Marmaduke Scott of Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Part 5

Marmaduke Scott has been a fascination with me for almost 40 years.  How did this man become so fascinating to me?  Well, it started in middle school.

My mom and Grandma Alford took me to visit one of the Scotts.  I remember visiting Lloyd Scott, nicknamed the "Mayor of Ovid," at his home on Highway 36, just outside of Ovid/New Columbus, Indiana.  I was awed by this tall, slender gentleman who wove a tale about the Scott family, their travel from North Carolina, and their settling in Fall Creek Township of southern Madison County, Indiana. Most of which he had heard from the older generation when he was younger.

Most of all, I remember the over-sized ledger in which he had written so much of the family history.  I still have some of my middle-school handwritten notes that I copied from it.   All these years later, I look back and think about the work that Lloyd did and, sorry to say this Lloyd, but some of it was wrong. But I overlook that.

At that time, Lloyd had written letters, one at a time, back and forth to Pasquotank County, requesting tidbits of information. I couldn't imagine doing that now.   With North Carolina's digital efforts, they have really brought the research to the home front.  And being in the digitization game myself, I understand the massive effort it took to do this.  It has been through those that I have learned even more about Marmaduke Scott, his life, his work, and his family.

One of my life's goal is to visit his homeland of Pasquotank County and see it for myself.  Google maps allows you to travel along the roads and highways, viewing the countryside in a monitor, but it's not the same.  I think it would add so much to the "feel" of his imagined life.  Living in Indianapolis makes it easy to jaunt up to the old haunts that I visited when I was on bicycle.  The cemeteries, the family farms, the back roads, but I am being drawn to the place of origin.

After years of research, having original family materials, and being lucky enough to have grown up in the area where the family settled, I'm excited that I finally put big chunks of this mysterious jig-saw puzzle together. I have so much more that I want to write about him.  His parent's, sibling's, and children's stories add so much more to Marmaduke's life's story.  But alas, this is where the blog posts about him end and it is by my choice.  I've realized that I materials that no one else has and it's my secret to hold.  I've decided that secret is mine and mine alone to know.

As a kid, I was completely enamored with the book and movie, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Koningsburg.  In he story, Mrs. Frankweiler shared a secret with Claudia, the main character, regarding a statue that was sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Mrs. Frankweiler put a caveat on the secret -- Claudia could tell no one and had to let that secret grow inside her and allow it to make a difference in her life.  Now that I think about it -- I too have a secret and perhaps someday I will share it with someone as fascinated by this man as I am.

But until that time, Marmaduke's secrets remain safe with me.  Hmmm... Maybe it might be fun to write a fictional tale of this man.  Make him some kind of early 19th century detective, or put him into some perilous situations.... Could be fun to give him life.  I'll ponder it.

CSM