Eramanthus Elizabeth Scott is my husband’s 2x great grandmother. She was born about 1827 in Missouri according to the 1850 and 1860 censuses of Sullivan County, Missouri. She married James Hollen/Hollon/Holland on 9 June 1847 in Howard County, Missouri.

 
James Hollen & Elizabeth E. Scott Marriage
9 June 1847, Howard Co., MO

James and Elizabeth (aka Eramantus and Erie) were the parents of seven children:

1. John S., born about 1849; died after 1870 and married Clarissa A. Baskett on 25 February 1869 in Sullivan Co., MO
2. James Milton, born 17 February 1853; died 27 August 1939 and married Nancy Melissa Baskett on 22 February 1874 in Sullivan Co., MO.
3. Eliza A., born about 1856; died after 1870.
4. George M., born about 1858; died after 1910, possibly in Caddo Co., Oklahoma and married Charity Ann Stewart on 28 July 1878 in Chariton Co., MO.
5. Columbus Marion, born about 1861; died after 1870.
6. William Edwin, born about 1867; died 20 June 1935, Cowley Co., KS and married Mary Elizabeth Martin on 3 July 1894 in Henry Co., MO.
7. Mary Elizabeth, born 24 February 1868; died 2 January 1905, Linn Co., MO and married John Henry Stufflebean on 27 June 1886 in Linn Co., MO.

Mary Elizabeth is my husband’s great grandmother; her father was living with the Stufflebeans when he died on 5 December 1903.

The only real clue I have to a Scott family for Eramanthus is the 1850 census:

James Hollin Family, 1850

Besides James, wife “Eramantha E.” and son John S., there is one other person in the household, Robert J. Scott, aged 27 (born about 1823) in Missouri. This is most likely Eramanthus’s brother. However, by 1860, Robert is no longer in the Hollon household.

However, a marriage record was found for Robert:

Robert J. Scott & Elizabeth Jane Massey/Maxey Marriage
25 December 1853, Sullivan Co., MO

Robert J. Scott and family are found in the 1860 census of Sullivan County, Missouri.

Robert and Elizabeth had five children:

1. George Hampton, born 31 October 1854; died 19 November 1948, Grant Co., KS and married Louisa Henshall on 15 December 1874 in Knox Co., MO.
2. John H., born about 1856; died after 1870
3. Sarah Martha, born 16 April 1858; died 26 October 1940, Seward Co., KS and married James M. Morris about 1876. They were newlyweds in Adams Co., IL in 1880.
4. Samuel W., born about February 1860; died before 1870
5. Paul I., born about 1862; died after 1870.

Robert Scott died between the 1860 census and 3 March 1866, when Elizabeth Jane Scott married James B. Crawford in Adair Co., MO.

The Crawford-Scott family is found in the 1870 census of Adair County:

By 1880, James Crawford has returned to Ohio to live and is remarried. A family story on line stated that his wife, Elizabeth, died in 1879 and is buried in Adair Co., MO. She is not listed in the mortality schedule and no grave site has been located for her. Her children had scattered to the wind by that time.

James and “Erie” Hollon are last found together on the 1870 census, still in Sullivan Co., MO:

No one in the Hollon family has been found in the 1880 census. James has left Pleasant Hill in Sullivan County – I’ve read every page of that township. I believe he moved to Linn County, Missouri about that time as Mary Elizabeth married John Henry Stufflebean there in 1886. They may have made the move before the census taker came to their Sullivan County home and after the Linn County census taker had passed by their new one.

Since James and Eramanthus married in Howard County, the 1850 census was checked for a possible family for her. There are only two possible households with adults old enough to be parents of Robert, born 1823 and Eramanthus, born 1827.

The first household is William and Luvicy Scott. They were born in the 1770’s in Virginia. In tracking the family backwards, they had a large family and were well to do slave owners, but they had no daughters in Eramanthus’s age range in 1830 or 1840.

The second household is that of apparent widow Sarah Scott, 45, and born in Kentucky. In the house with her are Jemima A., born about 1834, MO and Rowena F., born about 1839, also in MO.

The 1840 census showed the same two households, that of plantation owner William Scott and “Sally” Scott. Sally Scott’s 1840 household included:

Female, 40-49, so the age is off a bit in one census or the other if Sally is the same as Sarah in 1850.

Male, 15-19, who could be Robert
Female, 15-19
Male, 10-14
Female, 10-14, who could be Eramanthus
Male, 5-9
Female, 5-9, who could be Jemima A.
Male, under 5

If the male child under five was actually a female or if Rowena was ten in 1850 and not yet born for the 1840 census, this would fit.

Next, I looked at the 1830 census for Howard County. There are only three Scott households there. One is William Scott, who has already been eliminated as the father of Eramanthus Scott. The second household is that of Davis Scott.

Male, 30-40, born 1790-1800 and presumably him
Female, 15-20, born 1810-1815
Male, 5-10, born 1820-1825, who could be Robert J.
Female, under 5, who could be Eramanthus

The 15 to 20 year old female could either be a second wife or an older daughter. However, Sally Scott had four children born in the 1820’s in her household, while this family only has two born in that time frame.

The third household in Howard County is that of Samuel Scott:

Male, 30-39
Female, 30-39
2 Males, 5-9
2 Females, 5-9
2 Males, under 5

Samuel Scott has two males in the age range of Robert J., but no females under five so this isn’t Eramanthus’s home unless her age is off and she was born by 1825.

I also looked at the neighbors for each of these Scott families in 1830 and compared them to Sally Scott’s neighbors in 1840. None of the 1830 surnames are anywhere close to those in 1840. For what it’s worth, I also looked at Sarah Scott’s 1850 neighbors and those surnames don’t match the 1830 or 1840 neighbors either.

In the past, I’ve made half-hearted attempts to find Eramanthus Scott’s parents and haven’t discovered much in the probate records. However, I think Sally Scott is a viable mother for her and, as Missouri experienced a huge influx of settlers by 1840, it is possible that Eramanthus’s  family lived elsewhere in Missouri in 1830. There are many Scott families listed in the 1830 Missouri census.

Added to the “to do” list in Salt Lake City in February is a search of the probate records and land deeds for Howard County Scott families, particularly for Sarah Scott, found there in 1850. Jemima and Rowena were not common girls’ names at that time – nor was Eramanthus. That might be a clue that Sarah is the mother of Robert and Eramanthus.

I hope time will tell!