Biography

02/17/1842 - 09/10/1918

William John Scott (R21) Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties 1896-1900

Early Life: 

William John Scott born February 17, 1842, city of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; son of Irish immigrants; public school education; private, prisoner of War, Civil War 1864-1865; colonel, Pennsylvania National Guard, 1895 to 1899; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1896-1900; Custom House Officer; witness clerk, Wilkes-Barre Courthouse; wife, 2 sons, 1 daughter, 2 grandchildren; died, Pennsylvania’s influenza pandemic, heart trouble, September 10, 1918, apartment, Schooley Building, Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; interment Oak Lawn Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hanover, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. (i) (ii) (iii)

Early Career:

Enlisted, age 17, private January 14, 1864, Company A, 159th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 14th Cavalry, battles of Winchester; Cedar Creek; Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign; sixty-three additional raids and expeditions; dispatched, United States Army, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas,  June 1865. Colonel, Pennsylvania National Guard under Governor Daniel Hastings, 1895-1899. 

Dupont Wapwallowpen Powder Works, manager, Luzerne County, 45 years.  

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church; Westmoreland Club; Elks Lodge No. 109: Solomon Lodge of Masons, Philadelphia; Union Veterans Legion.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Unsuccessful bid, United States Congress, 1880.  

Alternate delegate, Republican National Convention, 11th District Pennsylvania, Exposition Building Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, June 3-6, 1884, nomination of: James G. Blaine, Maine, President and John A. Logan, of Illinois, Vice-President.

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1896-1900, member Federal Relations, Finance, Library, Mines and Mining and New Counties and County Seats Committees.  

Legacy:

According to his 1900 Senate biography, he served some time as a prisoner of war; however, official records do not indicate where or when.

Cited: 

Smull’s Legislative Hand Book, (1900) Miller, H.P., Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 1163, 1186 and 1192-1194

Pittston Gazette (Pittston, Pennsylvania) Thursday September 12, 1918, Page 4

Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, Pennsylvania) Friday September 13, 1918, Page 8

             (i) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24807620/william-john-scott