Elmon Scott (November 6, 1853 – September 1921)Judge Elmon Scott
, ''The Seattle Star'' (September 12, 1921), p. 13.Wellington C. Wolfe, ''Sketches of Washingtonians'' (1906). was an associate justice and chief justice of the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. ...

from 1889 to 1899.

Early life, education, and career

Born at Isle La Motte, in Grand Isle County, Vermont,Henry James Lee,
History of the Scott family
' (1919), p. 80. to Anson and Ann B. Scott, he moved with parents to Michigan in 1864. He studied law in

Charlotte, Michigan Charlotte ( ) is a city and county seat of Eaton County, Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 9,299. Charlotte is in the central portion of the county on the boundary between Eaton Township and Carmel Township but is polit ...

, where he was admitted to the bar in 1877. Scott was city attorney there for one term, moving to Washington in 1881, and to Pomeroy, Washington, in 1882. He was elected mayor of Pomeroy several terms.

Judicial service and later life

In 1889, Scott was elected to the state supreme court. He moved to Whatcom, Washington (later Bellingham), and was reelected in 1892 and became chief justice in 1897. After serving for over nine years on the court, he declined renomination in 1899. Following his service on the court, Scott resumed the private practice of law. On July 25, 1901, Scott was arrested for sexual assault on Miss Monna Schaeffer, a 15 year old girl in Whatcom. Scott was brought before a local judge and released on two-thousand dollars cash bail. At trial, however, Scott's defense "identified five letters that she wrote to a neighbor next door, in one of which she says that Judge Scott was never guilty of the charges made against him and that her mother had forced her to swear to the charge", and another in which "she asks this neighbor to please to tell Mrs. Scott that she has lied about the judge". Scott was found not guilty of the charge. In July 1907, it was reported that Scott was conducting an experiment with gas-pump irrigation of 1,000 acres of property that he owned on the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

near Pomeroy."Irrigate With Gas Pumps", ''The Walla Walla Evening Standard'' (July 31, 1907), p. 1.

Personal life and death

Scott married Eleanor McBrearty on October 23, 1882, with whom he had a son, Ethan.Edison Notes
, ''The Bellingham Herald'' (September 2, 1921), p. 3. Scott fell seriously ill following an operation for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, on August 29, 1921, where Scott died in 1921, at the age of 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Elmon 1853 births 1921 deaths People from Grand Isle County, Vermont U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Mayors of places in Washington (state) Justices of the Washington Supreme Court Deaths from appendicitis