Owen SCOTT, Congress, IL (1848-1928)

SCOTT, Owen, a Representative from Illinois; born on a farm in Jackson Township, Effingham County, Ill., on July 6, 1848; attended the common schools, a private school in Kinmundy, and the State normal school in Normal, Ill.; taught school; superintendent of schools for Effingham County, Ill., 1873-1881; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1873 and commenced practice in Effingham, Ill.; engaged in newspaper work; published the Effingham Democrat; mayor of Effingham in 1882; city attorney in 1883 and 1884; moved to Bloomington, Ill., in 1884 and became proprietor and manager of the Bloomington Daily and Weekly Bulletins; deputy collector of internal revenue by appointment of President Cleveland 1885-1889; chairman of the Illinois Democratic convention at Springfield, Ill., in 1888; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second Congress (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1893); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1892 to the Fifty-third Congress; moved to Decatur, Ill., in 1899 and managed the Decatur Herald until 1904, when he engaged in the insurance business; retired from the insurance business in 1921 to become secretary of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Illinois, which position he held until his death in Decatur, Ill., December 21, 1928; interment in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Effingham, Ill.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present