Scottsville Portraits

"Small towns," wrote Virginia Moore in Scottsville on the James. "America was born in one, passed its childhood and adolescence in others, and today, grown to maturity among great cities, still lives a vital part of its life in modest-sized towns scattered from coast to coast across the continent, thick as dandelions. Resources, terrains, and people differ in America's small towns and sometimes unusual events well up from inside or break in from outside, altering the form of things. For Scottsville, a special James-centered backdrop of nature and a very particular play of people and forces have made the town unique."

Scottsville is a town with a proud past and a population that goes to work, helps each other and themselves with a flash of humor, a spark of wit, and courage that does not fold easily. The portraits of Scottsville citizens that follow are reflections of this hope, faith, courage, hard work, and good humor that has sustained our town into the 21st century.

Please click on each image for a larger view and more information.

Miletus Ballard and Frances Caroline (Grubbs) Harris

Date: before 1877

Image Number: H63cdME04,
E12cdE02

Comments: Miletus Ballard and Frances Caroline Harris arrived in Scottsville with their young family by late 1837. Miletus was a wheelwright by trade and greatly impressed by the heavy wagon traffic bringing grain from the Shenandoah Valley to Scottsville. He set up his wheelwright business in town and in 1860 purchased a general mercantile store on Main Street. Frances Caroline opened her own millinery shop in their store's upper floor. See larger images for more Harris info and photos.

Zachariah Fleming Jones and Cornelia (Crew) Jones

Date: 1867 and ca. 1885

Image Number: RA01cdRA01,
RA19cdRA02

Comments: Zachariah Fleming Jones served as a Mosby's Ranger during the Civil War. He returned to his family farm after the war ended and married Cornelia Ann Crew in Richmond, Virginia, on March 2, 1881. Zack was a dashing figure with an entrepreneurial spirit and invented many labor-saving devices for farm and town use. Zack and Cornelia lived at Breezewood and were the parents of four children.

Charlotte 'Lottie' Digges Moon

Date: ca. 1891

Image Number: RS15acdRS04

Comments: Charlotte 'Lottie' Digges Moon, was born at Viewmont in Albemarle County, Virginia, on December 12, 1840. She was the daughter of Edward and Anna (Barclay) Moon, wealthy landowners and a Scottsville merchant. Lottie Moon received her education as a teacher at the Virginia Female Seminary and Albemarle Female Institute and accepted an appointment as a Baptist missionary to China in 1873. She was absolutely devoted to the Chinese people for nearly forty years. During a 1911-1912 famine, Lottie Moon shared her own meager money and food with everyone around her, severely affecting her health. Weighing only 50 pounds, Lottie Moon died on December 24, 1912, from severe malnutrition.

Waller E. Mallory and Grandson

Date: ca. 1895

Image Number: B01cd20

Comments: Waller E. Mallory holds his grandson for this photo taken at Idylwood Studio. Waller lived at Valmont and served as farm overseer for David H. Pitts, Valmont's owner.

Helen Goddin (Crafton) Harris

Date: ca. 1896

Image Number: E24cdE03

Comments: Helen Goddin (Crafton) Harris was born in Richmond, Virginia, on December 28, 1856. Her early education years were spent in Washington, DC, and Helen attended college in Richmond at the Richmond Female Institute (now called Westhampton College). While visiting her Worsham cousins in Scottsville, Helen met her future husband, Charles Bascom Harris, Sr. Helen married Charles on December 1, 1879, and moved to Scottsville where they raised a family of six children at their 'Fairview' home. Helen died in 1954 at the age of 98 years.

William 'Willie' Edward and Ellen Gentry (Cornett) Burgess

Date: ca. 1900

Image Number: Roll12Neg17A,
Roll12Neg20A

Comments: William 'Willie' Edward Burgess and his wife, Ellen Gentry (Cornett) Burgess, posed for these portraits taken by Willie at Idylwood shortly after their marriage. For the past 100 years, these two hand-tinted portraits have hung side-by-side in the Burgess family home. Willie and Ellen were the parents of three sons: Lawrence Edward, William Harold, and George Gentry Burgess. See the larger images for more family information and photos.

The Scottsville Beal Family, 1850-2001

Date: ca. 1900

Image Number: B416cdB28

Comments: In about 1850, Joseph Russell Beal arrived in Scottsville from Richmond, where his family was in the mercantile business. He purchased a canal freight boat and two Scottsville lots on the James River to transport good from Richmond to his Scottsville mercantile business. In association with James W. Mason and the Moon brothers of Scottsville, Joseph acquired a 60-year lease of part of the lot in front of the Scottsville Presbyterian Church. The Beal family would grow and prosper in Scottsville through 2001. See the larger image for more Beal family information and photos.

William Samuel Beal

Date: ca. 1900

Image Number: ML07cdML01

Comments: William "Billy" Samuel Beal was a merchant whose family's store was located in the Beal Building at the corner of Bird and Valley Streets. A lifelong bachelor, Billy served as Scottsville's Town Constable for many years and was Past Master of Masonic Lodge #45. See the larger image for more Beal family information and photos.

Family of Charles Bascom Harris, Sr.

Date: ca. 1902

Image Number: E28cdE03

Comments: Pictured here is the family of Charles Bascom Harris, Sr, who lived at Fairview in Scottsville. Not included in this family gathering is a third son, Charles Bascom Harris, Jr., who suffered from asthma and was recuperating in New Mexico when this photo was taken. See larger image for more family member details and names.

Alexina, Richard W., and Charles Bascom Harris, Jr.

Date: ca. 1902 and 1914

Image Number: E29cdE05,
E28cdE05

Comments: Alexina (Harrison) Harris holds her young son, Richard Wheat Harris, in a ca. 1914 photo. At right is her husband, Charles Bascom Harris, Jr., as a teenager at the turn of the century. Charles became the proprietor of a Scottsville store called 'C.B. Harris and Co.' Alexina and Charles were the parents of five children.

Innes (Randolph) Harris and Percy Harris, Sr.

Date: 1904 and 1938

Image Number: RM05acdRM01,
RM06cdRM01

Comments: Innes Randolph is shown in graduation cap and gown for her 1904 graduation from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Innes married Percy Harris, a medical student from the Medical College of Virginia, on September 20, 1904. Percy graduated from medical school in 1905 and came to Scottsville in 1913 where he conducted a successful general medical practice and also served as Mayor of Scottsville from 1943-1953. The Harrises were the parents of four children.

Dr. Benjamin Lewis Dillard

Date: ca. 1905

Image Number: B114cdB17

Comments: Benjamin Lewis Dillard was born September 4, 1857, and was the son of George Walden Dillard and Lucy Jane Dillard, who lived at Mill House on Glendower and at Chester in Scottsville. Benjamin received his MD from Johns Hopkins and returned to Scottsville to set up his practice over the Fidelity National Bank on Valley Street. Dr. Dillard married first, Maude Baptist, and after her death in 1905, he married Mildred Scoville Horsley. Dr. Dillard was the father of six children. He died on April 12, 1929, and is buried at Scottsville Cemetery.

Katherine Elizabeth Pitts and Her Nurse

Date: January 1907

Image Number: M08bcdKM01

Comments: Katherine Elizabeth Pitts is shown with her nurse shortly after her birth on January 19, 1907, at Belle Haven in Scottsville. Katherine was the daughter of Captain John Lee Pitts and Helen Amanda (Burgess) Pitts.

Pleasant Morgan and Sarah (Clark) Burgess

Date: ca. 1907

Image Number: M43cdKM02

Comments: Pleasant Morgan and Sarah 'Sallie' (Clark) Burgess stand on the steps of Locust Grove, the Burgess family plantation on the Hardware River between Scottsville and Fork Union in Fluvanna County, Virginia. They were the parents of eight children: Hattie Virginia, Florence Lindsay, Charles Russell, Amanda Helen, William 'Willie' Edward (the photographer), Laura Adelaide, Cornelia Clark, and Garnett Burgess. See the larger image for more family photos and information.

Thomas Ellison and Mary Estes (Browne) Bruce

Date: 1908 and 1912

Image Number: SD21cdSD2, SD332cdSD18

Comments: Thomas Ellison and Mary Estes (Browne) Bruce married on October 14, 1915, in Palmyra, VA. Ellison was a successful young Scottsville druggist and Mary, an elementary teacher at Scottsville School. They became parents of three children: Rebecca Jane; Thomas Ellison, Jr.; and Anne Shirley Bruce. See the larger image for more family photos and information.

Charlie Albert Lenaham

Date: ca. 1908

Image Number: SB01cdSB01

Comments: Charlie Albert Lenaham is shown in this charcoal drawing by his dear friend, Susie N. Blair. Charlie was born in 1902 and the son of Amelia Lenaham, a trusted employee and member of the Powers family. Due to his lifelong commitment to Scottsville, Charlie was fondly nicknamed 'Citizen Charlie.' See the larger image for more family photos and information.

Ruth Roberts

Date: 1908

Image Number: R01cdR01

Comments: Ruth Roberts, daughter of William Smithson and Mary (Stinson) Roberts, is pictured standing in front of their Scottsville home. She was born August 1904 in Scottsville, and this hand-tinted photo of Ruth shows her standing in front of the same potted plant which her brother, Earl, touches below in his sepia-toned photo taken the same day.

Earl Roberts

Date: 1908

Image Number: R03cdR01

Comments: Earl Roberts, son of William Smithson and Mary (Stinson) Roberts, is pictured standing in front of their Scottsville home. This sepia-toned Burgess photograph was taken the same day as the hand-tinted photo of Earl's sister, Ruth.

Edward Dorrier

Date: ca. 1908

Image Number: M05cdKM01

Comments: Born in 1906, Edward Dorrier was the son of Walter and Cornelia (Burgess) Dorrier. This photo was taken by his uncle, William Burgess, when Edward was 19 months old.

Senator Thomas Staples Martin

Date: ca. 1910

Image Number: TSM004

Comments: Thomas Staples Martin was born in Scottsville on July 29, 1847, to John Samuel Martin and his wife, Martha Ann Staples. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1893 where he served until his death in Charlottesville, Va., on November 12, 1919.

Annie Parker 'Parke' Harris

Date: ca. 1910

Image Number: E22cdE04

Comments: Annie Parker 'Parke' Harris was the oldest child of Charles Bascom Harris, Sr., and Helen Goddin (Crafton) Harris. She was a Scottsville school teacher and became the wife of Scottsville's principal, William Day Smith.

Clara Lee Pitts and Friend

Date: ca. 1910

Image Number: M16cdKM01

Comments: Clara Lee Pitts is shown with an unidentified friend at left in this photo taken at Idylwood Studio. Clara was the daughter of Captain John Lee Pitts and Florence Lindsay (Burgess) Pitts of Belle Haven.

Nathan Sclater

Date: ca. 1910

Image Number: B104cdB17

Comments: Nathan Sclater ran Sclater's Hardware with his twin brother, Wirt Sclater. Their store was first located on the north corner of the Carlton House on Valley Street in the early 1900's. By 1915, Sclater Hardware had relocated to the north entrance of Traveler's Rest Hotel on Main Street. Both Sclater brothers were active musicians in the Scottsville Band, as Nathan played a trombone and Wirt, a baritone horn.

The William Thomas Moulton Family

Date: ca. 1910

Image Number: RM18cdRM03

Comments: The William Thomas Moulton family is shown in this 1910 photo taken in Richmond where they lived on Floyd Avenue. At that time, William, Sr. worked for Boscobel Quarry just outside Richmond. After World War I, William Thomas Moulton moved to Scottsville where he operated Jefferson Mill with his son, John Adkins Moulton.

Annie Jones

Date: 1912

Image Number: B29cdB14

Comments: Annie Jones of Scottsville -- she later graduated from Longwood College and became a teacher.

Laura and Kathleen Colley

Date: Christmas, 1912

Image Number: B07cdB12

Comments: Mrs. Laura (Burgess) Colley reads to her daughter, Kathleen, in this Christmas time photo taken at Idylwood Studio. Laura was the sister of William E. Burgess, and this photo was a Christmas gift to the Colley family from the photographer.

A Family Gathering at The Terrace

Date: ca. 1912

Image Number: Roll4Neg12A

Comments: Pictured here on the front steps of The Terrace are the Powers, Blair, and Bell families. The Terrace is a Victorian-style residence on Scottsville's Jackson Street, built in 1897 by Dr. and Mrs. David Pinckney Powers. See the larger image for identities of these family members.

Four Generations of the Pitts Family

Date: 1913

Image Number: M01cdKM01

Comments: This wonderful Burgess photo brought together four generations of the Pitts family: Jonathan Pitts, Captain John L. Pitts, Clara (Pitts) Dorrier, and Charles Richard Dorrier, Jr.

James Benson and Mary Alice (Tapscott) Tindall

Date: October 27, 1914

Image Number: JT24cdJT03

Comments: James Benson and Mary Alice (Tapscott) Tindall are shown just as they prepared to board a train at Hatton for their honeymoon trip. The Tindalls owned a country store, Hatton Post Office, Hatton Station, and Hatton Ferry from 1914 until 1945 when their son, Jim, Jr., took over Hatton management duties.

William Harold Burgess

Date: June 1914

Image Number: B46cdB15

Comments: William Harold Burgess was born June 27, 1907, in Scottsville at the Burgess family's Idylwood home. He was the youngest son of William Edward and Ellen (Cornett) Burgess.

Helen Harris

Date: ca. 1914

Image Number: E14cdE02

Comments: Helen Harris was the youngest daughter of Charles Bascom Harris, Sr., and his wife, Helen Goddin (Crafton) Harris. Helen was born January 21, 1892, in Scottsville, and married James McFarland in 1919.

Marjorie (Harris) Fry and Marjorie Helen Fry

Date: ca. 1914

Image Number: E27cdE03

Comments: Marjorie (Harris) Fry holds her daughter, Marjorie Helen Fry. Marjorie was the daughter of Charles Bascom Harris, Sr., and Helen Goddin (Crafton) Harris of Scottsville. In 1912, Marjorie married George Washington Fry, who graduated from UVA law school in 1910 and began a law practice in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Captain John Lee and Helen (Burgess) Pitts

Date: ca. 1915

Image Number: M39bcdKM03,
M85KMcd04

Comments: Captain John Lee Pitts, Sr., became a canal boat captain at the age of fourteen, and later was a senior member of a railroad construction firm. After his first wife, Florence, died, John married her sister, Helen Burgess. John and Helen lived at Belle Haven in Scottsville and became the parents of three daughters. See the larger images for more Pitts family photos and information.

Burgess, Dorrier, and Pitts Cousins

Date: 1915

Image Number: M06dcdKM01

Comments: William Burgess photographed his nieces and nephews at a gathering of the Burgess, Dorrier, and Pitts families at Idylwood. See the larger image for identities of these family members.

The John Walter Nicholas Family

Date: ca. 1915

Image Number: B201cd21

Comments: John Walter and Anne (Fontaine) Nicholas pose with their daughters and friends. This Nicholas family lived at The Hermitage, a home about two miles south of Scottsville in Buckingham County on property purchased by John's grandmother in 1832. See the larger image for identities of family members and more information.

Jonathan Pitts

Date: ca. 1917

Image Number: RS01acdRS01

Comments: Jonathan Pitts was a Confederate veteran, merchant of Scottsville, and patriarch of a large family. He was born in 1822 and lived to be 98 years old.

Cornelius Wood

Date: unknown

Image Number: DW09cdDW01

Comments: Cornelius "Neal" Wood was born about 1868 in Virginia and lived on a farm just a few miles east of Scottsville near Beals Road. He and his wife, Mary Martin, were the parents of twelve children. See the larger image for additional family information.

John Wesley and Florence (Johnson) Wood

Date: unknown

Image Number: DW05acdDW01,
DW10cdDW02

Comments: John Wesley Wood and his wife, Florence (Johnson) Wood, were the parents of three children: Lindsey Mason, Dorothy Beatrice, and Harry Wood. They lived on their farm east of Scottsville, and Wesley also worked as a section hand on the C&O Railroad.

Lindsey and Dorothy Wood

Date: ca 1920

Image Number: DW01cdDW01

Comments: Pictured at Idylwood Studio are Lindsey Mason and Dorothy Beatrice Wood. They are the children of John Wesley and Florence (Johnson) Wood, who lived on a small farm east of Scottsville on Beals Lane.

Susie Blair and Andrew Gilbert Bell, Jr.

Date: ca 1920

Image Number: B47cdB16

Comments: Susie Blair was the daughter of Dr. Joseph P. and Susie (Powers) Blair and granddaughter of Dr. and Mrs. Pinckney Powers of Scottsville. She graduated from Scottsville Schools and Hollins College where she studied drama. Susie served as a board member for the Scottsville Museum for many years.

Andrew Gilbert Bell, Jr., was the son of Andrew Gilbert and Annie (Powers) Bell of Scottsville and the cousin of Susie Blair.

John Adkins Moulton and Innes (Harris) Moulton

Date: ca. 1922

Image Number: RM13cdRM02,
RM10cdRM01

Comments: After his discharge from the U.S. Army in 1919, John Adkins Moulton moved to Scottsville to help his father, William, operate nearby Jefferson Mills. John met and married Innes Roberta Harris on June 28, 1923. The Moultons lived in Scottsville and were the parents of two children: John Adkins Moulton, Jr., and Randolph 'Ranny' Harris Moulton.

Mary (Wood) Alfama

Date: ca. 1925

Image Number: DW07cdDW01

Comments: Mary (Wood) Alfama is shown in this photo from the 1920's. Mary was the daughter of Cornelius "Neal" and Mary Wood, who lived on a small farm east of Scottsville on Beals Road.

Elizabeth 'Patsy' (Johnson) Muse

Date: ca. 1920-1925

Image Number: DW03cdDW01

Comments: Elizabeth 'Patsy' (Johnson) Muse was the sister of Florence (Johnson) Wood and sister-in-law of John Wesley Wood of Scottsville. Her mother was Nannie Johnson of Mateo, Buckingham County, Virginia.

Helen (Harris) McFarland and James Emmons McFarland, Jr.

Date: September 1920

Image Number: E07cdE01

Comments: Helen (Harris) McFarland holds her son, James Emmons McFarland, Jr. Helen was the daughter of Charles Bascom Harris, Sr., and Helen (Crafton) Harris of Scottsville. In 1919, Helen married James Emmons McFarland, Sr., a Charlottesville pharmacist.

Helen (Burgess) Pitts and Mrs. Evan Chesterman

Date: December 25, 1921

Image Number: M03bcdKM01

Comments: Helen (Burgess) Pitts poses on the grounds of Belle Haven with her friend, Mrs. Evan Chesterman. Helen was the wife of Captain John Lee Pitts of Scottsville and the sister of William Edward Burgess.

Katherine Elizabeth Pitts

Date: ca. 1925

Image Number: M08acdKM01

Comments: Katherine Elizabeth Pitts was born in 1907 at Belle Haven in Scottsville. She was the daughter of Captain John L. Pitts and Helen Amanda (Burgess) Pitts. Katherine graduated from Scottsville High School and Randolph Macon College; she taught in Scottsville public schools for many years. She married John Randolph Phillips on April 6, 1929, in New York City, New York.

Mary White Oliver

Date: ca. 1925

Image Number: B43cdB15

Comments: Mary White Oliver grew up in Scottsville and lived with her parents about 5 miles east of Scottsville on Rt. 6; her father was a highway contractor. Later Mary moved to Fork Union.

Virginia Faulconer

Date: ca. 1925

Image Number: B44cdB15

Comments: Virginia Faulconer was the daughter of George Faulconer, who was a depot operator for both the C&O and Southern Railway; her mother was a Houchens from North Garden. Virginia's siblings were Ethel, Carl, and George Faulconer, and her uncle was Herbert Faulconer, the Scottsville Depot Operator.

Helen (Crafton) Harris and Charles Bascom Harris, Sr.

Date: ca. 1928

Image Number: E09cdE01

Comments: Helen and Charles Bascom Harris, Sr., posed for this photo at Idylwood Studio. They were married in 1879 in Richmond and lived in Scottsville until Charles' death in 1930. Charles was a merchant and owned Fairview (now 'High Meadows') in Scottsville. Helen and Charles were the parents of six children. See larger images for more Harris family photos and information.

Virginia Steger

Date: ca. 1928

Image Number: B48cdB15

Comments: Virginia Steger graduated from Scottsville High School in 1929. Her father was Robert Steger, a Scottsville barber. The family lived in an apartment over the Harris Building until it burned in 1925; they next lived on a houseboat in the James River until moving to Texas in 1930.

John Randolph and Katherine (Pitts) Phillips

Date: ca. 1928

Image Number: KM209acdKM09

Comments: John Randolph and Katherine (Pitts) Phillips married on April 6, 1929, in New York City, NY. They returned to Scottsville to live at Belle Haven, the Pitts family home, where they raised a daughter, Kathleen. Randolph was a free lance writer, and Katherine taught the seventh grade at Scottsville School from 1937 until she retired in the 1970's.

Annie Woody Jackson

Date: unknown

Image Number: DW011acdDW01

Comments: Annie Woody Jackson was the mother of Fitzhugh Woody of Scottsville.

Charlie Woody

Date: unknown

Image Number: DW011bcdDW01

Comments: Charlie Woody was the brother of Annie Woody and uncle of Fitzhugh Woody of Scottsville.

William Smithson and Mary (Stinson) Roberts

Date: 1930

Image Number: R02cdR01

Comments: William Smithson and Mary (Stinson) Roberts farmed the Walter Dorrier farm about 3/4 miles north of Scottsville on Rt. 20. They were the parents of Earl and Ruth Roberts, and Mary was the sister of Dr. L. R. Stinson of Scottsville. The Roberts are buried at Scottsville Cemetery.

Dr. Emory Hill

Date: ca. 1930

Image Number: B579cdB33

Comments: Dr. Emory Hill was born in Scottsville on September 8, 1883, and was the youngest son of Major James C. and Mary Emory (Lamb) Hill. Emory attended Scottsville School and went on to earn his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia in 1907. Dr. Hill became recognized as one of the outstanding ophthamalogists in the South.

Charles and Joseph Wingfield

Date: ca. 1942

Image Number: RM21cdRM03,
RM20cdRM03

Comments: Charles Wingfield and his son, Joseph, lived on the Dr. Percy Harris farm about 3 miles west of Scottsville on Rt. 6. Every Saturday the Wingfields took large water jugs to Albevanna Springs to get water for Dr. Percy Harris which was better for his gout than Scottsville's water.

Rev. Houston Bryan and Mrs. Ruth (Morgan) Perry

Date: ca. 1950s

Image Number: RH01cdRH01

Comments: Rev. Houston Perry was the minister at Union Baptist Church from 1939 to 1964. Rev. Perry designed the current Union Baptist sanctuary, and in 1954, John Dickerson and he constructed it. He and his wife, Ruth (Morgan) Perry were the parents of Ruth Perry and Houston Perry, Jr.

Virginia Moore

Date: ca. 1969

Image Number: JM01cdJM01

Comments: A resident of Scottsville for sixty-two years, Virginia Moore started her career as a freelance writer in New York City, writing poetry, critical reviews, and articles. She traveled to every continent as a journalist and later returned to Columbia University to earn a doctorate in philosophy. Beginning in 1929, Virginia lived in Scottsville and wrote most of each year at Cliffside where she penned books of poetry, biography, history, and even travel.

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