Butte County
Biographies
ALBERT M. SCOTT
A. M. SCOTT.--An influential citizen,
whose power for the up building of Chico has not been limited to his
acceptability as a city trustee, but who is favored with a personality,
intellectual virility and common sense that make for effective and popular service
in other spheres of civic effort, is A. M. Scott, who was born near
Chillicothe, Mo., November 2, 1865. His
father was F. M. Scott, a native of Steubenville, Ohio, while his grandfather
Scott was a native of Scotland, who settled in Ohio as a farmer. F. M. Scott came to the Pacific Coast when a
very young man, crossing the plains with his father, with ox teams, in the
later forties; and having tried his luck in mining, he went back and forth
across the plains, doing expert service as a pilot of trains. In this manner he crossed the plains of the
American continent six times; and during these trips he had many a brush with
the Indians. For years he ran a pack
train into the mining towns of California and Oregon. He owned Fort Crook, in Shasta County, where
he ran a stock ranch. In 1863 he moved
to a farm near Chillicothe, Mo., and there continued farming and raising
stock. However, his interest in
California never abated, and in the years following he made several trips to
this state with a view of eventually bringing his family and again taking up
his residence here. In 1887, he moved
here and again settled at Fort Crook; and there, about 1898, he died.
Sarah
Stone, the pioneer’s wife, was a native of Missouri, having been born near
Chillicothe. She died in October, 1915,
at Oakland, the mother of five boys and five girls. A. M. Scott, the subject of our sketch, is
the eldest; Abbie, now Mrs. Smith, resides at San Francisco, as does also J.
W.; C. T. is in Seattle; Leona, Mrs. Creichton, has her home in the Californian
metropolis; Luella, Mrs. Rock, lives at Richmond; F. D. is in Chico; Jennie,
Mrs. Bunton, lives in San Francisco; W. J. is at Oakland; and Fannie, Mrs.
Perry, is at San Francisco.
Brought up
on the home farm, A. M. Scott attended the public schools; and having received
a certificate when seventeen from the county superintendent, he continued his
studies for three years at Avalon College, Mo.
In 1887, he came to California and, settling near Butte City, engaged in
farm work. After continuing there for a
few years, he went to Shasta County, bought a ranch near Fort Crook, and went
in for stock- and grain-raising; but in a few years he sold out, and in 1897
located in Chico. He there started in
the hay, grain and feed business on his own account, opening his place on
Oroville Avenue, at the junction; and in 1900 he bought his present site, the
whole block between Main and Oroville Avenue, and Eighth and Ninth
Streets. Part of the building had
already been erected; but he remodeled it and adapted it to his own needs. He also owns the Chico Hotel and the row of
several stores on Main Street, and his attractive residence at the corner of
Sixth and Main. Besides these
properties, he owns other lots in Chico and vicinity. He has been more than ordinarily prosperous,
and does a very extensive wholesale and retail business.
Mr. Scott
was married in Shasta County to Miss Dora B. Burrus, a native of Missouri; and
of this union four children were born, two of whom are living: Elmer H., a graduate from the Chico High
School, who was principal musician of the Second Regiment Infantry Band during
its service on the Mexican border, and who is now in the service of the United
States, in the officers training school at Camp Kearny; and Juanita, a graduate
of the Chico High School. A Democratic
leader, Mr. Scott was elected a member of the board of trustees of Chico in
1907, reelected in 1911, and again in 1915, each time without opposition. Fraternally, he is a member of Chico Lodge,
No. 113, I. O. O. F., of Chico.
Transcribed by Priscilla Delventhal.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 704-705, Historic Record Co, Los
Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Priscilla Delventhal.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies