Nicholas Scot

Nicholas Scot (sometimes spelled Nicholas Skot) was an English-born early American settler to the Jamestown Colony. Scot was one of the first musicians to arrive to an English colony in the New World.

Biography

Scot was born in England (likely near the Huntingdonshire region) in the late 16th century.[1][2] He was contracted by the Virginia Company to join their expedition and sailed from London in December 1606 as one of the original colonists bound for Virginia.[3][4] On May 14 1607, Scot was one of the early settlers to arrive to Jamestown.[5][6][7] He was listed as a "drummer" as his occupation on the ship's manifest.[8][9][10] As the first drummer in the colony, Scot played an important role in the day-to-day military signaling and schedule-keeping of the colony, providing cadence for work parties, signaling muster calls, and maintaining order during the colony's first difficult months.[11][12][13]

Scot is recorded as one of the first musicians to arrive to an English colony in the New World.[14][15][16]

Scot is a character in various works of historical fiction, including James Otis Kaler's 1910 Richard of Jamestown and Elizabeth Massie's 1609: Winter of the Dead.[17][18] He was also referenced in Stephen Vincent Benét's posthumous 1943 work, Western Star.[19]

References

  1. ^ Walker, Sally M. (2011-07-01). Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. Carolrhoda Books. ISBN 978-0-7613-8107-5.
  2. ^ Gookin, Warner Foote (1963). Bartholomew Gosnold, Discoverer and Planter: New England--1602, Virginia--1607. Archon Books.
  3. ^ Woolley, Benjamin (2012-06-28). Savage Kingdom: Virginia and The Founding of English America (Text Only). HarperCollins UK. ISBN 978-0-00-740497-1.
  4. ^ Smith, John (1884). Capt. John Smith, of Willoughby by Alford, Lincolnshire: President of Virginia, and Admiral of New England, Works, 1608-1631. The editor.
  5. ^ "The Original Jamestown Settlers; an excerpt from The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith (1624)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  6. ^ Barbour, Philip L. (2017-05-15). The Jamestown Voyages under the First Charter, 1606-1609: Documents relating to the Foundation of Jamestown and the History of the Jamestown Colony up to the Departure of Captain John Smith, last President of the Council in Virginia under the First Charter, early in October, 1609. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-02682-2.
  7. ^ Hirschman, Elizabeth Caldwell; Yates, Donald N. (2012-03-05). Jews and Muslims in British Colonial America: A Genealogical History. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6462-3.
  8. ^ "First Settlers | Historic Jamestowne". Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  9. ^ "The First Residents of Jamestown - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  10. ^ Billings, Warren M. (2009-01-30). The Old Dominion in the Seventeenth Century: A Documentary History of Virginia, 1606-1700. ReadHowYouWant.com. ISBN 978-1-4429-6089-3.
  11. ^ Woodfield, Ian (1995). English Musicians in the Age of Exploration. Pendragon Press. ISBN 978-0-945193-59-3.
  12. ^ Pearson, Jim; Watkins, Bryna (1991). Early Jamestown: A Unit of Study for Grades 5-8. National Center for History in the Schools, University of California, Los Angeles.
  13. ^ Sonneck, Oscar George (1984). The Musical Quarterly. G. Schirmer.
  14. ^ Yellin, Victor (1969). "Musical Activity in Virginia before 1620". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 22 (2): 284–289. doi:10.2307/830478. ISSN 0003-0139.
  15. ^ Yellin, Victor Fell (2002). "Music in Early Virginia". American Music. 20 (4): 361–380. doi:10.2307/1350150. ISSN 0734-4392.
  16. ^ Warner, Thomas E. (1984). "European Musical Activities in North America before 1620". The Musical Quarterly. 70 (1): 77–95. ISSN 0027-4631.
  17. ^ Otis, James (2023-11-10). Richard of Jamestown: Enriched edition. A Story of the Virginia Colony. Good Press.
  18. ^ Massie, Elizabeth (2007-03-06). 1609: Winter of the Dead: A Novel of the Founding of Jamestown. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-7653-5604-8.
  19. ^ Benet, Stephen Vincent (2017-01-23). Western Star. Read Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4733-4881-3.
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