April 17, 1865, as an editorial on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.[1] He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court in September, 1865.
By this time Mr. Scott had become established in the editorship of The Oregonian, and excepting for a period of five years from 1872 to 1877, in which he held the post of Collector of Customs at Portland, busying himself in the meantime in various activities, public and private, he held this place, made great by his industry, his talents and his character, to his death, August 7th, 1910. In his earlier career in The Oregonian he was an employed editor. He returned to it in 1877 as part owner as well as editor, holding this relation to the end. His definite editorship of the paper, with the interregnum above set forth, covered the period between April, 1865, and August, 1910—forty-five years.
We have seen something of the external conditions and influences which went into the shaping of Mr. Scott's individual character, but behind these there lies a wide field. Whence came the essential spirit of this extraordinary man? What were the sources of the hardihood, the tenacity of purpose, the hunger for knowledge and the thirst for culture, the impulses and motives which inspired and vitalized his career? There is a suggestion in Mr. Scott's name sustained by many physical and mental characteristics of a remote ancestry, but the family records prior to the migration from the old world to the new have been lost. John Scott, great-grandfather, came to North Carolina shortly before the Revolutionary War, supposedly from England. John Scott's wife, great-grandmother, was Chloe Riggs, of North Carolina, obviously of British descent. Of her family it is known only that her father was killed by Indians. John Tucker Scott,[2] father, was born in what was then Washington County, Kentucky. Anne Roelofson,[3] wife of John Tucker Scott and mother of Harvey Scott, was, like
- ↑ Mr. Scott was first recognized as editor of The Oregonian May 15, 1865, although he wrote numerous editorial articles prior to that date. (George H. Himes.)
- ↑ Died at Forest Grove September 1, 1880; born February 18, 1809.
- ↑ Died on river Platte, 30 miles west of Fort Laramie, en route across the plains June 20, 1852; born July 26, 1811.
