The Children of Reverend William Anderson Scott: A Portrait Legacy

Abstract

The painting of Robert, Calvin, Martha, and William Scott, and Mila (known as The Children of Reverend William Anderson Scott) is not just a family heirloom or a portrayal of Reverend William Scott’s four children and their caretaker, Mila. On the contrary, nearly two hundred years after it was painted, The Children of Reverend Scott functions today as a historical document in that analysis of it records the contemporary roles and status of children, parents, and slaves in nineteenth-century Southern life. This paper explores the personal convictions of Reverend Scott as recorded in the portrait—namely his roles as a father, minister, and southern slave-owner—using his personal papers and historical records local to New Orleans and San Francisco for further context and evidence.