A BIOGRAPHY AND FAMILY HISTORY OF FRANK SCOTT
PATRIARCH OF THE SCOTTS – 2020
By Aaron Scott (102 pages)
Coming Soon – Softcover
This biography and family history of Frank Scott and his descendants is based on the excellent presentation by Howard Scott, son of Frank Scott, at the 2008 Annual Reunion of the Roark-Conner Association, on October 11, 2008, in Cleveland, Tennessee.
This Biography and Family History of Frank Scott is part of a project of the Roark-Conner Association for the preparation of a Biography and Family History Album of the descendants of James P. Roark (1798-1877), John Roark (1800- 1870), Maximilian Haney Conner (1806-1893), and Joseph Roark (1813-1876), all of whom settled and lived most of their lives in the Salem Community in Hamilton County, Tennessee, just south of the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers.
These four men fathered 45 children, 34 of whom lived to maturity. The Biography and Family History Album will recognize the contributions of these 34 ancestors. The Roark-Conner Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of written family biographies and histories, the preservation of family documents and historical manuscripts, and the maintenance and preservation of cemeteries and other historical sites.
Franklin “Frank” Scott
Before getting into the story of Frank Scott, one needs to understand the conditions that were in place before his birth.
Frank’s mother, Mary Jane Scott, was born around 1842, in Claiborne County, Tennessee. We do not know the first name of Mary Jane’s father, but we assume that his last name was Scott. According to family lore, Mary Jane’s mother was thought to be all or part Indian, possibly a Cherokee. However, recent DNA testing has shown that Mary Jane’s great-grandchildren have no—or, at most, a very, very small amount of—Indian blood from the Scott-Roark side of the family. This, of course, means that Will Roark had no Indian blood either. (Of course, grandchildren might have Indian blood from the side of their family that does not trace from the Scott-Roark ancestry.)
EXCERPT FROM BOOK
The journey took decades, and there were no doubt times when it was two steps forward and three steps back. But by the time that Frank Scott departed this life, it had come to pass that he, an only child, had been blessed to become the father of five wonderful children of his own. Frank could surely take satisfaction in seeing his older sons, skilled and generous with the family, on their way to a prosperous future. And he could take comfort in knowing that his younger children were in the capable and proven hands of his Cora, who, along with the high and kind example of the older boys, would prepare these children to also take their place in the world.
While Frank would not live to see all the great blessings that God would bestow upon his wife and children, it came to pass that each child—every one of them—grew up serving the Lord in sincerity, married exceptionally well (not a single divorce among them), became prosperous, were known as good, decent, honest Christians, remained close to each other all the days of their lives, and birthed a new generation of descendants, who in turn birthed another, who in turn birthed another….
And, thus, because of God’s great blessings, even the mighty Tennessee River will never flow so far as the good and noble blood of Frank Scott.
END OF EXCERPT