Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
James Foster Scott papers, 1863-1946
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Scott, James Foster, 1863
- Title
- James Foster Scott papers
- Dates
- 1863-1946 (inclusive)18631946
- Quantity
- 2 boxes, (3 linear feet)
- Collection Number
- UUS_COLL MSS 180
- Summary
- It is comprised mainly of the writings and correspondence of James Foster Scott and various family members.
- Repository
-
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
James Foster Scott was born in India at Futteguhr, 50 miles from Agra, on January 22, 1863. His closest relatives were the Fosters of Chile, where his mother's brother, Julius Mulford Foster, of Milford, carried on a large milling business and left numerous descendants. His son, Manuel Foster, of Chile, was one of the noted lawyers of South America. Dr. Scott's father was the Rev. James Long Scott, a Presbyterian minister, and his mother was Eliza Jane Foster, a Presbyterian missionary, as well as a pioneer in women's education.
James Foster Scott attended Hastings Academy in Philadelphia and took an A.B. at Yale in 1884, where he was an athlete who rowed on the varsity crew and developed his great love of rivers and boats. A book written about him, Sourdough Gold, by Mary Lee Davis and published in 1933, tells chiefly of his solo trip down the Yukon in a small boat in 1898 when he piloted his boat over the famous White Horse Rapids and other dangerous places in Alaska.
Dr. Scott received an M.B. and C.M. from Edinburgh University and later an M.D., completing his post-graduate work at Vienna. For three years he was a member of the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps of the British army and spent three years in the British West Indies. At the age of twenty-seven he was made head of the Columbia Hospital in Washington, D.C. and was elected vice president of the Medical Society. He was considered one of the most brilliant young doctors in the profession and wrote a medical book that is still quoted by authorities. At the height of this early success and in the midst of a brilliant career and fashionable life in Washington D.C., Dr. Scott astonished his friends by giving it up and going to the wilds of the Yukon, after which he lived a retired life in the Virginia woods and spent time rowing the Potomac. As the book Sourdough Gold explains, he did not care to be a distinguished gentleman with a silky bedside manner but set out to find the real man beneath all the over-education he had received. Friends and neighbors say that no two people were ever more ideally happy than Dr. Scott and his wife in their "Kalokagathon" retreat, the Greek term for the Greek Ideal of the "Good and the Beautiful and True" which Dr. Scott made the principle of his life.
Dr. Scott wrote numerous volumes on philosophy with special emphasis on ethics and Christianity. Dr. Scott’s interests in these topics were partly derived from attitudes found his mother's family, enlightened Puritans that had migrated to America in 1635. These writings analyzed the relationship between Christian ethics and religion and the modern sciences.
Dr. Scott died on Wednesday, February 20, 1946 following an operation at the Emergency Hospital. Funeral services were held Friday at his home near McLean, Virginia. A physical culturist at 83, Dr. Scott was cutting down trees only a few days before, as was his daily exercise, together with shooting the rapids in his boat in the Potomac below his house on the hill. His death came before he was able to complete his writing, and he left in a fireproof safe the product of nearly 50 years of study and research intended for publication as a series of works on philosophy.
For over 30 years, Dr. Scott lived near McLean, Virginia where he was sometimes called the "Hermit of Scott's Island," an island he bought along the Potomac, upon which he built a house. Dr. Scott married Karen Gram on March 13, 1940 and they had no children.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The James Foster Scott collection covers his life span from 1863 to 1946. It is comprised mainly of the writings and correspondence of James Foster Scott and various family members. Dr. Scott spent approximately forty years studying philosophy and religion, and many of his writings deal with those subjects.
Important items of interest to a researcher would be Folder 2, Item 1, a thirty-two page letter to Coleman Jennings on the description of Dr. Scott's conclusions in the areas of philosophy and religion; Folder 3, Piece 19, "My Creed and My Prayer;" and Folder 13, Dr. Scott's Yukon experience in 1898.
For those interested in the Scott or Foster family genealogy or family history, there are several items of interest in this collection. There are two pages from Dr. Scott's father's family Bible containing family members' birth and death dates. There are also several overviews of Dr. Scott's life as well as some information on Dr. Scott's parents and other members of his family.
During processing, the processor compiled the Scott/Foster family information from Folder 12 on to four pedigree charts and fifty-one family group sheets. This information is included in Folder 12, Item 18, for the convenience of the researcher.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the James Foster Scott Papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Preferred Citation
Initial Citation: James Foster Scott Papers USU_COLL MSS 180, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations:USU_COLL MSS 180, USUSCA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Arranged by subject matter and then chronologically.
Processing Note
Processed in June of 2006
Separated Materials
Photographs belonging to Dr. Scott have been placed in the University photograph collection. A description of those photographs is available atP0120
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Miscellaneous Papers on the life of Dr. James Foster Scott, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Piece. l/2 sheet. Name, birth & death dates |
undated | ||
Item 2: History written for "A History of the Class of '84, of Yale College" |
1914 | ||
Item 3: Photograph and poem about Sourdough boys in the Klondike |
undated | ||
Item 4: Troop 12 newsletter honoring Dr. James Foster Scott |
undated | ||
Item 5: Who's Who in American Sports, National Biographical Society Inc. Entry on Dr. Scott |
1928 | ||
Item 6: (Folded) Advertisement for Sourdough Gold based on Dr. Scott's experiences |
undated | ||
Item 7: Program for Delta Phi & Philadelphian Literary Societies of West Philadelphia Academy (Scott is listed as Valedictory) |
1880 June 15 | ||
Item 8: West Philadelphia Academy report card for James Foster Scott |
1879 November 30 | ||
Item 9: Annual registration to practice, issued to Dr. James Foster Scott |
1946 | ||
Item 10: Address in Philadelphia when sixteen years old |
undated | ||
Item 11: Outline of James Foster Scott's life |
undated | ||
Item 12: Outline of James Foster Scott's life and funeral service |
undated |
Correspondence by James Foster Scott, 1925-1943Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 2
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Thirty-two pages to Coleman Jennings |
1925 August 20 | ||
Item 2: Three pages to Daggett |
1931 May 4 | ||
Item 3: To Mr. Hoffman |
1936 July 26 | ||
Item 4: Four pages to Mrs. McMurray |
1938 May 9 | ||
Item 5: Six pages to Karen (future wife) |
1940 January 18 | ||
Item 6: To Mr. Conrad |
1943 February 6 | ||
Item 7: To President Seymour, Yale University |
1943 May 26 |
Miscellaneous Writings, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 3
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Triadic Norm |
undated | ||
Item 2: (folded) 2 pages "A Little Parable" |
undated | ||
Item 3: "Friendship" |
undated | ||
Item 4: Sayings |
undated | ||
Item 5: Goals |
undated | ||
Item 6: Story "Personal appearance of Jesus" |
undated | ||
Item 7: Notebook pages. |
undated | ||
Item 8: "Suggestions for Outfit to Yukon" |
undated | ||
Item 9: Four pages - "An Epic" |
undated | ||
Item 10: "Friendship" |
undated | ||
Item 11: Article by Zeller on "Friendship" |
undated | ||
Item 12: Notebook page. |
undated | ||
Item 13: Notebook page. |
undated | ||
Item 14: Quote of Diveles. |
undated | ||
Item 15: Page 121 of unknown manuscript. |
undated | ||
Item 16: "A Voice From the Wilderness" |
undated | ||
Item 17: Page 213 of an unknown manuscript. |
undated | ||
Item 18: Working copy at "A Voice from the Wilderness" |
undated | ||
Item 19: "My Creed and My Prayer" |
undated | ||
Item 20: "To a Waterfowl" |
undated |
Miscellaneous Correspondence, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 4
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: To Anita from Julis M. Foster |
undated | ||
Item 2: Three pages to Floyd Bartlett from Julius M. Foster |
1912 January 30 | ||
Item 3: To Mr. Jennings from ? |
1925 July 27 | ||
Item 4: To Miss Adams from Allen Wilde |
1933 October 9 | ||
Item 5: To Mary Lee Davis from T.D. Pattullo |
1938 January 5 | ||
Item 6: To Mrs. Gram from Harry Foreman |
1940 April 1 |
Writings of Helen Snow, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 5
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Page 3 of unknown letter |
undated | ||
Item 2: Outline of Dr. Scott's life, etc. |
undated |
Miscellaneous Writings of Various Unknown Authors, 1836Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 6
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Written by a missionary preparing to leave home |
1836 October | ||
Item 2: Heading: Mrs. E.D. Allen, McLean, Virginia |
undated | ||
Item 3: Thoughts of James Foster Scott by Portia Bailey |
undated | ||
Item 4: Two pages. Duns Scotus |
undated | ||
Item 5: (Torn page) Education and Logic |
undated | ||
Item 6: Quote from Cuthbert Lennox |
undated | ||
Item 7: Two pages Reader's Digest - "The Source of All Our Strength," by A. Whitney Griswold |
undated | ||
Item 8: "The Cloud" by Shelley |
undated | ||
Item 9: Exploration of Kalokagathon |
undated | ||
Item 10: Quote from Thomas A. Kempis |
undated | ||
Item 11: Poem. (Unknown) |
undated | ||
Item 12: Note on editorial changes |
undated | ||
Item 13: Visitors List, etc. |
undated | ||
Item 14: Poem |
undated | ||
Item 15: Editor notes on photographs |
undated | ||
Item 16: Two pages. Poem "The Quest" |
undated | ||
Item 17: Poem written for James Foster Scott on his birthday by doctors and nurses at Columbia Hospital |
undated | ||
Item 18: Pan - Sophism |
undated | ||
Item 19: Two pages. "The Mysteries of Life" |
undated | ||
Item 20: "Dogwood Trees" |
undated | ||
Item 21: Thirteen page story - "A Roman Lawyer in Jerusalem First Century" by William Wetmore |
undated | ||
Item 22: "Write" - Princess Hotel Bermuda |
undated | ||
Item 23: Carol Bosche notes |
undated | ||
Item 24: Book notes, quotes |
undated | ||
Item 25: Quotes |
undated |
Karen Scott Writings, 1946Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 7
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Journal pages |
1946 February 20 | ||
Item 2: About Dr. Scott |
undated | ||
Item 3: Rough draft of letter to Coleman |
undated | ||
Item 4: Quotes |
undated | ||
Item 5: Quotes |
undated | ||
Item 6: Quotes |
undated | ||
Item 7: Quotes |
undated | ||
Item 8: Notes |
undated | ||
Item 9: Sixteen pages - Rough drafts of letters and manuscript notes |
undated | ||
Item 10: Notes on logic and science |
undated | ||
Item 11: Notes on Dr. Scott |
undated | ||
Item 12: Rough Draft of Dr. Scott's funeral service |
undated | ||
Item 13: Four pages - notes on Dr. Scott |
undated | ||
Item 14: Quotes about Dr. Scott |
undated | ||
Item 15: Drawing of unknown purpose |
undated |
Dr. Scott's Medical Records, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 8
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Mrs. John Ball Osborne |
undated | ||
Item 2: Mrs. George Wallace |
undated | ||
Item 3: Charles C. Worthington |
undated |
Correspondence written by Karen Scott, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 9
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: To Miss Hamilton - Post |
1946 | ||
Item 2: To Mrs. Edward I. Roberts |
1955 June 11 | ||
Item 3: To Swami Prabharananda |
1951 August 1 |
Correspondence to James Foster Scott, 1904-1948Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 10
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: From Colonial Secretary's Office, Bermuda |
1904 December 14 | ||
Item 2: Five pages from Joseph Carson Jr |
1932 April 17 | ||
Item 3: Two pages from Coleman |
1933 October 19 | ||
Item 4: Two pages from Earl Poince |
1933 November 23 | ||
Item 5: From Harriet Prince Parrish |
1934 January 1 | ||
Item 6: From Mary Lee Davis |
1934 February 14 | ||
Item 7: From Ruth Knowles |
1934 October 9 | ||
Item 8: From Earl Prince |
1934 November 21 | ||
Item 9: From Harriet Prince |
1935 June 28 | ||
Item 10: From Coleman |
1936 November 30 | ||
Item 11: From Alfred A. Wilde |
1937 March 23 | ||
Item 12: Two pages - from David Herriott
(See Peace Plan FOLDER)
|
1938 January 17 | ||
Item 13: Two pages from William Haseltine |
1938 January 12 | ||
Item 14: From Earl Prince |
1939 January 26 | ||
Item 15: From Henry Forman |
1940 April 6 | ||
Item 16: Two pages from Marx Lee Davis |
1943 March 16 | ||
Item 17: Two pages from Henry Forman |
1945 December 20 | ||
Item 18: From Sally Greenwood - July 30, 1948
(Written to Dr. Scott after his death. She didn't know he had passed away.)
|
1948 July 30 | ||
Item 19: From Harriett Prince |
undated | ||
Item 20: From Harriett Prince |
undated | ||
Item 21: Two pages from George Hogg
(explains unknown drawing in FOLDER 7, Piece #15)
|
undated | ||
Item 22: From Mrs. G. Gilmer Easley |
March 2 | ||
Item 23: Three pages from Harriett Prince |
undated | ||
Item 24: From Kathryn Fulkerson |
undated | ||
Item 25: (Folded) Christmas Card from Comfert Comfiers |
undated |
Correspondence to Karen Scott, 1946-1953Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 11
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: From Irving Harris |
1946 February 28 | ||
Item 2: From Robert Von Neuman |
1949 April 8 | ||
Item 3: From Portia Bailey |
1952 February 13 | ||
Item 4: From Andrea Lloyd |
1953 November 30 | ||
Item 5: From John ? |
1953 August 3 | ||
Item 6: From Helen Snow |
undated | ||
Item 7: From Murray |
March 2 |
Genealogy and Family History of James Foster Scott, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 12
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: (Folded) Memorial to Mrs. Eliza Jane Foster Scott. James Foster Scott's mother |
undated | ||
Item 2: Fairview Cemetery, Coalesville, Pennsylvania, Scott section |
undated | ||
Item 3: Information on Dr. Scott's great uncle |
undated | ||
Item 4: Notebook page on birth & death dates |
undated | ||
Item 5: Postcard - Milford, Penn., from Foster Hill |
undated | ||
Item 6: Information on Jose Denoso, relative |
undated | ||
Item 7: Page of birth and death dates |
undated | ||
Item 8: Page of birth and death dates |
undated | ||
Item 9: Two pages - Scott Family Bible Records |
undated | ||
Item 10: Fifty-one pages - Scott family history |
undated | ||
Item 11: Page 15 from unknown manuscript of Scott history |
undated | ||
Item 12: Fifteen pages - written to Helen F. Snow, telling the history of Julius M. Foster in Chile by his son, Manuel Foster |
undated | ||
Item 13: Foster family crest |
undated | ||
Item 14: Notes on cemeteries |
undated | ||
Item 15: Note card with information on Helen F. Snow |
undated | ||
Item 16: Three pages - notes on Foster genealogy |
undated | ||
Item 17: Two pages - typed information from Scott family Bible |
undated | ||
Item 18: Fifty-five pages of pedigree charts and family group sheets, compiled by the processor |
undated |
Manuscripts on Yukon Experience by James Foster Scott, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 13
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Seven pages - Alaska and the Klondike |
undated | ||
Item 2: Thirty-seven pages - Article l (Notebook) |
undated | ||
Item 3: Sixty-seven pages - Article 2 (Notebook) |
undated |
Peace Plan, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 14
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: (Folded) "A Highway to World Peace" by David Herriott |
undated | ||
Item 2: Fifteen pages - "Peace Plan" by David Herriott |
undated |
Yukon Booklet, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 15
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Fifty-five pages - Railroad Guide to Yukon |
undated |
Copies of Newspaper Clippings, undatedReturn to Top
Container(s): Box 1, Folder 16
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1-22: Various newspaper articles, including death announcement, Yale Yachting Club, and religious articles |
undated |
Scott Family Certificates, 1852-1879Return to Top
Container(s): Box 2, Folder 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Item 1: Eliza Jane Foster - Testimonial from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary |
1852 August 5 | ||
Item 2: Harriet E. Scott. Directorium |
1885 | ||
Item 3: Anna Scott - Life member of The Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church |
1874 October 5 | ||
Item 4: Harriet Elizabeth Scott - Testimonial from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary |
1879 June 26 | ||
Item 5: James Foster Scott - University of Edinburgh School of Medicine |
undated | ||
Item 6: James Foster Scott - Northwest Territories of Canada - Medical License |
undated | ||
Item 7: James Foster Scott - University of Edinburgh School of Medicine |
undated | ||
Item 8: James Foster Scott - Copy of Yale Degree with photo |
undated | ||
Item 9: James Foster Scott - Yale degree |
undated | ||
Item 10: James Foster Scott - University of Edinburgh |
undated | ||
Item 11: James Foster Scott - Member of Free and Accepted Masons - Washington D.C. |
undated | ||
Item 12: James Foster Scott - Edinburgh Royal Maternity and Simpson Memorial Hospital - Certification |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Personal Names
- Scott, James Foster, 1863
Geographical Names
- Yukon--Description and travel