John Morin Scott (1730 – September 14, 1784) was a lawyer, military officer, and statesman before, during and after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

Early life

Scott was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in 1730. He was the only child of John Scott (1702–1733), a Manhattan merchant, and Marian ( née Morin) Scott (1703–1755). His father died when he was only three years old, and his mother never remarried. His father was the eldest of nine children born to Captain John Scott (1678–1740), who emigrated to New York City, where he received the rights of citizenship in 1702. His paternal grandfather was the second son of

Sir John Scott, 1st Baronet of Ancrum There have been twelve baronetcies created for people with the surname Scott, one in the Baronetage of England, two in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, and nine in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. History # The Scott Baronetcy, of Kew Gre ...

, Roxburghshire in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. His maternal grandfather was

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

settler Pierre Morin. He attended public school in New York before attending

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, graduating in 1746 at the age of 16.

Career

After graduation from Yale and further study, he was admitted to the New York bar association in 1752, and practiced law in Manhattan, where he also served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

from 1756 to 1761. In 1752, along with

William Livingston William Livingston (November 30, 1723July 25, 1790) was an American politician who served as the first governor of New Jersey (1776–1790) during the American Revolutionary War. As a New Jersey representative in the Continental Congress, he sig ...

and William Smith, he founded a weekly journal, the '' Independent Reflector''.Dillon, Dorothy R. ''The New York

Triumvirate A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

: A Study of the Legal and Political Careers of

, John Morin Scott, William Smith, Jr.''. New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 1949. Reprint: 1968. From 1756 to 1761, he served as a New York

. In 1768, he was elected to membership in the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

American Revolution

Scott was a founding member of the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

and in 1775, he was a member of the New York General Committee. During the Revolutionary War, John Scott was a member of the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

(from 1775 to 1777), while also serving as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

under

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

in the New York and New Jersey campaign. He commanded the 1st New York (Independent)

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

, the 2nd New York (

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

) Battalion, and several New York

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s. He fought with Putnam's division at the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776, and was the last of Washington's generals to argue against surrendering Manhattan to the British—possibly due to his large landholdings there, including what is now

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

and New York City's

Theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

District. Twenty days later, on September 16, 1776, Scott led the same battalions and regiments at the

Battle of Harlem Heights The Battle of Harlem Heights was fought during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The action took place on September 16, 1776, in what is now the Morningside Heights area and east into the future Harlem neigh ...

, an American victory. On October 28, 1776, his forces participated in the

Battle of White Plains The Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 28, 1776 near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward f ...

Post War life

In 1776, Scott was a member of the

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

committee to author a state constitution. After the war, Scott regained his Manhattan estate and, in 1777, was a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

for the first

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

ship of

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, losing to George Clinton. Scott was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the

State Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

of New York in 1777, but declined. Instead, he became New York's first Secretary of State, a State Senator (representing the Southern District from 1777 to 1782), and served as an active

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

to the Continental Congress in 1780 and 1782.

Personal life

Scott was married to Helena Rutgers (1730–1798), a daughter of Petrus Rutgers and Helena (née Hooglant) Rutgers. Together, they were the parents of: * Mary Morin Scott (1753–1796), who married John Litchfield in 1770. After his death in 1775, she married Charles McKnight (1750–1791) in 1778. *

Lewis Allaire Scott Lewis Allaire Scott (February 11, 1759 – March 17, 1798) was an American politician. Life He was the son of John Morin Scott and Helena Rutgers Scott. On January 18, 1785, he married Julianna Sitgreaves (sister of Samuel Sitgreaves), and thei ...

(1759–1798), who married Juliana Sitgreaves (1765–1842). Lewis was one of the two Deputy Secretaries of State during his father's tenure, and in 1784 was appointed to succeed him, dying in office in 1798. Scott died in New York City on September 14, 1784, and his body was

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at the north entrance of

Trinity Church, New York Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and en ...

. His inscribed

slab Slab or SLAB may refer to: Physical materials * Concrete slab, a flat concrete plate used in construction * Stone slab, a flat stone used in construction * Slab (casting), a length of metal * Slab (geology), that portion of a tectonic plate tha ...

is visible from the corner of Wall Street and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. An

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

is erected in his honor in

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the most northern region of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, the northern boundary of Central Park (110th Street), ...

References

External links

*
Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, John Morin 1730 births 1784 deaths Members of the New York Provincial Congress Continental Congressmen from New York (state) 18th-century American politicians Politicians from New York City American people of Scottish descent Secretaries of State of New York (state) Militia generals in the American Revolution New York (state) lawyers New York (state) militiamen in the American Revolution Yale Law School alumni New York (state) state senators People of the Province of New York Lawyers from New York City Presidents of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York