Alfred Vernon Scott I and the Scott-Grant Home

After Montpelier, AVSI also owned a large mansion in Georgetown that still stands at 3238 R St. NW.

I first came across this through a 2007 President's Day article about "other" presidential houses in Washington:

"One former Grant home that still stands is located at 3238 R St. NW. Described by the American Institute of Architects as “bombastically Victorian,” the home was owned by Mrs. Alfred Vernon Scott of Alabama, who returned to her home state when the Civil War broke out. Renters included Union Gen. Henry Halleck, who angered the neighbors when he erected a guardhouse on the property, and Gen. Grant himself, who used the place as a summer retreat."

Site: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/feb/14/20070214-103657-7579r/#ixzz2xnF5sgUE

It was quick work to find that the house is called the "Scott-Grant House."

The Glover Park History website disputes the "president's summer house" reputation, saying that "Gen. Ulysses S. Grant accepted Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck’s offer to use his home in Georgetown, D.C. on May 18, was frequently out of town, and left Washington for an extended summer tour on July 24, 1865." They claim that Georgetown papers and other historians would have made more mention of the residence.

Site: http://gloverparkhistory.com/appendix/the-scott-grant-house/

The history in the Francis Morgan book describes the move from Montpelier:

"In 1854 Col. Alfred Vernon Scott purchased the estate of Montpelier, the former residence of President Madison, in Orange County, Virginia. This was a beautiful old colonial residence, surrounded by several thousand acres of land.

The rumored uprising of the negro slaves in that part of Virginia so affected Col. and Mrs. Scott, that they determined to sell their estate in Virginia, and return to Washington. This they did and purchased another house in the same section of the city as their former home. They resided int his house until the death of Col. Alfred Vernon Scott, which occurred May 26-1860...

Mrs. Scott and her children continued to reside at their home called Lee's Hill, on Georgetown Heights, until three or four months after the breaking out of the Civil War. On July 5-1861 she hastily arranged her affairs, and left for the south via the "underground railroad" (running the blockade). This journey during the early war occupied a week."

Site: https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=JBM5AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA152

According to a Historic American Buildings Survey by the National Parks Service, AVSI acquired it in 1857 from John E. Carter, John Davidson, Philander Bowen, and heirs of Ignatius David Read (or Reed), acquiring parcels that had been subdivided.

In 1858, it was named to William Owen Nixon I, who "apparently" acquired additional adjacent parcels from the Reads and Davidson. At some point Rebecca (Alfred's wife) appeared on the records, because she is listed in three transactions, 1871 to Robert Frey and to Thomas L. Hume, and in 1893 to Katie M. Joyce, suggesting that the land was again broken into parcels.

The report claims:

"This house is most notable as a mid nineteenth-century stylistically transitional house that combines the symmetrical massing of the first half of the nineteenth century with the picturesque, ornate, three-dimensional detailing that was popular from mid-century until nearly the end of the century. This detailing is most apparent in the exterior window hoods. In addition to these handsome details, the second story fanlight on the front and three-part rear window on the landing are excellent executions of the early twentieth-century Federal Revival Style.

The historical significance of the Scott-Grant House derives from its New Deal occupants and the earlier rentals by Generals U.S. Grant and Henry Halleck. It is commonly accepted, but undocumented that Grant used the house as a summer White House. (Grant's papers have not been edited through his presidency.) During the New Deal, two of President Roosevelt's Brain Trust, Benjamin Cohen and Thomas Corcoran, rented the house for themselves and other young lawyers who drafted the New Deal legislation."

Document: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0900/dc0969/data/dc0969data.pdf

More photos: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Photograph:%20dc0969&fi=number&op=PHRASE&va=exact&co%20=hh&st=gallery&sg%20=%20true

Alfred Vernon Scott I and Montpelier

William H. McFarland sold Montpelier to Col. Alfred Vernon Scott (d. 1860) by deed on March 21, 1855. Scott, his wife Rebecca Ballard Nixon, and their children moved to Montpelier from Alabama. Again, the tenure of these residents was brief, and by August 1, 1857, the property had been sold to Thomas J. Carson and the Scott family moved to Washington, D.C.

Site: http://www.montpelier.org/research-and-collections/people/montpelier-owners

This would have been just after the painting of AVSI by Charles Bird King
Site: http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID:siris_ari_221397

MacFarland owned Montpelier only in 1854-5 but this time is noteworthy.  Charles Thomas Chapman, research coordinator at Montpelier, brought MacFarland’s year to light as part of his master’s thesis, Who was Buried in James Madison’s Grave?: A Study in Contextual Analysis.  Chapman illuminates a motive of MacFarland to own Montpelier; he wanted to own Madison’s remains.  MacFarland was a fan of Madison (he gave Madison’s eulogy in 1836), but professional ties were perhaps a great influence on the decision too.  MacFarland was a trustee and a member of the board of directors of Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, VA.  Hollywood Cemetery wanted to acquire the remains of the three Virginian presidents (Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe).  The cemetery was able to acquire Monroe’s remains but Jefferson and Madison were still missing from their collection.  Because of the nature of the deed, MacFarland believed that by owning Montpelier he also owned the Madison family cemetery and Madison’s remains and could give the remains to Hollywood Cemetery.  So, on January 4th, 1854 MacFarland purchased Montpelier from Benjamin Thornton.  Hollywood Cemetery was not able to obtain the president’s remains and MacFarland sold the house on March 21st, 1855 to Col. Alfred Vernon Scott of Alabama.  Hollywood Cemetery settled for helping build an obelisk monument for Madison’s grave which was at the time unmarked, fulfilling the wish of the local people to have Madison’s grave marked.

Site: http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/blog/?m=201008

Dec. 24, 2006: Passing of WON Scott II (Grandfather)

The announcement of my gradfather's passing, which introduced some of the details of his past that had previously been only inklings of half memories for me. Published in The Advocate (UGA publication) on Dec. 27, 2006.

Scott II, William Owen Nixon 

William Owen Nixon Scott II passed away peacefully at home in Athens, Ga., on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006, with his beloved wife, Virginia, at his side. 

He was a World War II veteran, a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and emeritus professor of educational psychology at the University of Georgia. Owen was a loving, gentle and kind husband and father. He was widely respected by his colleagues, students and acquaintances. 

Owen was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., on April 22, 1917, to Frank Kernochan Scott and Antoinette Siegfried Scott. He was a descendent of Gen. John Scott, a prominent settler of Georgia during the early 1800s and a founder of Montgomery, Ala. His great-grandfather Alfred Vernon Scott graduated from Franklin College, later renamed the University of Georgia, in 1821. He was named for his grandfather William Owen Nixon Scott, the youngest son of Alfred Vernon Scott. 

Owen grew up in Montgomery and graduated from Sidney Lanier High School. He later attended Marion Military Institute and Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University. After graduation from Auburn, he taught high school mathematics for five years. When America entered World War II after Pearl Harbor, he was inducted into the U.S. Army, serving from June 1942 to May 1946. He graduated from Quartermaster Officer Candidate School and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a supply officer with the 383rd Air Services Group in the United States and India. Upon release from active duty in 1946, he served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until his retirement as a colonel. 

After the war, Owen earned his master's degree and doctorate at George Peabody College, Nashville, Tenn. He took a position in 1951 on the faculty of the University of Georgia, where he taught until he retired with the rank of professor in 1983. While teaching at Coffee High School in Florence, Ala., he met the love of his life, Virginia Reeder, a home economics teacher at Coffee. 

On June 25, 2006, Owen and Virginia celebrated 65 years of happy marriage. He was an avid golfer, lifelong Civil War historian and a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, Phi Delta Kappa, Kappa Delta Pi, University of Georgia Retired Faculty Association, the Retired Officers Association, Georgia Association of Educators and St. James Methodist Church. 

Owen is survived by his wife; three children, Anne Merry and husband Ed of Newport News, Va., Karen "Scottie" Jarrett and husband Steve of Covington, Ga., and Owen Scott III and wife Mary Lou of Baton Rouge. He is also survived by a grandson, Scott Merry; and five granddaughters, Natalie Merry Pathwick and husband Andrew, Larisa Baste, Virginia, Lauren and Maureen Scott. Additional survivors include his sister-in-law, Flora Scott; two nieces, Joan Lowe and Cynthia Hutchinson; and two grandnephews, Stephen and David Hutchinson. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Alfred Scott. 

A family graveside service will be held at Athens Memory Gardens, Athens, on Thursday, Dec. 28, at 11 a.m., with Rev. Ed Merry officiating. A memorial service for friends and acquaintances will be held at St. James United Methodist Church, Athens, on Thursday at 3 p.m., conducted by the Rev. Jerry Meredith. A reception will follow in the church fellowship hall. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be designated for the Eldercare Ministry at St. James United Methodist Church, 111 W. Lake Drive, Athens, GA 30606. Lord & Stephens Funeral Home East, Athens, is in charge of arrangements.