Texas Legislators: Past & Present

William Thomas Scott

Full Name: William Thomas Scott, Sr.
Birth date: December 14, 1811
Death date: November 1, 1887

Terms of Service

House, 17th ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁸⁾ Legislature
1/11/1881 - 1/9/1883
Democrat
House, 16th ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ Legislature
1/14/1879 - 1/11/1881
Democrat
Senate, 6th ⁽¹⁴⁾ ⁽¹⁷⁾ & 5th ⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾ ⁽¹⁶⁾ Legislatures
11/8/1853 - 11/2/1857
Senate, 4th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽¹¹⁾ Legislature
11/3/1851 - 11/7/1853
Senate, 1st ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽¹²⁾ ⁽¹³⁾ ⁽¹⁵⁾ Legislature
Elected but never sworn

(1) Election of 1851 - Democratic candidates William T. Scott, Dr. Joseph Taylor, and L.D. Camp of Upshur County (possibly L.B. Camp), pp. 162, 164. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880 1983.
(2) Entire Senate went up for reelection due to Senatorial redistricting. Act passed Feb. 2, 1853, 4th Legislature, 1st C.S., ch. 4, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950 1950.
(3) Scott elected as a democrat, p. 1, 11/17/1880. Galveston Daily News .
(4) Democrat, 11/17/1880, p. 2. Galveston Daily News .
(5) Democrat, 1/14/1879, p. 1. Galveston Daily News .
(6) Committee on credentials reported two claimants for the 10th district, W.T. Scott and John Hudson, and found W.T. Scott "prima facie entitled to be seated," 1/14/1879, pp. 5-6. House Journal .
(7) Edward Clark, in special election 11/1/1847, sworn in 2nd Legislature, succeeded unexpired term of William T. Scott, resigned 6/5/1847. Clark elected but never sworn in 1st Legislature. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(8) Democrat. Pocket Directory of the Seventeenth Legislature of Texas 1881.
(9) Roster of members elect of the 5th Legislature, state elections, 1853. Texas State Gazette (Austin, Texas), 8/20/1853, p. 3, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
(10) 5th Legislature - Senators elect M.M. Potter, Isaac L. Hill, William T. Scott, and James H. Durst "came forward, presented their credentials, were qualified and took their seats," 11/8/1853, p. 6. Senate Journal .
(11) 4th Legislature, Regular Session - Roll of Senators elect presented their credentials, qualified, and took their seats, 11/3/1851, pp. 3-4. Senate Journal .
(12) 1st Legislature - Roll of Senators, oath of office administered, 2/16/1846, p. 4. Senate Journal .
(13) 1st Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office and Classification of Senators, 3/3/1846, p. 60. Drew "second class" (4-year term). Senate Journal .
(14) 6th Legislature, Regular Session - Roll of Senators (holdover Senator), 11/5/1855, p. 4. Senate Journal .
(15) Description of drawing of terms for Senators, first-class two-year terms and second-class four-year terms, 3/3/1846, p. 180. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861 1990.
(16) 5th Legislature - "In part due to the redistricting and the increase in the number of members, the returning senators found themselves a minority of six: James H. Armstrong, Joseph H. Burks, Rufus Doane, Hardin Hart, William T. Scott, and M.D.K. Taylor," pp. 241, 243. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861 1990.
(17) 6th Legislature - Listed in the "19 members of the Senate [who] retained their seats from the 5th Legislature," p. 258. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861 1990.

Biographical Notes and Resources

Resolutions and Journal entries

5th Legislature - Roll of Members, William T. Scott, age 41, native state Mississippi, emigrated from Mississippi in 1840, farmer, postoffice Marshall, Harrison County. House Journal .

Photographs

Photograph. W.J. Scott, Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Other Resources

Mentioned in discussion of Harrison County religious life and denominations, pp. 102-103. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880 1983.
Railroad promoter and State Senator, pp. 90-93; role in secession and state sovereignty, pp. 185-193; participation in Citizens Party meeting, 10/12/1878, p. 339; state representative, pp. 349, 353-361. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880 1983.
Biographical sketch, William Thomas Scott, p. 168. Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832-1845 1942.
Biographical sketch in son P.R. Scott's article, p. 944. Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas, Containing Biographical Sketches of the Representative Public, and Many Early Settled Families 1889.
William T. Scott, Sr., birth date 12/14/1811 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi; death date 11/1/1887 in Scottsville, Texas; burial in Scottsville Cemetery, Scottsville, Harrison County. Includes photos and "The Roses of Scottsville" article. Find a Grave .
SCOTT, WILLIAM THOMAS (1811-1887). Handbook of Texas Online .
Mentioned as Citizens Party candidate in CITIZEN'S PARTY OF HARRISON COUNTY. Handbook of Texas Online .
William Thomas Scott, mentioned in biographical sketch of son W.T. Scott, p. 387. "His father, William Thomas Scott, was for years a citizen of Texas, and held important positions under its government, both before and after its annexation to the United States." Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas and Adjacent Territory 1895.
Obituary, Colonel W.T. Scott, The Galveston Daily News, 11/3/1887, p. 5, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
Delegate to Secession Convention of Texas, 1861. Journal of the Secession Convention of Texas 1861. Edited from the original in the department of state by Ernest William Winkler, State Librarian. Texas Library and Historical Commission, the State Library. Austin: Austin Print. Co., 1912, pp. 20-22. Originally published serially in newspapers. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin) 2009.
Biographical sketch, p. 254. Texas Legislative Manual, 1879-80 1879.
Biographical sketch and portrait, Hon. William Thomas Scott, pp. 282-284. The Encyclopedia of the New West 1881.
Biographical notes, p. 170. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861 1990.