Descendants of Britton Scott of Emanuel County, Georgia

This website contains 5 generations of the family of Britton Scott and his wife Nancy Price, traced through their sons Jesse P., Henry, John and William Thomas.

I began researching the Scotts of Emanuel County, Georgia in 1990 when my husband’s mother handed me a small stack of papers representing her own limited research and challenged me to add to it. At that time, no one in the family had ever heard of Britton Scott, my husband’s great, great, great grandfather.

Many of Britton and Nancy Scott’s descendants still live in Emanuel County and elsewhere in Georgia, as well as in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Over the years I have enjoyed meeting some of them by email as they find my website and write to tell me about their branch of the family.

I maintain a private database of many more of Britton's descendants than I have space to include here. If you find a family connection, would like to correct or share information, or if you have questions, I would love to hear from you. You will find my name and email address at the bottom of this page.

AN INTRODUCTION TO MY SCOTTS

According to census records, Britton was born in Georgia between 1795 -1801. He died March 23, 1881 in Emanuel County, Georgia. County records show these spelling variations for his first name: Britton, Briton, Brittain, Britain.

The only proof I have of Britton's parents is an entry in an old Scott family Bible (see picture top left of this page), which says, "Britton Scott, son of William Scott J----? [Unreadable] his wife, died on 23 day of March 1881."

Britton married (1) Nancy Price Oct. 15, 1816 in Emanuel County,Georgia. Nancy was probably born in North Carolina about 1802, but some censuses list her birthplace as South Carolina or Georgia. Circumstantial evidence indicates that her parents were probably Jesse and Mary A. Price. Nancy died by March 7, 1873. Britton's second wife was Sophia Atkinson. They had no children together.

Ten children were born to Britton and Nancy. Their sons were William (who died in infancy), Jesse P., Henry G., John, William Thomas, and James W. Their daughters were Caroline M., Rebecca, Sarah Ann Martha, and Louisa.

Little information has been found about Britton and Nancy's daughters, but we know quite a lot about their sons. James and John fought together during the Civil War in the 48th Georgia Infantry. James was wounded and died in Richmond, Virginian 1862. John was discharged with a disability in 1864. William Thomas was in the 38th Georgia Infantry and was discharged in 1862.

Britton's eldest son Jesse did not fight in the Civil War for reasons unknown to me. However, Jesse's son Henry T. Scott fought in Co. C, 54th Georgia Infantry and was wounded at the Battle of Peachtree Creek in Georgia. When Sherman marched through Emanuel County in 1864 Henry T. was at home on wounded furlough and was hidden in a brier patch so that the soldiers would not take him prisoner.

Britton and Nancy Scott and sons Jesse, John and William Thomas remained in Emanuel County all their lives.

Son Henry G. moved with his wife Martha Hall and their first two children William and Mary to Colquitt County, Georgia some time before the 1860 census. By the 1880 census, Henry G. had moved his family to nearby Berrien County where he died in 1899.

DNA TESTING

Several years ago my husband's DNA was tested by Family Tree DNA. His 67-marker DNA results appear on the YDNA Match page at the Scott Family Tree DNA Project. (See Links below.)

My husband tested in the I2b Family 1 IM-223 Haplogroup. We learned his DNA is a perfect DNA match with a man whose line goes back to Nathaniel Scott of North Carolina (1786-1868). This Nathaniel was likely related in some way to Nathaniel Scott who died in Anson County, North Carolina by 1804. Our perfect match shared an old newspaper article that states his Scott line originated in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. In addition, my husband is an almost perfect match with a man whose Scott ancestors came from Screven County, Georgia, the county next to Emanuel County where Britton and his descendants lived.

POSSIBLE NORTH CAROLINA AND MARYLAND CONNECTIONS

Following the hint in the newspaper article, I searched in Queen Anne's County, Maryland and found a will transcript for a Nathaniel Scott who died there by 1742.

From Ancestry.com, accessed Dec. 8, 2010. MARYLAND CALENDAR OF WILLS: Volume 8
Scott, Nathaniel, Queen Anne's Co.,16th Feb., 1738; 15th July, 1742.
To wife Ann, use of dwelling plantation during widowhood.
To son John, and hrs., 200 A. “Partnership.”
To cousin William Young, son of William, 50 A. “Partnership” providing he pay a proper
proportion of charges shd. there be a lawsuit.
To son Solomon, and hrs., bro-in-law John Young and hrs. “Scott's Enclosure” on Garmans Ridge.
To dau. Sophia and hrs., 100 A. “Tom's Fancy Enlarged.”
To grandson William Godwin and hrs., 100 A. “Tom's Fancy Enlarged.” Shd. he die without
issue to pass to his younger brother and hrs., and in event of his death to his sister –– and hrs.
To dau. Ann Earle and hrs., 43 A., “Tom's Fancy Enlarged.”
To sons John, Nathaniel and Solomon, plantation at death of their mother.
Testator does not wish son William to have any share in this as he has already been provided for.
Exs.: Wife and sons John and Solomon. Test: T. H. Wright, Alex. Abercromie, Joshua Lawrence. 22. 491.

Queen Anne's County was created from Talbot County in 1705. My research has led me to believe the Nathaniel Scott, whose will is above, was born in Talbot County, and his father was possibly John Scott of Wye River.

I am currently researching Nathaniel Scott of Queen Anne's and his descendants, as it is likely two of his sons (or grandsons) migrated to Anson County, North Carolina where a William Scott and a Nathaniel Scott received land grants in 1771 and 1773, respectively. Nathaniel died there by 1804. William migrated to Georgia. Further research is needed to determine how these two men were related and how they were related to Nathaniel Scott who died by 1742 in Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

I would love to hear from anyone related to the Scotts of Talbot County and Queen Anne's County, Maryland, or Anson County, North Carolina!

WILLIAM SCOTT IN EARLY GEORGIA

One very interesting Anson County, North Carolina record points to William Scott migrating from there to Georgia before 1790:

Mar 15, 1790 David Jameson, "late" sheriff (Anson Co) to Josiah Dabbs; for £0.15.6 in money & £0.9 tickett sold 200 ac on Pinch Gutt [Cr]; includes William SCOTT's improvements; part of 300 ac that belonged to William SCOTT who moved to Georgia "several years past" and failed to give in his land; sold due to act of General Assembly passed Nov. 3, 1788 in Fayetteville allowing sheriffs to sell land if owners live out of this state & fails to "give in his land or some person for him;" land advertised for sale Jul 19, 1789 at the court house.

I found proof of William Scott in Burke County, Georgia as early as 1785 and in nearby Jefferson County as early as 1796. Burke was formed in 1777 from St. George Parish. Jefferson was formed in 1796 from part of Burke. This entire area was very close to Emanuel County, where our ancestor Britton Scott lived.

The reader should keep in mind that the following information might refer to the same William Scott or to different men named William Scott.

1785 - Burke County. Plat #2483. William Scott. Aug 1785. 200 Acres. On the head of Rountree Branch.

1786 - Burke County. Plat #2479. William Scott. 100 Acres. 6 Mar. 1786. On Bakers Branch. Chain carriers were William Scott and Joshua Watson. William's acreage adjoined John Graham's and William Hines' land. This property was not far from Bark Camp Church Road.

1796 - Jefferson County Tax Digest 1796, Capt. Tandy Key's District, Pg. 39, Line 74
William Scott, 100 acres on the Ogeechee in Jefferson County, 1 Poll, adjoining Walden.

(Note: part of Burke County was used to form Jefferson County in 1796.)

1799 - Jefferson County Court of Ordinary, Tax Digest, Key's District, Pg. 27, Line 41:
William Scott, 248 1/2 acres on Rocky Comfort in Jefferson County, 1 Poll, adjoining William Lyons and Benj. Sammons.

William Scott was dead by April 16, 1807.
Louisville Gazette: Will be sold on the first Tuesday in June next at the courthouse in Waynesborough (Burke County) at the usual hours of sale the personal property of the estate of William Scott deceased. April 16, 1807.

ABOUT MY WEBSITE

• Use of Information
If you wish to include my information in an article, on a website, in an online tree, or in any other public way, please email me first. I am happy to share, but would appreciate knowing where and how my research of twenty-five years is presented.

• Privacy
Anyone born after 1920 is listed as "Living" with no dates.

• Sources
Over the years some of Britton's descendants have graciously shared their own research with me, and I am very grateful to them. I strive to prove their information for myself, and when this is not possible, I give them credit in my sources for their hard work. However, if they are still living, they are listed as Living to protect their privacy.

• Names in Brackets
A woman's last name in brackets means I do not know the woman's maiden name. The name in brackets is her married surname. Example: Mary [Scott].

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The HELP link contains an overview of how my site works.
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Contact

Yvonne W. Scott

Email: mCnZyyTq-3XsUGIbUcaCyhLoL1G-mt7Ip-1tSSV-X1Umkqq2o39GL(jeV6qaG4Fs7tTDhF5)-rOBNgB3_0zmTgEObaRwdfgillaZklC8wRR(gyGutdQbVTioQBYTTttFdfK)hrXBecQJgqVoJgQaJm

last updated 2023-08-16