William G. Scott. When a man passes away we look back over the life ended and note its usefulness — its points worthy of emulation and perpetuation. What William G. Scott did for his fellow men might, in a manner, be told in words, but in its far-reaching influences cannot be measured. Many business concerns and moral enterprises owe their excellence and progress largely to his influence. He was in touch with the people, and from a sincere and deep-felt interest in their welfare labored for all that would prove of public benefit until the busy and useful life was ended.
Mr. Scott was born in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Virginia, September 17, 1824, and was a son of John and Sarah (Logan) Scott, who were native of the County Monaghan, Ireland, and, crossing the Atlantic to the New World, located in Virginia in 1826. There they resided until 1827, when they removed to Richmond, Indiana, until 1838, when he removed to Ft. Wayne, this state. To the public schools of those cities William G. Scott was indebted for the education privileges which he received, but he put aside his textbooks when sixteen years of age in order to assist his uncle in the Land Office at Ft. Wayne, in which Mr. Reid was Receiver. In 1844 he returned to Richmond and soon afterward entered the employ of J. M. & J. H. Hutton, foundrymen, under whose direction he learned the moulder's trade.
On the 3rd of June 1847, Mr. Scott married Miss Malinda Gaar, a daughter of Jonas Gaar. She lived only a year after their marriage, and their only child died a few months later. In 1849 he joined his father-in-law, Mr. Gaar, together with the latter's two sons, Abram and John Milton, in the formation of the firm of A. Gaar & Company. They purchased the Hutton Foundry and Mr. Scott became the first bookkeeper and one of the original promoters and leading spirits in the mammoth enterprise that is now conducted under the name of Gaar, Scot & Company. In 1870 the business was incorporated under the name now used, the officers being Abram Gaar, President; William G. Scott, Secretary; and J. M. Gaar, Treasurer. These young men began business with very little capital, but a gradual and substantial growth has transformed the plant from its original proportions to one of the most extensive of the kind in the world. They were all practical mechanics and thus capable of directing labors of others. Their force of workmen was increased from time to time in order to meet the growing demand of the trade, until at length several hundred names were on their payroll, and the boilers, engines, sawmills and threshing machines which are manufactured are sent into every state in the Union, besides into a number of foreign ports. The phenomenal growth and success of the enterprise was attributable in no small degree to the sagacity, energy and wise business policy of Mr. Scott, whose judgement in all business matters was most reliable. He served as Secretary of the company until his death, and took an active part in the management of the extensive foundry business which has proved such and important factor in the up-building of Richmond.
His labors, however, were not confined to one line of endeavor, but were an essential element in the prosperity of many other successful business concerns of the city. In 1872, when the Second National Bank of Richmond was organized, he became Vice President, and filled that position until 1895, when he was elected President of the bank, acting in the latter capacity until his death. He was also President of the Wayne Agricultural Works, and whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion. He held a high position in business circles in the community for nearly fifty years, and his activity in that direction justly entitles him to be numbered among the founder of Richmond, for it is those who promote commercial and industrial activity who are the real builders of a place.
Mr. Scott was a second time married about 1850, the lady of his choice being Miss Betsy Rogers, by whom he had three children, viz: Charles E. and Clara R., who are now deceased, and Helen L., wife of John B. Dougan, Vice President of the Second National Bank of Richmond, and one of the leading businessmen of Wayne County. The mother died in 1863, and in 1864 Mr. Scott married Clara McCoy, daughter of Colonel W. F. Robie, of Plymouth, New Hampshire. She survives her husband and resides at Richmond. Mr. Scott was reared in the Presbyterian faith, but afterward became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he was connected until about 1862. He then returned to the Presbyterians and it was largely through his liberal donation that the house of worship belonging to the First Presbyterian Church was built. He withheld his support from no philanthropic or benevolent movements or enterprises for the public good, aided in building all the churches in Richmond and labored earnestly for the betterment of mankind, realizing most fully that financial success, fame or high position count for naught unless supplemented by an upright, honorable character. He had a mind above all personal considerations, concerned with those large, loving interests belonging to humanity. He passed away November 18, 1897, at the age of seventy-three years, but in the hearts of his friends are enshrined many pleasant memories of him, and his influence for good remains with those who knew him.
Source: County History Preservation Society — Biographical History of Fayette, Franklin, Union and Wayne Counties, Indiana, Originally Published in 1899 by Lewis Publishing Co.
Richmond Evening Item, Nov. 18, 1897; Page 1, Col 4
William G. Scott, secretary of Gaar, Scott & Co., and president of the Second National bank, died this afternoon shortly after 12 o'clock. This announcement will occasion no great surprise to the many friends and acquaintances of Mr. Scott, for his condition during the past weeks has been such as to indicate that death was only a question of a short time. Kidney disease was the cause attributed to his illness and death. Mr. Scott was one of Richmond's most prominent and wealthy citizens, had lived here the greater portion of his life, and his death will occasion genuine regret.
William G. Scott was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, September 1824. In his early childhood, his father, John Scott came to Wayne county with his family and after a short residence here the father died and the mother passed away two or three years later. William Scott made his home with Daniel Reid, father of D. G. Reid, and step-father of J. B. Dougan. With the Reids he moved to Ft. Wayne in the early thirties and his first schooling was derived there. In 1884 he returned to Richmond and began work at his trade of a molder with John H. and Jesse Hutton, Abraham, John M. and Jonas Gaar. In 1849 he with the Gaars bought out the Hutton foundry and this was the nucleus of the great plant now in existence — Gaar, Scott & Co. The young men had no money and gave their notes in payment. The business though started on a modest scale, grew rapidly and prospered from the very start.
In 1872 when the Second National bank was organized, Mr. Scott was elected vice-president and at the death of Andrew Scott two years ago he became president.
Mr. Scott's first wife was a daughter of Jonas Gaar. His second wife was Betsey Rodgers, a school teacher and to this union were born three children — Charles C., Clara and Helen, the later being the wife of John B. Dougan. His second wife died in 1861 and a few years later Mr. Scott was married to a daughter of Col. Robie, of Plymouth, N.H.
The factory of Gaar, Scott & Co. had its beginning, in 1836, in what was known to Richmond's pioneers as the Spring Foundry, located on the site of the present large plant and removed in 1836 to make room for the machine shop. Spring Foundry was so named because the water supply that furnished the motive power for this primitive enterprise was obtained from springs. The first proprietor of Spring Foundry was Isaac E. Jones, who used the building principally for a stove foundry. In 1839 it passed into the hands of Jesse M. and John H. Hutton. Among the operatives were Jonas Gaar, machinist; Abram Gaar, carpenter and millwright; J. M. Gaar, machinist, and William G. Scott, molder. These mechanics assisted in bringing out the first thresher ever built in Indiana. This machine was known as a "chaff piler" or "groundhog" thresher, which simply threshed the wheat, and was operated by horse power. These machines were first put on the market in 1841 and continued to he the principal product of the factory up to 1848, at which time they developed an improved grain separator, which threshed the wheat from the shock and separated it from the straw which was deposited on the ground to be "bucked" away. In 1849 these pioneers in the threshing-machine industry bought the factory from the Muttons and organized the firm of A. Gaar & Co. Under their able management this infant industry soon outgrew its swaddling clothes. In 1870, twenty-one years after the Gaars took control, its majority was celebrated by incorporation under the name of Gaar, Scott & Co., with Abram Gaar, president; J. M. Gaar, vice-president, and William G. Scott, secretary and treasurer. On the death of Abram Gaar, in 1894, J. M. Gaar succeeded to the presidency of the company. The present officers (November, 1911) are: Howard Campbell, president and general manager, who succeeded J. M. Gaar at his death, in 1900; S. S. Strattan, Jr., secretary, who succeeded William G. Scott, deceased in 1897; Frank Land, first vice-president; William H. Campbell, second vice-president, and Charles H. Land, treasurer. The early captains of industry who, founded this successful manufacturing enterprise, and their successors of the modern school of business, have always kept it at the head of Richmond's splendid manufactories and among the very first in its line in the United States. Over 600 men find steady employment in their well equipped factory and their total annual pay-roll is about $450,000. Threshers, traction and portable engines are their principle product, including large steam plowing engines, but they also build clover hullers, saw mills and straw bruisers, the last for export only. Their trade, which was at first local and amounted to only a few thousand dollars a year, has expanded until, as their announcements say, "Gaar-Scott threshing machinery goes wherever straw grain grows." In the wheat belts of Canada and Mexico their machinery is as well known as in the United States, and they enjoy a growing export trade in South America, Egypt, Russia, and other European countries.
Source: "Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County", Henry Clay Fox; Western Historical Association, Madison, Wis., 1912.
Built in the 1860s at 204 North Tenth Street, the building was an "indeterminate" architecture, sometimes called Queen Anne or Chateauesque. The red brick was imported and details are of brownstone and terra cotta. It was sold in the 1920s to the Knights of Columbus.
Source: "Pictorial History of Richmond, Indiana"
Freeport Weekly Journal, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 1879, pg. 8, col. 3
On Thursday morning, Feb. 20th, Charles E. Scott and Eleanore K. Mtchell were joined in marriage. The wedding took place at the residence of Mrs. James Mitchell, the bride's mother, in the presence of the relatives of the famly, and a few intimate friends. The ceremony was performed by Rev. H. D. Jenkins, whose pastorate has for years included the family of the bride, and was beautiful and touching in the highest degree. The presents, which were numerous and valuable, were chosen with rare good tast, and showed at once the kindly feeling of the many friends of the bride, and their appreciation of her tastes. At the close of the ceremony the newly-married couple received the congratulations of their friends, and sat down with them to a breakfast perfect in every detail, and at its close, amid the hearty good wishes of all who saw them, they took their departure for their wedding tour. They are to spend a few days at the residence of the groom's parents, at Richmond, Ind., and will go from there to the Pacific coast, for a stay of several months. Upon their return they will make Freeport their home, and will continue, let us hope, to move in the social circle of which both have been in the past such valued members.
Freeport Daily Journal, Saturday, September 8, 1894, Page 1, Col 3
Charles E. Scott, one of the best known citizens of Freeport, and a man who scarely knew what it was to be without pain, died at his home on North Galena avenue this morning at 10 o'clock. Mr. Scott's illness extended over a long period of years, and since early youth he was scarcely free from suffering a day. Yet for a man afflicted as he was he was remarkably cheerful, and for years confined his attention to business when he should have devoted himself to the care of his health. He never lost courage for a moment, and only a few days ago he was planning what he would do next spring. He always though that he would get well, and grew quite cheerful at times, even when his relatives realized that his days were numbered.
Consumption was probably the principle cause of his death, although he was badly afflicted with rheumatism at various times, and also had dropsy toward the last.
Mr. Scott has traveled all over in search of health. He spent months in Colorado, Hot Springs, Ark., and other states, consulted with the best physicians, but no permanent relief was offered him, although at times he was much better. All summer his health was miserable and he spent a good portion of the summer at his old home in Richmond, Ind., from whence he was brought home in a critical condition a few months ago, and was confined to the house until his death.
On several occasions during the past two weeks, it was thought that the end had come, but Mr. Scott possessed great vitality and a remarkable will power and fought of the grim destroyer.
But yesterday afternoon he had another bad attack from which he did not rally. He became unconscious, and at 2 o'clock this morning the anxious watchers at his bedside realized that the end was near. From that until 10 o'clock this morning he sank gradually and when the end came the relatives could scarcely realize that they were in the presence of death. Gently the patient sufferer fell asleep to awake no more this side of the grave.
Mr. Scott was a native of Richmond, Ind., and was born 42 years ago last May. He was the son of W. G. Scott, who is a member of the well known firm of Garr, Scott & Co., extensive manufacturers of threshing machines. The son was given a liberal education, and after graduating from the city schools he took a course in the Earlham college, located at Richmond. After completing his education he desired to engage in business, and his first business venture was at Galesburg, where in company with C. T. Breckenridge, he embarked in the hardware business, and soon built up a flourishing trade. He was a man of good business ability, and had he not have been restrained by ill health, would have made a mark for himself in the business world.
About 1874 Mr. Scott disposed of his business and removed to Freeport, and here he again embarked in the hardware business with Jesse Burchard, under the firm name of Burchard & Scott. A few years later Mr. Burchard sold his interest and removed to Dakota, and the firm name was changed to Chas. Scott & Company. Mr Scott continued to manage the business until about six years ago when he sold out to G. W. Warner & Co., on account of ill health, and since that time he did not engage in active business, spending most of his time in the vain endeavor to regain his health.
Mr. Scott was one of the best known Masons in the city. He was a member of Excelsior Lodge, A.F. and A.M., Freeport Chpater, Freeport Commandery, Freeport Consistory, and was also a member of Medina Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Chicago, and was a charter member of the new shrine to be established at Rockford in October. Mr. Scott took an active interest in Masonic work and was a faithful attendant at meetings.
He was also a man of deep religious convictions and was a regular attendant at the First Presbyterian chuch, when his health would permit.
His business and private life are above reproach. Honest and consciencious in all his dealings he gained the respect of all classes of people, many who have good cause to remember his generosity and deeds of kindness.
February 20th, 1879, Mr. Scott was married to Miss Eleanor Mitchell, daughter of Mrs. Col. Mitchell. His widow survives him, as do also his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Scott, of Richmond, Ind., and one sister, Mrs. Dougan, also of Richmond. All of the above relatives were at his bedside when he died.
Brief funeral services will be held from the family residence on North Galena avenue Monday morning at 8:30 o'clock, and the body will be taken to Richmond, Ind., for burial on the 10 o'clock passenger. The funeral proper will be held at Richmond Tuesday afternoon.
John B. Dougan has gained prestige as one of the able and popular men of affairs of Wayne county and is at present occupying the position of president of the Second National Bank at Richmond. He is a member of one of the prominent families of Wayne county, with whose annals the name has been identified for more than half a century. He was born at Niles, Mich., Dec. 14, 1847, son of William and Anna (Gray) Dougan. The father was born in the north of Ireland, in 1809, and with his brother, George Dougan, came to the United States about the year 1820, locating at Pittsburgh, Pa., where he learned the carpenter's trade, following that occupation in the Keystone State seven years. He also mastered cabinet making and became an expert mechanic. He later removed to Niles, Mich., where he engaged in carpentering and contracting, erecting the greater number of the buildings of that city during his residence there. He became not only one of the substantial men of that place, but was also a citizen to whom was ever accorded the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. He was a man of forceful individuality, guided his life according to the strictest principles of integrity and honor, and wielded much influence in public affairs of a local nature. He married Anna Gray, a native of the north of Ireland and a daughter of Isaac and Martha (Bartley) Gray. Her mother was an English lady, but married Mr. Gray in the Emerald Isle, and they emigrated to America in the early '20s, their daughter, Anna, who remained in Ireland, joining them in America a few years later. Their first home was in Rockbridge county, Virginia, but after a short residence there they came to Richmond, Ind., Mr. Gray being one of the leading pioneer merchants of that city. His last days were spent in Niles, Mich., where his death occurred in 1831. William and Anna (Gray) Dougan became the parents of six children: Isaac G. is a retired farmer of Spring Grove, Wayne county; William is a practicing physician at Niles, Mich.; George B. is of the firm of Dougan & Company, insurance, of Richmond; David is a banker at Denver, Colo.; John B. is the next in order of birth; and Martha is the wife of I. T. Foster, of Richmond. The father of this family died in August, 1849. Eight years later, in 1857, the mother became the wife of Daniel Reid and by this union had two children: Daniel G., president of the American Tin Plate Company; and Virginia, who became the wife of O. H. Bogue, of Wabash, Ind., and died Nov. 28, 1911. Mrs. Reid died in September, 1898, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. John B. Dougan spent the first ten years of his life in Niles, Mich., and in 1858 came with his family to Richmond; and he passed the remainder of his boyhood days under the helpful influences and discipline of the home farm where the family resided. There he became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and in the intervals of farm work improved the educational advantages afforded by the district schools of the neighborhood. In the fall of 1865 he returned to Niles, Mich., where he attended school for a year, and, thus equipped for the practical and responsible duties of a business career, again came to Richmond, in September, 1866, and entered the First National Bank, as "messenger boy." For six years he remained with that institution, and his close application, his faithfulness and his ability won him promotion from time to time until he was made general bookkeeper. In 1872, when the Second National Bank of Richmond was organized, he was tendered and accepted the position of cashier of that institution, continuing in that capacity until Jan. 1, 1898, when he was elected vice-president, and in August, 1901, he became president, in which position he still continues. He is a close student of the banking business, in all departments of which he keeps in close touch with the advances made from year to year. In politics Mr. Dougan shows an abiding faith in the principles of the Republican party, of whose cause he is a zealous supporter, and in a fraternal way is identified with the Masonic order, being a member of Richmond Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; King Solomon's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Richmond Commandery, Knights Templars; and Indianapolis Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. In October, 1876, Mr. Dougan was united in marriage to Miss Helen L. Scott, a daughter of William G. Scott, deceased. They hold membership in the Presbyterian church, and for many years Mr. Dougan has served as one of its trustees.
Source: "Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County", Henry Clay Fox; Western Historical Association, Madison, Wis., 1912.
