American socialite and philanthropist
Julia Green Scott
(February 14, 1839 ? April 29, 1923) was an American socialite, philanthropist, businesswoman, and landowner who served as the President General of the
Daughters of the American Revolution
from 1909 to 1913. She was one of the largest landowners in the
American Midwest
, running multiple farms and owning tens of thousands of acres of land. After her husband,
Matthew T. Scott
, died in 1891, Scott took over as the largest shareholder and president of the McLean County Coal Company. She was presented the
Medal of French Gratitude of the First Class
in 1921 by
Jean Jules Jusserand
for her efforts to rehabilitate the French commune
Tilloloy
after
World War I
, and for helping find homes for over 4,000 French children left orphaned by the war.
Early life and family
[
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]
Scott was born in
Danville, Kentucky
on February 14, 1839, to Rev.
Lewis W. Green
and Mary Lawrence "Peachy" Fry.
[1]
Her father, a
Presbyterian
minister, served as the president of
Centre College
,
Transylvania University
, and
Hampden?Sydney College
.
[1]
Through her mother, Scott was a descendant of the surveyor and adventurer Colonel
Joshua Fry
and the
Revolutionary War
veteran Joseph Fry.
[1]
Scott's great-grandfather, Captain James Speed, was an American officer in the Revolutionary War.
[1]
She was also a descendant of the
Washington family
through both of her parents and a descendant of the
Colonial Virginian
statesman, planter, explorer, and physician
Thomas Walker
.
[1]
Scott was the sister of U.S. Second Lady
Letitia Green Stevenson
.
[1]
[2]
Scott attended
finishing school
in New York.
[1]
Marriage and adult life
[
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]
Scott met her future husband, businessman
Matthew T. Scott
, while he was a student at Centre College and while her father served as the college's president.
[1]
They married on May 12, 1859, and moved to the prairie in
Central Illinois
.
[1]
[2]
They were among the first residents, and founders, of the town of
Chenoa
.
[1]
She and her husband eventually owned over 45,000 acres of land in Illinois, Iowa, and Tennessee.
[1]
In 1870 Scott and her husband moved to
Springfield
.
[1]
After a short time there, they moved to
Bloomington
, where her husband became the president of the McLean County Coal Company and founded the
Democratic
newspaper
The Bulletin
.
[1]
In 1872 they purchased a mansion at
701 E. Taylor Street
.
[1]
[3]
Scott and her husband had three children: Lewis, Letitia and
Julia
.
[1]
After her husband died in 1891, Scott took charge of managing 9,000 acres of farmland in Illinois and Indiana, and became the principal stockholder and president of the McLean County Coal Company.
[1]
Between 1900 and 1901, Scott had additions built onto the family home on Taylor Street, including two new porches and interior additions designed by the architect Arthur L. Pillsbury.
[1]
Scott maintained a spring residence in Washington, D.C., a summer residence in
Charlevoix
, a fall residence in Bloomington, and a winter residence in Mississippi.
[1]
Scott became a prominent socialite and hostess who was very involved in the upper echelons of American
high society
and politics.
[1]
Her sister, Letitia, married U.S. Vice President
Adlai Stevenson I
and her daughter, Julia, married U.S. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture
Carl Schurz Vrooman
.
[1]
Parties and receptions she hosted at her Taylor Street residence were written about in
The Bulletin
and
The Pantagraph
newspapers.
[1]
Philanthropy
[
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]
She was an active member of various social organizations and women's clubs, including the Peace Commission of the
General Federation of Women's Clubs
and the Women's Council of
George Washington University
.
[1]
Scott established the Matthew T. Scott Institute in
Phelps, Kentucky
in 1906, in memory of her husband, to provide education for poor white men from the
Appalachian Mountains
.
[1]
In 1908 she had a monument dedicated to
George Rogers Clark
and his companions erected on the banks of the
Ohio River
near
Fort Massac
.
[1]
In 1911, as one of Illinois' largest landowners and a conservation advocate, she sent forty of her tenant farmers to the
University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences
so they could learn advanced farming methods.
[1]
Daughters of the American Revolution
[
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]
Scott joined the
Daughters of the American Revolution
, of which her sister was a founding member.
[1]
She hosted her local chapter and visiting officers from other chapters to a reception at her home, which had over three-hundred guests.
[1]
She was elected Vice-president General of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1901 and served in that capacity for four years.
[1]
In a highly publicized election in 1909, Scott defeated Daisy Allen Story for the office of President-General of the organization.
[1]
During her tenure as president, the
Memorial Continental Hall
in Washington, D.C. was dedicated as the national headquarters for the Daughters of the American Revolution.
[1]
As president, Scott travelled the United States to recruit new members and give speeches promoting the organization's work.
[1]
The Daughters of the American Revolution gained 7,000 members under her leadership.
[1]
During
World War I
, Scott served as president of the organization's War Relief Committee, raising money to aid
war orphans
in France.
[1]
In 1921, French Ambassador
Jean Jules Jusserand
presented her with the
Medal of French Gratitude of the First Class
in recognition for her efforts to rehabilitate the French commune
Tilloloy
and the adoption of over 4,000 war orphans.
[1]
After the end of her second presidential term in 1919, she was elected Honorary President General, a position she retained until her death.
[1]
Death
[
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]
Scott died at her home on April 29, 1923, after suffering a stroke.
[1]
She is buried in
Evergreen Cemetery
.
[1]
References
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]
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Other
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