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Thomas Forester Scott (1822-1910) - Biography

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Thomas Forester Scott, was born in Pembroke, Maine on April 9, 1822.  His mother Theodora Wheeler married his father, David Scott in 1820 in Dennysville, Washington Co., Maine, and their first child Jane was born that same year.  David was raised in Nova Scotia,  and the young family appears to have returned to Halifax, N.S. where a third child,  Margaret was born in 1825 and baptised there in 1826 at St. Matthew's church.  Between 1826 and 1841 little is known about the family. We do know that in 1841, Thomas age 19, along with his parents settled permanently in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In a rapidly growing city Thomas found work in the shoe business as industrialization moved from custom-made shoes fitted made for each customer to ready-made footware in numbered sizes geared to fit customers in a range of sizes.  His original place of business was listed at the corner of Fourth Ave. and Smithfield Street. City directories indicate that he conducted business in 1877 as a shoe agent under the name of T. F. Scott & Son at 98 Fourth Ave.

Obituaries indicate that his career started in shoe store operation but moved into the sales field exclusively as a traveller or shoe agent. He is credited as being the 'first travelling shoe  salesman.'  One might assume that going from an established store to travelling was a move from retail to wholesale business.  The term "shoe agent" being usually associated with wholesale dealers also suggests this. 

While little is documented of his work dealing with shoe soles what is very well documented is Thomas's avocational life concerned with human souls as a very active Methodist layman. He is credited with establishing sixteen Sunday schools at a time when the Methodist Sunday school played a major role in increasing literacy levels and developing the social conscience of communities dominated by rapid industrial growth and increased materialism. His pioneer efforts in founding Sunday schools - institutions that in the mid 1800's involved both adults and children. A number Thomas's Sunday schools became churches including the Castle Shannon, Fair Haven and Knoxville Methodist Protestant churches all located in the Pittsburgh area.

The rise of Methodism through the mobilization of strong lay leadership during the late 1800's is a pattern well documented in many locations. Several of his relatives followed a similar devotion to improving social conditions through church activity, including his cousins Capt. John Adams Scott in Boston who was active within the Methodist Protestant denomination and David Scott in Ste Croix, N.S.  who helped establish a Presbyterian church there. Thomas was not limited to activity within his own church but worked to help other communities establish congregations, earning him wide respect.

On April 11, 1848, he married Martha Taylor, daughter of Richard Taylor.  Richard,  a veteran of the war of 1812, was a cousin of Zachary Taylor, a President of the United States. Together Thomas and Martha had six children and in the 1900 census the household consisted of three adult children and two boarders.  The family at home in 1900 were sons Walter and Edward (who had been widowed on Dec. 27, 1897), and daughter Theodora.  In 1910 there were 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Martha (Taylor) Scott died on September 25, 1909, and Thomas on  January 11, 1910. The family home located in Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania, a community located six miles from Pittsburgh saw growth as a streetcar suburb but remained an unincorporated part of Scott Township until 1919.

The six children of Thomas and Martha were:

• Walter Forester Scott  b. 1849 d. 7 Aug 1927
• William T. Scott  b. 1851 d. 1924
• Edward T. Scott  b. 1853 d. 1924
• Mary Scott  b. 1858 d. 9 Mar 1952
• Alice Scott d. 1950
• Theodora Scott b. 1862 d. 1960

Additional material on Thomas Forester Scott is also available within HomePort including, transcriptions of four obituaries published after his death, and a item on the rediscovery in 2000 of the connections between two branches of  the family through the a common link to Thomas F. Scott. Images used within this biography are also listed by source on a separate page.