Thomas Scott (abt. 1650 - 1703)

Born about 1650 in England

Descendants

Died 31 Dec 1703 at about age 53 in Bensalem, Bucks, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Thomas was a Friend (Quaker)

Thomas Scott was early settler in Bucks County, PA.

Thomas Scott was born in England around 1650. Numerous earlier texts have suggested a birthdate around 1640. Evidence here shows that the oldest son in the family, Samuel, was born about 1683, and emigration to Pennsylvania occurred in about 1690 when Samuel was seven years of age. A 1650 birth date for Thomas puts him at age 33 at the time of Samuel's birth and age 40 at the time of emigration. There is a strong possibility that Samuel had two older sisters, and the 1650 birth date for Thomas gives ample time for those earlier births. 1650 is still only a rough estimate of Thomas' DOB.

Thomas founded a family of Scotts in America that, for more than a century, was prominent in Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Thomas, his wife Amy (presumed Fisher), and their descendants are the subjects of a seven-generation genealogical treatise. ^[1]

Thomas' wife's given name was Amy; she was named as heir and executrix in Thomas' will ^[2], but no marriage record firmly establishes her surname at birth.

Arrival in Pennsylvania, land acquisition, and farming

There was an early land warrant that some researchers associated with the Thomas Scott of this profile; later researchers have disputed this association. See the first topic under Research Notes.

Probable arrival in PA

A deed, dated 20 Aug 1690 and recorded 1 Oct 1690^[1][3], conveyed a 60-acre property in Bensalem from Joseph Growden to Thomas Scott, and referred to Scott as "planter". Within the deeded property, Growden reserved the right (easement) to operate a mill on one acre. Thomas Scott obtained the land not by monetary purchase, but by promise of eight days' labor each year on Growden's larger estate. In this period of Pennsylvania settlement, land was relatively plentiful owing to Penn's land grants, but labor was in short supply. Scott seems to have gotten land at a bargain price by paying with labor, which may have allowed him to retain financial resources for developing his farm and supporting his family. There was a vigorous land market in Pennsylvania at this time, with evidence of questionable actions (not Scott's) in this transaction^[4]. The purchase arrangement, with payment in labor, seems quite unlikely if Thomas were not present in Pennsylvania, and the August date of this deed is consistent with an Atlantic crossing in the summer followed by an immediate search for and purchase of suitable land.

Thomas was apparently successful with farming, as he continued to accumulate land, completing an additional land purchase in 1702 from Thomas Knight^[5]

The present best estimate of Thomas' arrival in Pennsylvania is year 1690.

Family

Thomas' 1702/3 will^[2] named his wife Amy as heir of all his estate, with instructions to later convey land and money to their children. The children were:

1. Unnamed daughter 1 (in England)
2. Unnamed daughter 2 (in England)
3. Samuel (apparently in Pennsylvania, to receive 100 acres at age 21; as primary land heir, likely the oldest son)
4. Richard (known to be younger than Samuel)
5. Benjamin (apparently in Pennsylvania, 20 pounds inheritance)
6. Thomas (named as youngest son, heir to land after Amy's death, most likely in Pennsylvania)

The two daughters were in England in 1702 when Thomas wrote his will. Their dates of birth are not known, nor their presence at any time in Pennsylvania. The order shown here assumes that they were born before emigration and did not emigrate with other family members.

Oldest son Samuel's age-21 inheritance was completed in a 1704 deed,^[6] which fixes Samuel's year of birth at about 1683. This deed specified a subsequent payment of ten pounds from Samuel to Richard when Richard reached age 21, and Samuel was then 21, so Richard was younger than Samuel. He may have been younger than Benjamin.

Quaker association

Thomas was a Quaker, and after arriving he associated primarily with the Byberry Monthly Meeting, where he was a prominent member in 1694, at a time when Quaker meetings in the area were recovering from a period of turmoil^[7]. There is evidence of Thomas' association, perhaps intermittent, with other Monthly Meetings. He was noted in the Abingdon MM, Men's Minutes, 30 Oct 1693, for returning 3 shillings that had been on loan from the Oxford Meeting. Byberry is in Philadelphia County and Bensalem, the location of the Scotts' land, is in Bucks County, so records of Thomas are found in both counties.

Death

Thomas died on the 31 Dec 1703 in Bensalem, PA, and was buried in the old graveyard at the Byberry Meeting House.^[7]

Research Notes

Early deed

On 22 Sep 1693, one Christopher Sibthorp executed a deed^[8], conveying land to one George Mannd, Citizen of London, Sibthorp's stepson. The description of the property includes this:

...containing 492 acres of land, granted by deed of lease and release dated 10 and 11 Oct 1681 from Wm. Penn, Chief Proprietor of the said Province [Pennsylvania] , unto Thos. Scott, of London, and from the said Scott unto me, the said Christopher Sibthorp, my heirs and assigns, by virtue of certain deeds of lease and release bearing date in London 13 and 14 Mar 1684, and being by the Surveyor General's order legally located as is above described, 16 Nov 1686...

The land is described as lying "above Warmester" which probably means between present Warminster and Doylestown. From the above, it appears that that one Thomas Scott, while still in England in 1681, obtained a land grant (warrant) from William Penn, which he sold to Christopher Sibthorp in 1684, the land was selected by Sibthorp or his agent and surveyed, and the latter deed patented in 1686.

It seems unlikely that Thomas Scott would have been so disposing of Pennsylvania land if he were present in Pennsylvania, as most settlers were eager to own land and start farming. The intention of the present Thomas Scott to farm his land is confirmed in the later deed described above (in the section Probable Arrival in PA), which referred to Thomas as "planter".

The genealogy mentioned in the Biography^[1] states that early researchers interpreted the 1681 deed as belonging to the Thomas Scott of this profile, but there is now doubt about this connection, and with good reason. Examination of early PA land records^[9] shows that there were numerous transactions involving Thos. Scott, which most likely were multiple persons. A 1737 or 1738 Draft 616 acres in right of Thos. Scott and Warrant 500 acres in right of Thos. Scott 22 Sep 1748 appear in the reference (p 202-203), and a grant to Thos. Scott in Chester County (p 235). The existence of a distinct Thomas Scott in Chester County is confirmed by probate records in that county^[10].

Early Pennsylvania Land Process

The process of obtaining title to Pennsylvania land involved several steps, often starting in England with grant or purchase of a warrant (a "land right") , with which the holder could select a specific parcel for survey and title application, and ending in Philadelphia with granting of a patented deed to the parcel (see the Foreword in reference^[8]).

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Scott, Craig R., ed. Some Descendants of Thomas and Amy Scott of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The Scott Genealogical Quarterly Vol 7 Number 2. July 1993, 83 p. Partial view available online at Google Books or HathiTrust. A list of libraries holding this item is here. Reese Spicer contributed the first excerpts from this work.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol III, Abstracts of Philadelphia Wills, Part I, Philadelphia, 1893, Philadelphia Will Book B-232, No. 123, p. 197. Dated 27 Feb 1702/3, proven 7 Jan 1703/4.
3. ↑ Bucks County Recorder of Deeds. Index to deeds 1684-1919. FamilySearch.org microfilm Grantee Index, Section 1650, p 3. Deed recorded 22 Nov 1704, Deed book 1, p 315.
4. ↑ Records of the Courts of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1684-1700. Philadelphia: Colonial Society of Pennsylvania, 1943. A deed of 60 acres in fee from Joseph Growdon to Thomas Scott, dated 20 Aug 1690 was referenced among other deeds in the Court of Common Pleas in Bucks County, in a criminal complaint of extortion by an agent. Session #139, 10 Sep 1690.
5. ↑ Bucks County Recorder of Deeds. Index to deeds 1684-1919. FamilySearch.org microfilm Grantee Index, Section 1650, p 3. Deed from Thomas Knight, recorded 24 Oct 1702, Deed book 3, p 75.
6. ↑ Bucks County Recorder of Deeds. Index to deeds 1684-1919. FamilySearch.org microfilm Grantee Index, Section 1550, p 4. Deed recorded 22 Nov 1704, Deed book 3, p 171.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} A History of the Townships of Byberry and Moreland in Philadelphia, PA. Joseph C. Martindale, MD. (1901 revised edition, Albert W. Dudley, ed.). Available from Archive.org here.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Wm. Henry Egle, ed. Early Pennsylvania Land Records, Minute book F, p. 153-4. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976. (Original publication Vol. XIX, Second Series. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Archives, 1893.)
9. ↑ Egle, William Henry. Old Rights, Proprietary Rights, Virginia Entries, and Soldiers Entitled to Donation Lands. Harrisburg, PA: State Printer, 1896. Available at archive.org here.
10. ↑ Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994 (images), FamilySearch.org