During the summer and fall of 1941, there has been an effort to settle the question of who was the first white girl born in Fremont County. Dates have been established, only to be upset by another.
Those efforts rested upon the fact that the contender was the first white girl to be born in a particular township.
Today we present the name of the person who more than likely has the honor, and she stands between the first and second white boys born in the county,
Green Acord born in March, 1841, and J. W. Singleton in October, 1842.
We present Sarah Scott as the first white girl, to be born, in what is now Fremont county, born February 27, 1842. She was the daughter of "Judge" and Mrs. J.C. Scott, among the first settlers
in Pleasant Grove. She is also the aunt of Mrs. A.J. Black, Clark Scott and Carl Hoover of this place, Mrs. Geo. Eddie Miller of Portland, Ruby Scott of Boston, and Noah Morrow of Nebraska City.
Clark Scott still resides on the original Scott homestead.
When "Judge" J. C. Scott and family arrived from Kentucky there were only eight families residing in the county. The family settled in the Pleasant Grove community.
His father was a cousin to Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and was named for him. That name has come down through the family and is proudly borne by two descendants now living in the county.
While Indians roamed this section they never caused concern, as they were peaceful, yet it was necessary to watch them or they would carry off anything. One of the stories remembered by
the descendants is Grandma Scott had a dream that she was being attacked by Indians. Picking up baby Sarah, she slipped through the puncheon floor of their log house before fully awakening.
Grandma Scott was blind for over thirty years and enjoyed telling stories of the early days. Shortly after the birth of Sarah, many Indians came to see the white papoose and were perfectly
satisfied when they had viewed the white child.
By 1870, "Judge" Scott decided that his family should have a better home, so he employed O. S. Wing, Isaac and Coleman Smith to build the new home.
It took a year to erect the house, for in those days the carpenter went to the woods and felled it. Then followed the task of working the trees into lumber, and it was all done the hard,
slow way, for there was no machinery and few tools. The house was all built from timber on the farm, the siding and shingles being of walnut, as well as much of the finish.
Sarah grew up in the community and married into another pioneer family. The man of her choice was Ed Elledge, and they set up housekeeping on the farm now owned by Newlan Crowell.
Later they owned the Knappe farm, on the highway north of Hamburg. In 1886, they moved to Nebraska and later to near Osage, Kansas, in which town Mrs. Elledge died in 1910.
She has one daughter living in that place, Mrs. Ella Miles.
During the summer and fall of 1941, there has been an effort to settle the question of who was the first white girl born in Fremont County. Dates have been established, only to be upset by another.
Those efforts rested upon the fact that the contender was the first white girl to be born in a particular township.