Reverend John Robert Scott Sr. (1840-41 – February 18, 1929) was a religious and political leader in Florida as well as a college president. He was born into slavery in Virginia. During the Reconstruction era he became a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and a state legislator.

Reverend

John R. Scott, Sr.
Pastor
ChurchSt. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, Florida
Other post(s)Member, Florida House of Representatives; President, Edward Waters College
Personal details
Born1840-41 (estimated)
Virginia (born a slave)
DiedFebruary 18, 1929
Jacksonville, Florida
BuriedMemorial Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida
DenominationAfrican Methodist Episcopal
ResidenceJacksonville, Florida
SpouseEmily Jane Scott (married Duval County, FL, September 7, 1868[citation needed])
ChildrenThomas D., John H, Rachael A V, Mary A C, Patrick G
OccupationMinister, politician, college president
ProfessionMinister
EducationDoctor of Divinity[1]

He was chosen in 1870 as the first pastor of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church of Jacksonville, Florida.[2] He also served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing Jacksonville, from 1868 to 1873 and again in 1879.[3] He was a leading politician in Jacksonville during the Reconstruction Era and a member of the City Council;[4] his group "once [1872] had so many representatives in the city government that the entire form of government was changed by an executive act in Tallahassee".[5]: 13 

In 1893, a photograph documents that he was the president of Edward Waters College.[6]

His son John R. Scott Jr., earned a Bachelor of Divinity, was also a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (and secretary of its conference, 1889), a member of the Florida Legislature, and a professor of homiletics (preaching) at Edward Waters College.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 1870 U.S. Census, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XKG5-73?i=186&cc=1438024
  2. ^ "History of the St. Paul A.M.E. Church". Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Reverend John R. Scott, Sr". Florida Memory. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "Portrait of John R. Scott - Jacksonville, Florida". Florida Memory. 1889. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  5. ^ Federal Writers' Project (1993). McDonough, Gary W. (ed.). The Florida Negro. A Federal Writers' Project Legacy. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 0878055886.
  6. ^ "President John R. Scott of Edward Waters College and students - Jacksonville, Florida". Florida Memory. 1893. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "Ministers in the African M.E. Church". Florida Memory. 1889. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
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