Adam Scott (1772 - 1838)

Born 1772 in Guilford, North Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Donnell) Scott — married 2 Mar 1796 (to 1811) in Guilford, North Carolina, United States

Husband of Jane (Barr) Scott — married 30 Nov 1811 (to before 1827) in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States

Husband of Mary (Rankin) Scott — married 21 Jul 1827 in Guilford, North Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died 7 Jul 1838 at about age 66 in Guilford, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

1772 Birth and Parentage

Adam Scott b. 1772 Guilford Co, NC s/o William Scott b. 1750 d. 1801 and Rebeccah Meek b. 1754 d. 1806.^[1][2] Adam's father William Scott, son of Samuel, Sr., located in Guilford Co. in 1770. William's father was a member of the Nottingham Colony, but had returned to Pennsylvania. Samuel, Sr., gave to his son William 640 acres on the waters of the Reedy Fork in 1770. William had also returned to Pennsylvania with his father and had perhaps married there before coming back to North Carolina.^[3]

NC Life

Adam was a ruling elder for the Buffalo Presbyterian Church and lived abt. 3 mi. north.^[2]

Marriage

1. Adam m. 02 Mar 1796 (bond) Guilford Co, NC Mary Donnell^[4][1] d/o William Donnell and Mary Bell.^[3]
2. Adam m. 30 Nov 1811 Rockingham Co, NC Jane (Barr) Walker.^[5][3]
3. Adam m. 21 Jul 1827 (bond) Guilford Co, NC Polly Rankin^[6] d/o John Rankin and Hannah Carson; m/1 Samuel Thom.^[3][7]

1838 Death

Adam d. 07 Jul 1838 Guilford Co, NC bur. Buffalo Presbyterian Church Cem, Greensboro, Guilford Co, NC.^[2]

Research Note

Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Her People

The following excerpts are quoted from The History of Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Her People by Rev. S. M. Rankin (unspecified publication date; likely during 1920s). Readers are encouraged to verify information contained in this chapter with their own research. There are errors, and source documents from two centuries ago have been misinterpreted. Rev. Rankin assumed that anyone living near the church must have been a member, and attributes some people to the membership who were in fact Quakers. "War" in these notes refers to the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, Rev. Rankin did not cite his sources, or footnote his statements.^[3]

Samuel Scott secured two sections of 640 acres each on the waters of the Reedy Fork, in what is now known as the Moore community. He had at least two sons, Samuel, Jr., and William. Samuel, Sr., returned to Pennsylvania, carrying all his family with him except Samuel, Jr., who had married and located here. Samuel, Jr., died shortly thereafter, leaving four children: Samuel, Jr, Jane, Mary and Anne, who married William Gowdy, Jr.; Jane married John Bell, son of Samuel, in 1778; Mary married Robert McMurray, son of John, Sr., in 1791; Samuel, Jr. Jr., married Jane, daughter of James McAdoo, Sr., in 1788, and their children were John, David, Samuel, Joseph L. and Mary. Samuel, Jr. Jr., died in 1797, and his widow married Col. William Ryan in 1799.

Robert Bell came here from Caswell County in 1762 and located on Sugar Tree Creek (Jordan's Branch). His children appear to have been Samuel, Robert, Francis and James. Robert, Sr., died shortly after the Revolutionary War and his sons moved to Tennessee. Rev. Robert Bell«/b», a noted Cumberland Presbyterian minister, was the son of Robert, Jr., who had married Mary Boyd in 1775. Hon. John Bell«/b», United States Senator from Tennessee, was the son of Samuel.

Samuel Bell, a brother of Robert, Sr. located on the Reedy Fork in 1762. His children were James, Francis, Thomas, Samuel, John, Mary and Agnes. James married Mary Carson in 1773; Thomas married Elizabeth Carson in 1774; John married Jane, daughter of Samuel Scott, Jr., in 1778; Mary married William Donnell, son of Robert, the 2nd, in 1773; Agnes married Henry Reed in 1766. Samuel, Sr., died just at the close of the Revolutionary War, and the most of his children moved to Tennessee.

William Scott, son of Samuel, Sr., located here in 1770. His father was a member of the Nottingham Colony, but had returned to Pennsylvania. Samuel, Sr., gave to his son William 640 acres on the waters of the Reedy Fork in 1770. William had also returned to Pennsylvania with his father and had perhaps married there before coming back to North Carolina. His wife was Rebecca, and their children were Samuel, Thomas, Adam, William, Mary, Margaret, Rebecca and Nancy. Samuel married Mary Bell in 1793 and moved to Tennessee; Thomas married Sarah Lemmons; Adam married first Mary, daughter of William and Mary Bell Donnell, second Mrs. Jane Barr Walker, daughter of James Barr, Sr., and third Mrs. Polly Rankin Thom, widow of Samuel Thom and daughter of John Rankin; William married Martha, daughter of William Donnell, and moved to Tennessee; Mary married Samuel Rankin, son of John, in 1800; Margaret married Robert Rankin, son of John, in 1805; Rebecca married James White and moved to [end of page 41] Tennessee; Nancy married James Donnell, son of Major John, in 1807. William Scott, Sr., died in 1801.

Robert Donnell, the second, came from York County, Pennsylvania, and located on the north side of North Buffalo in 1771. His wife was Mary, and their children appear to have been William, Elizabeth, Daniel, Samuel, Sarah, Robert and George. William married Mary, daughter of Samuel Bell, in 1773 and moved to Tennessee in 1797; Elizabeth married Robert Donnell, son of Thomas, Sr., in 1775; Daniel married first Mary, daughter of Robert Ervin, and second Catherine, daughter of Ralph Gorrell, Sr., in 1816; Samuel became a Presbyterian minister and was pastor of Spring Creek Church, Tennessee; Sarah married John Donnell, son of Robert, Sr., in 1779; Robert married first Jennie Morrison, in 1790, and second Mrs. Nancy Cabe Latta, daughter of John and Mary Strayhorn Cabe, of Orange County, in 1820; George married Lydia, daughter of Arthur and Lydia Forbis, and located on the Reedy Fork.

Benjamin Aydelotte, a young man, came to North Carolina from Maryland, and bought a farm of Francis Bell on Sugar Tree Creek (now Jordan's Branch), a mile and a half northeast of the church in 1789. He married Tabitha, daughter of Nathan Hill, and their children were Parker, Shealy, Shadrack, Leven, Lucy and Sarah. Parker married Mary Shaw in 1803; Shealy married Joseph Spruce in 1797; Shadrack moved to California; Leven married Lavenia, daughter of James Coots, and James B. Minor is a grandson of that union; Lucy married William Covey in 1817; Sarah married Mr. Wooters. There were other Aydelotte families in the county before Benjamin came. He died in 1813.

William Reed kept a tavern at Martinsville in 1784. Opie P. Reade, journalist and novelist, formerly of Tennessee, but now of Chicago, says his father was born at the Guilford Battle Ground, so he must be a descendant of William. Henry Reed married Agnes Bell in 1766 and located on Hunting Creek. He may have been the father of William.

We are giving here a list of those whose names appear in connection with the many church trials. The only record we have before 1833 is the record of these trials, and that is not complete. The dates on these records run from 1773 to 1796, and the minutes for some of these years are lost. This list is given to show the extensive bounds of the congregation, and the large number connected with the church. Most of these are members of the church, and all must have been members of the congregation. Buffalo had large congregations in those early years. In 1779 it had a bench of seven ruling elders.

Allison, Alexander; Allison, John; Anderson, Robert; Barney, William; Barr, James; Bedford, James; Bell, Mrs. Margaret; Bell, Capt. Robert; Bell, Samuel; Billingsley, James; Black, Thomas; Blair, Jane; Blair, Thomas; Brawley, John; Brawley, Martha; Brawley, Ruth; Breeden, Charles; Breden, Mrs. Margaret; Brown, Thomas; Brown, widow; Dent, Mrs. William; Burney, Charles; Burney, Mrs. Catherine; Burney, Elizabeth; Burney, Jane; Burney, Mary; Burney, Robert; Burney, William; Campbell, James; Campbell, Major John; Chambers, John; Christopher, Mrs. Jane; Christopher, John; Coots, James; Coots, Mrs. Mary; Craig, Elizabeth; Craig, Robert; Culver, Thomas; Cummins, Francis; Cunningham, Hugh; Davis, Elizabeth; Denny, George; Denny, James; Dent, William, Sr; Dent, William, Jr; Dick, William; Donaho, William; Donnell, Andrew John; Donnell, George.

Children

Adam and Mary Donnell had issue:^[1]

1. Adam Donnell Scott b. abt. 1796 Guilford Co, NC; m/1 Elizabeth "Betsy" Walker b. 1808 d. 1840 d/o A. and M. Walker and lived near Reedy Fork Creek; had issue.
2. William D. Scott b. 1797 Guilford Co, NC d. 1845 Guilford Co, NC; m. 1836 Margaret Rankin (1st cousin) b. 1809 d. 1844 d/o Samuel Rankin and Mary Scott; physician; lived in Greensboro; had issue.
3. John D. Scott b. 1800 Guilford Co, NC d. 1880 Guilford Co, NC; m/1 1824 Jane McLean b. 1798 d. 1845 d/o Marshall McLean and Mary Thom; had issue; m/2 1846 Jane McLean d. 1886 d/o Joseph McLean.
4. Edward Scott; m. Jemima Howlott; moved west perhaps to TN.
5. Lavinia Scott; m. 1828 James McNeely d. 1847 s/o Thomas McNeely and Elizabeth Maxwell.

Adam and Jane had issue:^[1]

1. Thomas Barr Scott b. 1813 d. 1852; m. Mary "Polly" C. Thom b. 1816 d. 1852 d/o Samuel Thom and Anne Gorrell; had issue.
2. Mary "Polly" D. Scott; m. 1836 Salah P. Donnell s/o William Donnell and Martha Denny.
3. Isabella Scott; m. 1834 James Davidson Hall b. 1806 d. 1892 s/o James Hall and Rachel Johnston of Iradell Co, NC, Presbyterian minister; had issue.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} William C. Rankin, 1900. Guilford's Scotch-Irish. [Charlotte? N.C.]: [Rankin?], p. 127 : accessed 14 Jun 2018 at [1]
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 04 March 2021), memorial page for Adam Scott (1772–7 Jul 1838), Find A Grave: Memorial #95170713, citing Buffalo Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Grace Cook (contributor 47695476) .
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Rev. S.M. Rankin, History of Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Her People, Greensboro, NC., Jos. J. Stone & Co., Greensboro, NC, (unspecified publication date; likely during 1920s), pp. 22-, accessed 21 Feb 2009 at [2]
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015 : accessed March 4, 2021 at [3]
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Index, 1741-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. : accessed March 4, 2021 at [4]
6. ↑ Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015 : accessed March 4, 2021 at [5]
7. ↑ Luginbuel Funeral Home, Genealogy : accessed March 6, 2021 at [6]