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Finding Aid to the William A. Scott Papers, 1830-1885
BANC MSS C-B 360
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Collection Title: William A. Scott Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1830-1885
Collection Number: BANC MSS C-B 360
Creator: Scott, W. A. (William Anderson), 1813-1885
Extent:
Number of containers: 11 boxes, 4 oversize folders
Linear feet: 4.6
Number of microfilm reels: 6
Repository: The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please
consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Correspondence; church records; diaries, mainly of European trips; accounts;
clippings re the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856; manuscripts of articles and sermons.
Mainly concerning the Presbyterian church in California, Louisiana and New York.
Languages Represented:
English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for
publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not
intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the
reader.
[Identification of item], William A. Scott papers, BANC MSS C-B 360, The Bancroft Library, University
of California, Berkeley.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856
Presbyterian Church--California--History
Presbyterian Church--Louisiana--History
Presbyterian Church--New York--History
Diaries
William Anderson Scott was born on January 31, 1813 and received a license to preach when he was
seventeen. He later attended Cumberland College, took his degree at Princeton Theological Seminary and
was ordained by the Presbytery of Louisiana and Arkansas; he was elected president of the Seminary at
Nashville and served as pastor at the Hermitage Church on the estate of Andrew Jackson.
Dr. Scott was called to San Francisco in 1854 to organize the Calvary Presbyterian Church, which grew
into one of the largest congregations in the city. When the Civil War came, his southern sympathies
brought him into conflict with members of his congregation, and he left California to travel abroad. On
his return to the United States, he accepted a temporary post in New York City. In 1870 he answered
another call to San Francisco where he organized and edited the
Pacific Expositor, helped
found San Francisco City College and the San Francisco Theological Seminary at San Anselmo, and wrote
several religious books.
The papers were acquired through Mrs. S. L. Abbott and other members of the Scott family, 1944-1963. A
few items were given by Rev. Drury and by UCLA at various times.
The collection includes correspondence with leading clergymen and politicians during the nineteenth
century; account books and diaries, many pertaining to Scott's trips abroad and to the Holy Land; church
records with official documents relating to his various pastorates; printed items, including some of
Scott's published works and clippings about W. A. Scott, some concerning his relations with the San
Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856.
The correspondence and diaries are also available on microfilm.