiled the highway, thus securing a permanent and substantial road at a small cost to the county. The benefit of his services in this one respect can scarcely be overestimated and in other avenues of progress, while less prominent, he has been interested in an equal degree. The Scott family ranks among the pioneer element of Yolo county, the first representatives here having been Harmon H. and his father, William. The former, a native of Tennessee and a descendant of old southern ancestry, accompanied his parents to Missouri at the age of eleven years and during the summer of 1850 crossed the plains to California, where he followed the adventurous life of a miner for four years. Coming to Yolo county in 1854 he settled at Woodland and in 1861 married Miss Margaret Eakle, who two years before had come across the plains to California in company with her mother and eight brothers and sisters. Her brother, Hon. Henry P. Eakle, who had served as captain of the train in the long journey from the east, settled on a large ranch near Woodland and in time became the owner of valuable property in both Yolo and Colusa counties. Intelligent and capable, he rose to prominence in his community and for some years represented the district in the state legislature, where he gave the best of his powers to the welfare of his constituents and promoted many measures for their benefit. His death occurred in 1910 after one-half century of intimate association with the agricultural and material upbuilding of the county. For twenty-three years after his marriage Harmon H. Scott cultivated and occupied a ranch southeast of Woodland near the Willow slough, but eventually he retired from the burdens of farm work and devoted the closing years of his useful existence to an enjoyment of the society of family and friends and the light labors associated with the care of his home and other property in Woodland, where in 1889 his kindly existence came to a peaceful end. Surviving him are his wife and four children, the sons being William H., of Davisville, and J. Smith, of Woodland, both well-known citizens of Yolo county. The daughters are Priscilla A., wife of A. J. Hendricks, of Willows, and Mary E., who married Elmer Rahm and resides at Oakland. On the old homstead near Woodland J. Smith Scott was born November 14, 1864, and there he early learned the rudiments of agriculture, which aided him when finally he embarked in farming for himself. For eleven years he devoted his attention wholly to ranching, but at the expiration of that time he came to Woodland, his present place of residence, and since then he has been associated with road construction. Although not active in agriculture, he still owns and manages a ranch of twenty-five acres near Woodland and from this land during the years of 1910 and 1911 he cut six crops of alfalfa each year. The marriage of J. Smith Scott and Miss Margie McCutcheon, a native of Santa Clara county, Cal., was solemnized in 1896 and has been blessed with a daughter, Meta I. Mrs. Scott is the daughter of Maxie and Elizabeth (Johnson) McCutcheon, the former coming to California in 1848 via Cape Horn. By virtue of his life-long residence in the state Mr. Scott holds membership with the Native Sons of the Golden West and in Woodland Parlor No. 30 he has been an influential worker for some years. In addition, he has identified himself with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has been prominent in the work of Woodland Lodge No. 111, whose charities he assists by his generous contributions. Ever since he reached his majority he has supported the Democratic ticket in all elections. Elected supervisor in 1908, he filled the position with such energy and intelligence that three years later he was chosen chairman of the board and is now filling the position with characteristic fidelity and sagacity. Additional Comments: Extracted from HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA WITH Biographical Sketches OF The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth and Development From the Early Days to the Present HISTORY BY TOM GREGORY AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913] File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/yolo/bios/scott179gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 5.6 Kb