Katherine Kirkwood Scott Collection
Compiled by Mauriel P. Joslyn, 2000
Biographical Note
Katherine Kirkwood Scott was born November 26, 1894 in Milledgeville, Georgia. Her parents were Captain Albert Blackstone Scott (1859-1906) and Mary Lewis Howell(1858-1929). Captain Scott (West Point '80) was on college detail at Georgia Military College, and this duty brought the couple to Milledgeville. A sister, Agnes, was born in 1896. Katherine Scott was an alumna of Georgia Normal and Industrial College, graduating in 1913 with a teaching degree. She then attended Columbia Teacher's College in New York, graduating in 1916. She received a master's degree from there in 1921. She was professor emeritus of English at Georgia College for 34 years. She was a member of St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Milledgeville.
Katherine Scott's professional interests always involved education, though she proved herself as an author, publishing two autobiographical works, The Land of Lost Content (Scott, 1975) and The Land of Loving Children: Memories of Four Years' Teaching at the Pape School for Girls in Savannah (Portals Press, 1976). She taught English at the Pape School from 1916-1918 and again from 1921-1922. She then accepted a position at Georgia College from 1924-1958. Scott was also very active in the local community during its celebrations of historic events. She wrote a pageant on the 1861 Georgia Secession Convention, which was performed during Milledgeville's Sesquicentennial in 1958. She was also on the planning committee for the state Civil War Centennial events held in Milledgeville. The Old Governor's Mansion centennial coincided with these years and she was active with events there.
Katherine Scott was a member of many local organizations, primarily genealogical in their pursuits. She belonged to the Milledgeville chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She was also a member of the Daughters of the Cincinnati.
Always fascinated by history, most of her writings centered around historical events. Ghost stories featured the family home on Jefferson Street, a famous "haunted house" of Milledgeville. These works survive in the collection as unpublished, handwritten manuscripts.
Katherine Scott never married. After her retirement in 1958, she became involved as a volunteer at Central State Hospital. After selling the Jefferson Street house, known locally as the Tate House, she moved to "The Homestead", another historic house in town. She wrote many of her works here, including the two published novels. Katherine Kirkwood Scott died September 12, 1988. She is buried in the family plot at Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville.
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