John W. Scott

John Wyeth Scott was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 1988. Aside from his political career, he taught history classes and practiced law for more than thirty years. He wrote several dissertations on the life of Natalie Scott, who was his aunt and also his inspiration to research further into his own family history and the history of Natalie’s life.

A self-proclaimed history buff with a focus on Louisiana and New Orleans in particular, Scott published articles pertaining to Southern history in the Journal of Mississippi History and the Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. His dedication to the preservation of Louisiana history earned him the Presidential Memorial Award from the Louisiana Historical Association. He also served as president of the Rapides Arts and Humanities Council. From 1998 until 2009, he was a lecturer at Tulane University and an assistant professor at Louisiana State University of Alexandria 

Even considering all his accomplishments, Scott’s main interest lay in Natalie Scott and the legacy she left around the world. His book centers on Natalie’s life in the early nineteenth century and the era spanning both world wars. Her actions inspired him to write about who Natalie Scott was and what she represents to him—as a family member—and to those she affected.

Scott earned a bachelor of arts degree from Tulane and a master’s degree and a doctorate in history from Louisiana State University. A member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, he opened his own practice in 1972. The father of three, Scott lived with his wife, Cynthia, in Alexandria, Louisiana, until his death in May of 2009.