John T. Scott photograph collection, 1900-1916

Summary

Creators:

Scott, John T.

Abstract:

The John T. Scott photograph collection, circa 1900-1916, (SAFR 23364, P78-307a) is comprised of photographs related to Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California, and Moore & Scott Iron Works in Oakland, California. The collection has been processed to the Item level and is open for use.

Extent:

13 items

Language:

In English.

Preferred citation:

[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], P78-307a (SAFR 23364), John T. Scott photograph collection, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Background

Scope and content:

The John T. Scott photograph collection, circa 1900-1916, (SAFR 23364, P78-307a) is comprised of photographs related to Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California, and Moore & Scott Iron Works in Oakland, California. The collection has been processed to the Item level and is open for use.

There are 13 unique photographic images in 13 physical forms (8 black-and-white photographic prints and 5 black-and-white photographic postcards). The collection includes views of machinery, possibly built by Union Iron Works and Moore & Scott Iron Works, including backline sheaves, a hydraulic press, and two other unidentified pieces. Also contains views of YANKEE (dredge); a steam schooner in the stream with a derrick barge alongside; a floating drydock; and an Oakland, Antioch & Eastern Railway derrick railcar handling logs. Two views show unidentified men driving the first rivet in EDWARD T. JEFFERY (built 1913; ferry) at Moore & Scott Iron Works. Another view shows a crowd of men outside the entrance to a Union Iron Works building, possibly on the occasion of the company's auction in 1904. The collection also includes a view of vessels at a shipyard, possibly Moore & Scott Iron Works, as seen from the water.

Biographical / historical:

John T. Scott (1865-1960) was a marine engineer. He was superintendent of Union Iron Works from 1895-1905 and co-owner of Moore & Scott Iron Works from 1905-1916. He also founded the Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Company in 1916 with his uncle Henry T. Scott (1846-1927).

John Thomas Scott was born in 1864 or 1865 in Maryland to Mary Hopkins Scott and George S. Scott. He had older brothers named Wakeman H. Scott (born 1861) and Irving Murray Scott Jr. (1862-1952), and younger siblings named Margaret H. Scott (born 1867), George Worthington Scott (1869 July-1941 January 31), and Henry T. Scott (1877 January 13-1949 July 15).

John T. Scott's uncles were Irving Murray Scott (1937-1903) and Henry Tiffany Scott (1846-1927), the owners of the Union Iron Works in San Francisco's Potrero district during the 1860s-1890s. John was a marine engineer by profession, and followed his uncles into the family business, becoming a superintendent of the Union Iron Works in 1895. John T. Scott's brother Irving M. Scott, Jr. was also in the family business, and worked as a draftsman and engineer at Union Iron Works, Moore & Scott Iron Works, and Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Company.

John T. Scott managed operations at Union Iron Works until he left in 1905 to begin his own business, in partnership with Robert S. Moore and Joseph A. Moore. The Moore & Scott Iron Works started operation in 1905 in Hunter's Point neighborhood of San Francisco. In 1909, they moved to the site of W.A. Boole's old yard on the shore of Oakland Creek (Knave). Moore & Scott was a very successful operation, which continued to thrive under the name of Moore Shipbuilding Company after Scott sold his interests in 1917.

Scott's next venture was the short-lived Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Company, which he established in 1917 in partnership with his uncle Henry T. Scott (1846-1927) at Bay Point, California, (present day Port Chicago) to take advantage of the World War I shipbuilding boom.

Scott lived in San Francisco until 1909, subsequently in Burlingame, and finally by the side of Lake Merritt in Oakland. He passed away in March of 1960 at the age of 96.

Written by Amy Croft, 2013.

• Sources:
• San Francisco Maritime staff. Front matter in finding aid for the John T. Scott papers, (HDC 126).
• Unknown author. "Knave" section of the Oakland Tribune. Sunday December 3, 1961.
• The Bay of San Francisco: the metropolis of the Pacific Coast and its suburban cities: a history. 1892. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co.

Acquisition information:

SAFR-00001

GOGA-00789

John T. Scott donated this collection to the San Francisco Maritime Museum on June 24, 1952 (see SFMM Accession Ledger 107/4). The prints were formally accessioned by the National Maritime Museum, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, on April 27, 1978.

SAFR-00001 is a blanket accession that was transferred from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) to the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in September 1988. GGNRA had previously acquired the collection from the San Francisco Maritime Museum when it became a unit of the National Park Service in 1977.

GOGA-00789 was transferred from the J. Porter Shaw Library to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) in February 1985.

Processing information:

The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material and subject matter experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors in this guide please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.

Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.

Arrangement:

No arrangement. Left in the order in which the processing archivist found the Items, as numbered by previous SAFR staff.

Physical location:

San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department

Physical description:

.

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard .

Related resources

Related material:

John Scott collections at SFMNHP:

John T. Scott photographs. SFMNHP, (SAFR 18511, P78-046a). (62) cyanotypes, most 6 x 8 in., of USS OHIO, showing details of every part of the vessel including crew quarters, hospital, galley, engine room and several exterior views.

John T. Scott photographs. SFMNHP, (SAFR 19205, P78-261a). (15) collodion(?) prints, approx. 7 x 9 in., taken as for a catalog, showing hydraulic and steam, fixed and portable riveters, manufactured by the Morgan Engineering Co., Alliance, Ohio, photographer unknown, Dec. 18, 1896.

John T. Scott photograph collection. SFMNHP, (SAFR 23362, P79-072a (scr 51)). 1 photograph album and loose prints.

John Thomas Scott photograph collection, 1903-1919. SFMNHP, (SAFR 17023, P85-057). (80) black-and-white, cyanotype, and gelatin chloride prints separated from the personal papers of John T. Scott.

Photograph of 5 unidentified U.S. Warships, 1890's, SFMNHP, (SAFR 13701). 1 EA. Photosensitized linen with five photographic prints, two sketches. Cyan coloring of naval vessels built by Union Iron Works, all pre-dreadnought era. Separated from John T. Scott papers (SAFR 15793, HDC 126).

Related SFMNHP Classified photograph collection items have been noted at the Item level.

John Thomas Scott papers, 1900-1920. SFMNHP, (SAFR 15793, HDC 126). Personal papers. Includes many mechanical drawings and blueprints dating to his employment at Union Iron Works, Moore & Scott Iron Works, and Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Co.

Irving M. Scott, Jr. photograph collection, 1898-1920. SFMNHP, (SAFR 17021, P85-068). 15 views of machinery, possibly at Union Iron Works and Moore and Scott Iron Works.

Mrs. Irving Scott photograph collection, circa 1900-1915. SFMNHP, (SAFR 00363, P83-100). Includes a photograph of a vessel launching in San Francisco, possibly from Union Iron Works.

Mrs. Irving Scott photographs, SFMNHP (SAFR 19216, P78-272a). (95) black-and-white prints, primarily of Union Iron Works engines and machinery.

Researchers should note that there are other books and archival collections with materials related to Union Iron Works and Moore and Scott Iron Works in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. They can search the Park's web catalog for more information.

• This material is located at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

John T. Scott papers, circa 1891-1940. Bancroft Library, BANC MSS 73/199c. Correspondence, estimates, financial reports, a few records of Union Iron Works, clippings, blueprints of ships, etc. Mainly relate to his association with the Pacific Coast Shipbuilding Company.

• This material is located at University of California, Berkeley. Bancroft Library.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Marine machinery
Shipyards
Cargo handling
Cranes, derricks, etc.
Derrick cars (Railroads)
Dredges
Dry Docks
Steam schooners
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic postcards

Names:

Moore & Scott Iron Works
Union Iron Works Co.

Places:

San Francisco (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)

Restrictions:

This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.

Terms of access:

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Preferred citation:

[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], P78-307a (SAFR 23364), John T. Scott photograph collection, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Location of this collection:

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Building E, Fort Mason

San Francisco, CA 94123, US

Contact:

415-561-7030

Website