Agnes Scott Institute Bulletin: Memorial Number Colonel George W. Scott

SERIES 1 NOVEMBER, 1903 NUMBER 4

Agnes Scott Institute
BULLETIN

memorial number

COLONEL GEORGE W. SCOTT

ISSUED QUARTERLY BY

AGNES SCOTT INSTITUTE

DECATUR, GA.

COLONEL GEORGE W . SCOTT.

35u HSUemovictm

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2011 with funding from

LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation

http://www.archive.org/details/agnesscottinstit14agne

Biographical.

John Scott, a native of Adams County, Pennsyl-
vania, whose ancestors emigrated from Ireland and set-
tled in Pennsylvania about 1740, and Agnes Irvine,
who was born in Ballykeel, County Down, Ireland, June
13, 1799, an d came with her mother to America in 181 6,
were married in October, 182 1.

George Washington Scott,

The subject of this sketch, was the fourth child of
John and Agnes Scott, and was born in Alex-
andria, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1829, and was named
for the "Father of his Country."

His parents were members of the Presbyterian Church,
his mother having with her mother become members
of the Hartslog (Pennsylvania) Presbyterian congrega-
tion by deposit of certificates of membership from the
church at Kilkeel, Ireland, and when the Hartslog or-
ganization was merged into the Alexandria Presbyterian
Church they became members of it, and continued so
until their respective deaths.

George W. Scott joined the Alexandria Church
while a boy. He had been from early infancy instructed

in the Scriptures and taught to believe that they consti-
tuted the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and
to receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and the
catechisms as containing the system of doctrine taught
in the Holy Scriptures.

While a boy in Pennsylvania he was not of robust
health, being troubled with his throat, and in 1850 de-
cided to go South and try its milder climate. He left
Alexandria on October 4, 1850. He had for some time
been in the habit of keeping a diary in which he re-
corded the events of every day. This diary is now in
the possession of his son, and from it the following ex-
tracts are copied, as of interest to Decatur and Atlanta
friends :

" Wednesday, October 30, 1850 Arrived at

1 ' Decatur about 5 o'clock in the evening ; received a let-
"ter from John (his brother) and also one from Daniel
" Evans did not get one from mother as I expected, am
"a good deal disappointed; stopped at Dr. Calhoun's
"hotel.

"Read Isaiah 14th.

" Thursday 31st. Left Decatur about half past seven
' ' and arrived in Atlanta about 8 o'clock very -warm and
"pleasant. Stopped at the Atlanta hotel. This is the
4 ' most stirring place for the size that I have ever seen. I
4 ' suppose I saw between two and three hundred wagons
44 in the town to-day, principally all hauling cotton. Some
4 ' were drawn by horses, some by mules and a great many
44 by oxen. Met a Mr. Orme, said he was raised near Har-
4 4 risburg ; he told me he came to this place four years ago
44 and there were then but two houses on the ground
8

"where the town now stands. The Georgia Railroad,
"Savannah and Macon Railroad and the Georgia State

"road all terminate here Had a long talk

"with a young man that spent last winter in southern
' ' Georgia. He gave me an account of his deer hunts in
"that region which were very interesting.
"Read Isaiah 15th."

Colonel Scott left Atlanta finally on Tuesday,
November 5, 1850, going to Griffin, Columbus, through
south Alabama and into west Florida to Quincy, where
he resided for about a year, when he removed to Talla-
hassee, where he entered a mercantile business in 1852
as the head of the firm of George W. Scott & Co., and
resided there until 1870, when, western Florida still be-
ing prostrated by the effects of the war, he removed to
Savannah, engaging there in a cotton factorage and com-
mission business.

After the severe yellow fever epidemic of 1876 in
Savannah, he removed to Atlanta and commenced the
manufacture and selling of commercial fertilizers, and
there has since had his business office. He bought his
late home in Decatur and moved his family to it in
February, 1877, and at the time of his death had been a
resident of Decatur for more than twenty-six years.

He died October 3, 1903, after an illness of only two
weeks and was buried from the Decatur Presbyterian
Church on October 5, the funeral services having been
conducted by his pastor, Dr. Patton, assisted by Dr.
Gaines, president of the Institute.

9

Colonel Scott was married in 1854 to Miss
Rebekah Bucher, of Pennsylvania, one of God's saints,
who died after a brief illness in 1899, an ^ ner devoted
husband, then in feeble health, never fully recovered
from the shock of her death.

ColoJnel Scott was a Deacon in the Tallahassee
Presbyterian Church ; an Elder in the First Church of
Savannah and for about twenty-five years an Elder in
the Decatur Presbyterian Church. He was for several
years a trustee of Columbia Theological Seminary ; fre-
quently represented his church in Presbytery and Synod,
and served as a member of the Assembly's Home Mission
Committee for several years, and upon standing Presby-
terial and Synodical Committees.

Although of northern birth and rearing, with all of
his family ties in the North, when the " War between
the States" began, Colonel Scott unhesitatingly
and unreservedly gave his heart and sympathies to the
cause of his adopted State and the South, and entered
the military service of the State of Florida in May, 1861,
as a member of the Tallahassee Guard, afterwards
mustered into the Confederate service as Company D,
Second Florida Cavalry, of which he became captain.
In 1863, by order of the Secretary of War, he organized
the Fifth Florida Battalion, known as "Scott's Cav-
alry," of which he was the commanding officer with the
rank of lieutenant-colonel . In October, 1864, Colonel
Scott was made commanding officer of the subdistrict

of " Middle and West Florida and Southwest Georgia, n
with headquarters in Tallahassee. He surrendered the
troops of that command to General McCook of the Union
army on May 13, 1865, and was paroled by that officer
on May 23, 1865.

Colonel Scott took a conspicuous part in the bat-
tles of Olustee and Natural Bridge, which last engage-
ment saved Tallahassee from capture.

In 1868, over his repeated protests, Colonel Scott
was unanimously chosen by the Democrats of Florida as
their candidate for governor. The election was held
under federal military rule, was extended over three
days and the recently enfranchised negroes were allowed
to vote, and like General Gordon in Georgia, Colonel
SCOTT and his party were not allowed a victory at the
polls.

Colonel Scott remained a Democrat to the day of
his death ; always took great interest in political mat-
ters, rarely failing to cast his ballot, but never again
accepted a political nomination or office.

His devotion to his adopted South was intense and
continued to the day of his death, and the memories of
the days and struggles of the ' ' sixties ' ' were ever cher-
ished, and among his most-prized possessions was the
" Cross of Honor," bestowed by the chapter of the
Daughters of the Confederacy at Tallahassee, and his
old regimental battle-flag.

Colonel Scott was a careful, sagacious and suc-

11

cessful business ilian, always noted for his strict business
integrity and exceeding liberality with his employees
and all with whom he had business relations.

He lost very largely by the war, and met with a severe
business reversal in Savannah, through no fault of his,
and when he came to Atlanta in 1876, he was without
a dollar of capital. He rapidly built up a large and
prosperous manufacturing business, and later a lucrative
phosphate mining business in Florida.

Colonel Scott was one of the first prospectors and
investors in Florida phosphate fields and received at his
works the first car-load of crude phosphates ever shipped
from the State. Out of his manufacturing and mining
enterprises he accumulated a comfortable estate but was
never a close economizer, and enjoyed being able to give
more than he did saving.

C. M. Candler.

Decatur, November 2, 1903.

12

CHRISTIAN BUSINESS MEN.

It is often charged that to be successful in business life
the Golden Rule must be put aside ; and that success is
attained by overreaching others. But nearly every one
recalls in his experience at least one man who, by pa-
tient industry and honest methods, had accumulated
wealth; and who, at the same time, had lived a pure,
Christian life, recognizing that his wealth belonged to
God, and as God's faithful steward had used his money
for the cause of Christ and the uplifting of his fellow
men. And that while giving freely of his substance he
had been guided by rare business judgment, rather than
by emotion and enthusiasm. Such men were blessings
to the community and country in which they lived,
pointing the way to younger men who were struggling
to attain success in business, and bringing honor to the
calling in which they were engaged.

Two men stand out prominently in my memory as
Christian business men, who, on account of the influ-
ence of Christ in their lives, and their well-rounded
Christian character, were leaders in good works and an
inspiration to those who followed them. These two

*3

men were not only warm personal friends, but fully ap-
preciated each other.

One of these was Mr. Wm. A. Moore, the great mer-
chant, at one time so prominent in the business life of
Atlanta. Years ago he passed to his reward, but his
name and memory linger with the churches, schools and
people of Georgia, to whom his hand was ever open and
to whom, in the aggregate, he gave great sums of
money. The Presbyterian Church of Atlanta and
Georgia especially remember him ; and his name is per-
manently linked with the Moore Memorial Church of At-
lanta, which owes its existence to him. He was also deeply
interested in Agnes Scott. Although it had been estab-
lished only two years before his death, yet so thoroughly
did he endorse it that he made a bequest to it of
$5,000, published in the catalogue as the "Wm. A.
Moore Scholarship Fund." Mr. Moore stipulated in
his will that the interest on this fund should be applied
to aiding Presbyterian girls in securing an education.
Already it has aided fully two-score.

The other Christian business man to whom I refer
was Colonel George W. Scott, of blessed memory. A
man who had occupied high positions in the Confeder-
ate Army, in the State, and in the business world during
his long and useful life ; yet a man of such pure and
simple life that the humblest might feel that he was his
friend, and be the better for having known him. To
him money only represented the simple comforts of life,

14

and the larger means of doing good. His work in the
church and communities where he lived will long be
remembered. His gifts for benevolence and public
progress were almost endless. The crowning work of
his life Agnes Scott Institute its useful past and
splendid future, will, we trust, stand for ages as a mon-
ument to his memory and a blessing to the Southern
country. Few men I have ever known attracted me by
the blessing of rare Christian judgment, and the practi-
cal application of that judgment in the Master's service
and for the good of others, as did Colonel ScoTT. "His
works do follow him ; ' ' and generations to come will be
receiving blessings from the life-work of this good man.

S. M. Inman.
New York, October 27, 1903.

15

COLONEL GEORGE W. SCOTT

AN APPRECIATION.

I. Colonel Scott as a Man.

Colonel Scott was about medium height and rather
slender. His hair and full beard, kept neatly trimmed,
were perfectly white. His eyes were deep set, clear
and kind, and his pleasant, open countenance invited
confidence. His voice was gentle and usually low. His
manner was perfectly easy but retiring. Until a few
years ago, when his physical strength was impaired by
an attack of sickness, his movements were quick and
his step elastic and bespoke energy and purpose. He
was never robust and yet had remarkable endurance.
His dress always seemed faultless, being free from ex-
tremes and in perfect taste.

He was endowed by nature with a fine intellect. He
was never satisfied in considering any subject to stop
short of the most thorough investigation. He looked
at every detail and viewed it from every side and in all
its bearings and relations. His judgment, therefore,
was clear and safe. When once he had reached a de-
cision he held with unswerving tenacity to his pur-

16

pose, and his resources and skill in its execution were
remarkable.

He was also a man of great tactfulness. Tact in him
was not mere policy, but sanctified common sense. In
dealing with men he was always kind, considerate,
frank and generous, and knew how to appeal to the
best in them. Few men understood better than he how
to approach men, how to disarm, win and lead them.
This he always did modestly, kindly, wisely and suc-
cessfully. His tact was no less manifest in dealing with
difficulties. It was very rare he faced a difficulty which
he did not find some way of solving or overcoming.

Another marked characteristic of Colonel Scott was
his great modesty. There were not many who had as
much ground for pardonable pride as he. His career as
a soldier, as a public-spirited citizen and a business
man, and the host of friends won by his kindness and
helping hand, all were enough to engender pride. But
he very rarely alluded to any of these things and then
only in the most diffident and apologetic way to his
most intimate friends. While he valued real apprecia-
tion, anything like praise or compliment embarrassed
him and he would change the subject as quickly as he
politely could. Flattery he despised.

He was also one of the gentlest and kindest of men.
His tones, his manner, his acts, were marked by a gen-
tleness born of kindness. No woman was ever kinder,
gentler, or more refined than he.

17

He was a man, too, of great geniality. There was
nothing of the ascetic about him. He was always
cheery and hopeful. He enjoyed hearing a good story
as well as telling one, and his laugh was hearty, merry
and contagious. He delighted in the company of the
young and entered thoroughly into their sports and fun.

With all these traits Colonel Scott was a man of clear
and firm convictions. Gentle and kind he was, but no
manlier man could be found. He was as true as steel,
firm as a rock and courageous as a lion.

It will be noted that the above characteristics mark
the highest type of gentleman, and such he was, always
polite, courteous, considerate of others, refined, genial
and agreeable.

He was a remarkably well-rounded man. He filled
to the fullest degree and adorned every relationship in
life, of home, brother, kinsman, friend, of church and
citizen. After the above had been written a distin-
guished Georgian volunteered almost the precise state-
ment to the writer. It is remarkable how many people
from the different walks of life have said of him since
his death, " He was the best friend I ever had." Truly
he was a rare man, one whom to know was to admire
and love.

II. Colonel Scott as a Christian.

He was a child of the covenant and was reared in a
Christian home. His mother was a woman of deep and

18

earnest piety. Her strong and intelligent faith, godly
walk, earnest prayers and Christian nurture were an in-
estimable blessing to her children. Her Christian
character and deep piety are beautifully illustrated by
this prayer found in her own handwriting in her Bible
after she had fallen asleep : ' ' Heavenly Father, I
leave all that belongs to me to Thee. Undertake Thou
for them" (referring to her children). "Bless them
and make them blessings. Hide them under the shadow
of Thy wing, and direct their steps. May the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." The debt he
owed to this mother he always most gratefully recog-
nized. It is not surprising that he early gave his heart
and life to Christ. The following are some of his more
prominent characteristics as a Christian :

Humility His was no mock humility, but sincere
and consistent, growing out of a sense of sin and appre-
ciation of the holiness of God. He walked softly and
humbly before his God. He truly felt his unworthiness
to stand in God's holy presence. His bearing in the
house of God, in the church courts, in conversation
with his pastor, all showed that he had in an unusual
degree that rare and beautiful Christian grace of hu-
mility.

Faith He was a Christian of clear, strong faith in
Christ as his personal Savior and also in the guiding
hand of God and His overruling providence. The wri-
ter has often been surprised and rebuked by the confi-

19

dence with which he committed to God the work of the
Institute in which we were associated.

In the difficulties and perplexities which have more
than once confronted us, he has said to me : " If we
do our full duty there is no doubt but that God will
bless us."

He was a man of Prayer Perhaps none knew ex-
cept those closest to him about his faith in prayer.
When the writer resigned his pastorate to accept the
Presidency of Agnes Scott Institute, oppressed with the
significance and responsibility of the change, he ven-
tured to ask Colonel Scott to pray for him. His
touching reply showed that he not only had thought of
the whole situation, but that he was also a man of
prayer. He said, "Why, Mr. Gaines, I do that every
day." No one knows what a comfort and strength
Ihese daily prayers have been these years.

Catholic Spirit He was a devoted and loyal Presby-
terian. He cordially believed the distinctive doctrines
of the church. But his Christianity was not bounded
by the Presbyterian Church. His love and interest ex-
tended to Christians of every name and he extended a
helping hand to all. During a long and intimate ac-
quaintance I never heard a criticism of any denomina-
tion fall from his lips.

Christian liberality He considered that all he pos-
sessed came from God, and that he was God's steward.
Feeling thus he gave not grudgingly but cheerfully.

20

Then, too, he felt that riches not properly used would
be anything but a blessing. When he had decided to
make his large gift to the cause of Christian education
he said to me : " I have been wonderfully blessed and
I don't want it to harden my heart." In his own church
he responded with great liberality to every cause. He
gave freely, however, to different churches and many
causes. The extent of his liberality no one knows. He
did not let his left hand know what his right hand did.
In a large number of instances the writer has learned of
his generosity through others, never from his own lips,
except sometimes incidentally. How surely will such
a man and such a Christian be missed, and by how many.

III. Colonel Scott as a Philanthropist.

What he was as a man and what he was as a Christian
made him what he was as a Philanthropist. His philan-
thropy was the expression, the flowering out, of the man
and the Christian. The word philanthropy means lover
of man. This is what he was, a lover of his fellow man.
He had a heart full of kindness and sympathy for his fel-
low men in their needs. He did not say to the needy
"be ye warmed and filled," and send them away empty.
The wide range of his charity, and the amount of it will
never be known in this world, so unostentatious and reti-
cent was he about it, but enough is known to indicate
that the help he extended his fellow men in every walk
of life and in various sections of the country displayed

21

large philanthropy. The value of this help was enhanced
by the kindness with which ft was rendered and by the
sympathy and interest extended.

Agnes Scott Institute.

His largest and most conspicuous work of philan-
thropy was in connection with the Agnes Scott Institute.
It is proper, therefore, to give the history of this work
and what he did for it. Perhaps no one living is so well
qualified to speak for him as the writer, since we were
intimately associated in the work from its inception and
conferred freely and fully about it at every step of its
progress.

He fully endorsed the Agnes Scott Ideal which is as
follows :

Ideal.

i. A liberal curriculum, fully abreast of the best in-
stitutions of the land.

2. A sound curriculum, with text-books along all lines
in harmony with the Bible.

3. The Bible a Text-book.

4. Thoroughly qualified and consecrated teachers.

5. A high standard of scholarship.

6. The Institute a model Christian home.

7. All the influences in the school to be made condu-
cive to the formation and development of Christian
character.

8. The glory of God the chief end of all.

This Ideal embodied his conception of Christian edu-
cation. To realize this Ideal in the education of young
women he believed would not only bless them, but
through them the church and the world. He fully be-
lieved that the education according to this Ideal of the
future wives and mothers would be the most promising
method of securing a godly generation ; that a Chris-
tian womanhood educated according to this Ideal
would do more to make the home Christian, society
Christian, the world Christian, more to supply the
Sabbath-school with efficient teachers and the church
with qualified workers, than any other agency. More-
over it was contemplated to make this agency perpetual.
So that year after year a constant stream of young women
at an impressionable age would pass under the influence
of this Ideal. In this way the Institute would be a great
fountain sending forth year by year streams to gladden
and bless the land. Such were the considerations which
led him to engage so heartily in the work. He entered
upon and continued the work in the spirit of humble but
strong faith in God, in the spirit of prayer, of love for
his fellow men and of service to God.

The Plans For The Institution.
From the first he cordially assented to the plan for a
great institution. This is precisely what all who knew
him would have expected, for he was a broad man with
a great heart and large ideas. He showed this by the
kind of building he erected when as yet the school was

23

young and small. Before he had the plans drawn he
went North and examined some of the leading institu-
tions, and then put up a splendid building at a cost of
$82,000. He contemplated the planting of an institu-
tion equal to the best in buildings, equipment and all
educational facilities.

He earnestly supported the plan for an endowed in-
stitution. He several times told the writer that he had
himself desired and hoped to do much more for its en-
dowment than he afterwards felt he could do. He took
the keenest interest in the movement started a few years
ago for raising endowment and made the largest indi-
vidual subscription which was made to the fund.

He thoroughly endorsed the plan for an institution
founded on broad lines. He gave his hearty support to
extending an invitation to the Presbyterians of Alabama
and Florida to unite with the Presbyterians of Georgia
in the extension and management of the institution. In
the canvass for endowment four years ago the statement
was repeatedly made by the writer with his full ap-
proval that Agnes Scott was a gift to the Presbyterian
Church. There was absolutely nothing narrow or selfish
in his conception of the institution. He heartily ap-
proved of the plan that the institution should offer the
best advantages at as near cost as possible. He was
anxious that it should have sufficient income to pay its
running expenses and maintain it at the highest state
of efficiency, but nothing more. If the income should

24

more than pay its expenses any surplus would be applied
to improving the institution and not accrue to the per-
sonal benefit of any one. He entered earnestly into the
plan to perpetuate the institution along the lines indi-
cated above. He sought to make it permanent and was
very desirous that it should continue under the manage-
ment of men who would conduct it for the same end
and in the same spirit. Such was the plan. It con-
templated the establishment here, in the suburb of At-
lanta, the Gate City of the South, of a great institution.
The foundations were laid in faith and prayer. Back
of the entire movement and the inspiring motive in its
entire development has been the glory of God in the
higher Christian education of young women. In all
Colonel Scott's connection with it there has not been
the slightest suggestion of selfishness or self-glorification.
Nothing was more foreign to the man or the Christian.
From beginning to end he was actuated by the broadest
Christian philanthropy.

What He did for the Institution.

He gave largely of his fortune, as follows :
He paid for ground, present main building,

equipment and complete furnishing . $112,150

For additional improvements fully n, 200

For maintenance during the years it was not

self-sustaining 31,656

For endowment, self and children 20,000

175,006
25

Besides he gave himself to the enterprise, his time,
his thought, his cordial support and his constant pray-
ers. He personally superintended the erection, equip-
ment and furnishing of the main building. He attended
every Board meeting when possible, the opening of
every session, as well as the commencement exercises.
He took the greatest interest in teachers and students
and in every detail connected with the conduct of the
institution.

It will be interesting to enquire what have been the
results so far. The total enrollment of students to date
has been 3,365, representing twenty-four States. The
Bible has been a text-book from the first. The large
majority of the boarding students who have come here
unconverted have professed conversion before leaving.
There has always been an earnest Christian spirit
among teachers and students. There has been a steady
growth in the curriculum and all educational facilities,
until to-day Agnes Scott is second to no institutions for
women in the South. Her graduates have taken a high
stand as teachers, and the demand for them is greater
than the supply. A large number of the girls who have
gone out from the Institute are found among the most
earnest and efficient church workers.

The Institute has for several years been self-support-
ing. The present session is the fullest and most prom-
ising in the history of the institution. The prospect
for the future is bright with hope and promise.

26

From the very first session up to the present the In-
stitute has done much to aid girls unable to pay their
expenses. More than 225 girls have been aided. The
charges for these girls at regular catalogue rates would
have aggregated over $15,000. This part of the
work of the Institute was of special interest and delight
to ColoneIv Scott.

It is a cause for profound gratitude that he was spared
to see in such a large measure the success of his work.
In his last days he rejoiced in the confidence that the
Institute was on a safe basis and in its present and pros-
pective usefulness.

Truly a great and good man has fallen. But his in-
fluence, his work and his example remain. He will
continue to live in the memory of a great host of friends
who admired and loved him. It is hoped his life may
be an inspiration to others.

F. H. Gaines.

Decatur, November 2, 1903.

27

AGNES SCOTT NOTES.

The Institute had the largest opening in its history.
The chapel was crowded with students, parents and
friends. The exercises were conducted by the Presi-
dent. Dr. Rice delivered a very inspiring address
on the Agnes Scott Ideal. Colonel Scott was
present to the great delight of all and was much elated
over the prospect for the session.

The enrollment to date is 276, exactly the total enroll-
ment for the whole of last session. Only a few vacancies
remain in the boarding department.

The new gymnasium is approaching completion. It
is constructed of brick, is 40 x 80 feet and three stories.
The gymnasium room proper is 40x60 with 18 feet
ceiling. At one end of this room a partition separates
it from a room containing swimming-pool, shower-baths,
etc. The second and third stories contain recitation
and music rooms. The building is much needed and
will supply a great want. All are eagerly looking for-
ward to its completion.

Colonel Scott took a very deep interest in this build-
ing. When the matter was before the Board he insisted
that we should not put up any "make-shift," and the

28

swimming-pool was his suggestion. He was chairman of
the building committee and carefully scanned the plans
and assisted in letting all the contracts. His experience
in building and his natural ability and judgment were of
the greatest advantage.

The faculty and students attended the funeral of Col-
onel Scott in a body. All wore a bow of black ribbon
on the left shoulder. Among the floral offerings were two
very large and handsome pieces from the student-body,
one from each of the literary societies, one from the fac-
ulty, and one from the alumnae, besides individual offer-
ings. The funeral services were beautiful and impres-
sive in their simplicity.

The Board of Trustees at a recent meeting unani-
mously elected Mr. S. M. Inman chairman of the Board to
fill the vacancy caused by the death of Colonel ScoTT.
It is earnestly hoped Mr. Inman will accept the position.

The Board also appointed a committee to draft a suit-
able minute on the death of Colonel Scott to be en-
tered upon the records.

29

ATLANTA, GA.:

The Franklin Printing and Publishing Co,

Geo. W Harrison, State Printer, Manager.

1903.