- William Lawrence Scott
Infobox Officeholder
imagesize=
title=Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania
order=10th
term=1866
predecessor=F. F. Farrar
successor=Orange Noble
term2=1871
title2=Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania
order2=12th
predecessor2=Orange Noble
successor2=Charles M. Reed
term_start3=1885
term_end3=1889
state3=Pennsylvania
district3=27th
predecessor3=Samuel M. Brainerd
successor3=Lewis F. Watson
birth_date=birth date|1828|7|2
birth_place=Washington, D.C.
death_date=death date and age|1891|9|19|1828|7|2
death_place=Newport,Rhode Island
spouse=
alma_mater=Hampden-Sidney Academy
religion=
party=DemocraticWilliam Lawrence Scott (
July 2 ,1828 –September 19 ,1891 ) was a Democratic member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania . His body is buried atErie Cemetery .Family
William L. Scott (grandson of
Gustavus Scott ) was born inWashington, D.C. to Colonel Robert Scott (U.S. Army), of Virginia, who was detailed to the nation's capital at the time of his son's birth. Scott was orphaned as a boy.Education
He attended the common schools and
Hampden-Sidney Academy inVirginia . He served as aUnited States House of Representatives Page from 1840 to 1846.Early employment
He returned to
Erie, Pennsylvania withCharles Manning Reed at the end of Reed's term in the U.S. Congress and was employed as a shipping clerk at Reed's lakeside wharves for several years. He then spent some years traveling, working as a peddler, fisherman, and clerk until he was 23 years old.Commercial career
Scott returned to Erie and became a prosperous land owner, investor, and businessman engaged in shipping,
coal mining,iron manufacturing, banking, andrailroad construction. One trade at the New York Stock Exchange was said to have earned him $2 million. His fortune was estimated at $15 million. He served as president of a number of railroad companies, including theNew York, Pennsylvania, and Norfolk Railroad and theErie and Pittsburgh Railroad .Horse breeding
Scott was prominent in
horse breeding and racing throughout his life.In June 1883, Scott bought the 2,650 acre Hollywood Farm on the
Chesapeake Bay inVirginia from the heirs of the late Governor Littleton Tazewell for $55,000. His purchase included the Tazewell house which became forever known as the Scott House after he renovated and enlarged it in 1886. Scott bought the land primarily to establish a terminus, a harbor and a town for the services of his railroad, the New York, Pennsylvania and Norfolk. Scott immediately deeded part of his 2,650 acre purchase to the railroad and the following year, in 1884, he laid out the Town ofCape Charles, Virginia on 135 acres.As a member of Congress and a close friend of President
Grover Cleveland , Scott did a great deal of entertaining at Scott House, which overlooked Old Plantation Creek. Scott had a passion for race horses and his farm had facilities, including a one-milerace track , to breed and winter 35 northern-owned race horses. [ [http://www.bay-creek.com/article_20050713.asp Danes, Ceri Larson, Old Things Are New Again, Eastern Shore News, 13 July 2005, as seen at Bay Creek Resort and Club website] ]He established the
Algeria Stock Farm in Erie, purchasing for $30,000 the French champion Rayon d'Or (named theleading sire in North America in 1889) and a stock of high bred brood mares. Scott maintained a farm for yearlings inSt. Charles, Maryland . Scott's horse Chaos won theFuturity Stakes (USA) in 1889. Scott was a stockholder and member of the board of the Coney Island, Monmouth, and Brooklyn Jockey Clubs.Political career
Scott was elected mayor of Erie in 1866 and again in 1871. He served as a member of the
Democratic National Committee from 1876 to 1884, and was appointed again in 1886. He was a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention s in 1868, 1876, 1880, and 1888. Scott was considered a possible choice forUnited States Secretary of the Treasury underGrover Cleveland . [Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate, 23 Feb 1887]Scott was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses. He served as chairman of the
United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy during the Fiftieth Congress. He was renominated in 1888 and again in 1890 but each time declined to be a candidate due to his health.References
* New York Times obituary, 21 September 1891
External links
*CongBio|S000188
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/scott9.html The Political Graveyard]
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