Even though he died half a century earlier, this 1914 street surely honors early landowner Jonathan Rensselaer Scott (c. 1810-1864) as it traces the boundary between the original 1887 Burbank townsite to the east and Scott’s old acreage to the west. Scott was a lawyer from Cortland County, NY who in 1844 left his first wife Edith and their three children for a married woman named Harriet Glenny. They and Harriet’s daughter Mary hid out in Missouri for a few years before coming to Los Angeles in March 1850. Harriet died a month later, apparently in childbirth. The following year, Scott wed Mary Cox, sister-in-law of L.A. mayor John G. Nichols, and had five kids with her. In spite of his scandalous background, Jonathan R. Scott was the city’s most prominent defense attorney in those Wild West days. He later served as a justice of the peace and a county supervisor. In 1857, Scott reportedly swapped 5,745 acres of his La Cañada property with the Verdugo siblings, who gave him 4,603 acres of Rancho San Rafael in return. This latter chunk of land is where you’ll find Scott Road today. Family footnotes: Scott’s stepdaughter Mary went on to wed Alfred Beck Chapman and his daughter Emily married troubled realtor Du Ray Smith Sr.
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