Asa Scott was born in Center township, Morgan county, Ohio, on the 26th of January 1817, and came to Como, Whiteside county, on the 1st of June, 1839, making most of the way on the Ohio, Mississippi, and Rock rivers in a boat propelled by horse power. He remained in Como until 1847, when he purchased a farm in the present township of Montmorency, where he now lives.
Mr. Scott was married to Miss Elizabeth Taylor on the 22nd of February, 1838. Mrs. Scott is a native of Washington county, Ohio, and was born on the 3rd of August, 1820. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have been blessed with sixteen children, eight sons and eight daughters, thirteen of whom are living, and, as the happy father expresses it, “all healthy, and not a cripple in the number. The following are the names of the children, with the date of their birth, etc. Jesse W. born November 16, 1838, now a resident of Montmorency; Mary T.,born October 4, 1842, now the wife of Geo. C. Calkins, and lives in Adams county, Iowa; Elknah B., born December 7, 1843, and died November 17, 1863 - he was a member of the 75th Illinois Volunteers, and was severely injured at the battle of Perryville, Kentucky; Eleanor, born July 3, 1845, now Mrs. Narry, and living at Vinton, Iowa; James M., born January 22, 1847, teaching at Grand Junction, Iowa; Addie, born August 6, 1848, now Mrs. Wood, and living in Crawford county, Iowa; Frances L., born May 11, 1850, now Mrs. Maskell and living in Hume township; Anna born November 21, 1851, now Mrs. Cain and living in Ida county, Iowa; Desdemona, born December 28, 1853, now Mrs. Mitchell, and living in Yorktown, Bureau county, Illinois; John, born April 9, 1855, died February 26, 1856; Asa, born September 20, 1856, and living in Montmorency; Delia, born May 4, 1859, living at home; Carrie, born May 12, 1861, living at home; Eugene, born December 20, 1862, died April 7, 1863; Philip S. and Sherman, twins, born April 12, 1865, living at home.
This long list shows Mr. Scott to be the patriarch of the township of Montmorency beyond the possibility of a doubt. Mr. Scott relates many incidents and experiences of his pioneer life, such as hauling grain to Chicago with ox teams, and the expedients to which early settlers resorted to obtain the necessaries of life. It was his custom to go each year at the proper season to Deer Grove to shoot deer, which were more plentiful there then than cattle are now. At these excursions he would kill all the deer the family wanted for a meat supply, and all the skins needed to make breeches and coats. In October of each year he would gather wild honey, and kill raccoon enough for oil, and furs for caps. He represents the happiest days of his life to have been when he followed five or six yoke of big oxen, hitched to a plow with a beam ten feet long and six by eight inches square-having trucks at the front end to govern it, breaking up prairie.
Bent & Wilson History of Whiteside County 1877
The first settler in Montmorency Township was Asa Scott and, for nearly five years, he and his family were the only residents in the township. Before that time he lived in Hopkins Township. Mr. and Mrs. Scott were the parents of 16 children. He utilized both wild and tame products in taking care of his family.
He went once a year to Deer Grove in Hahnaman Township to hunt deer. He obtained all the venison the family could eat and skins to make coats and breeches. He gathered wild honey. He killed raccoons for oil and for skins to make caps.
Asa Scott enjoyed the pioneer way of life. He claimed in later years that he was happiest when he was breaking the prairie. He was what would be called in later years a "big-time operator" as he attacked the tough sod with an outfit of five or six yoke of oxen hiteched to a plow with a beam ten feet long and six by eight inches in dimension. It was said that there were trucks at the front end to guide it and they may have been blocks through which ropes were threaded.
Much of the township's early history was about the Scott family. The first child born in Montmorency was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Asa Scott. Her name was Addie B. and her birthdate was August 6, 1848. The first marriage vows were exchanged by Miss Mary T. Scott and George C. Calkins. The first death was that of John Scott on February 26, 1856. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Asa Scott and was less than one year old when he died.
Excerpt from A History of Whiteside County by Wayne Bastian 1968 Pg. 302
