Scott, Martin

Born: 1807-03-14 Tennessee

Died: 1886-07-29 Missouri

Flourished: McLean County, Illinois

Martin Scott was a sheriff, county collector, minister, and pioneer settler of McLean County, Illinois. A native of Jackson County, Tennessee, Scott, as a child, moved with his parents to Indiana, where he received his education and worked on the family farm. At the age of fifteen, Scott moved with his parents to Sangamon County, Illinois. In 1827, Scott relocated to Tazewell County, Illinois, settling on a farm in the portion of Tazewell County that would become part of McLean County when it became a county in 1830. In February 1830, he married Lucinda Maxwell. Lucinda M. Scott died in March 1831, and in April 1835, Scott married Polly Maxwell, with whom he would have one child. In 1832, Scott was among the original purchasers of public lots in Bloomington, Illinois. In 1835, he became sheriff and county collector, serving in that capacity until 1840. Scott's property was in the portion of McLean County that became part of DeWitt County, and Scott became a citizen of that county upon its establishment. Four of his brothers were ministers in the Christian Church, and Martin's himself was ordained in 1844 and began a career as a minister. In 1850, he was farming and preaching in DeWitt County and owned real property valued at $3,200. In the 1850s, Scott moved to Daviess County, Missouri, where he founded the Pilot Grove Christian Church. In 1860, Scott was farming in Daviess County and owned real property valued at $5,000 and had a personal estate of $6,000.

The History of Daviess County Missouri (Kansas City: Birdsall & Dean, 1882), 862-63; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Tazewell County, 26 February 1830; McLean County, 18 April 1835, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; The History of McLean County, Illinois (Chicago: Wm. LeBaron, Jr., 1879), 198, 219; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), DeWitt County, IL, 398; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Daviess County, MO, 71; Gravestone, Old Scotland Cemetery, Jameson, MO.