The Author
The author of CAYMAN CROSS, Allen "Jack" Scott, is a Caymanian-American who claims his heritage from a long line of Cayman Islands sea captains. He is an attorney and legal mediator by profession, but is also an avid sailor and hunter with a lifelong love of adventure and writing. He is a graduate of Jacksonville University (B.A.) and the University of Florida (J.D.) and resides with his wife and family in St. Augustine, Florida.
Son of a Son of a Sea Captain
By Allen "Jack" Scott
(First published as an article in Cayman Net News 2009)
It happens that I have become the family historian for our branch of the Little Cayman Scott family (son of a son of a son of many sailors) so I have gathered a lot of information about my particular Cayman ancestors. I understand that the Little Cayman Maritime Museum which is about to open this weekend is not about my family, but about every Little Cayman family, because they all historically relied upon the sea for subsistence, in one way or another. Unfortunately, I can only give you some bits and pieces of my own family history (and a few interesting tidbits about Linton Tibbets) that may help you out.
First, let me say a few words in general about Linton. I have only known Linton for about twenty-five years, and that is because he once took it upon himself to track me down and personally invite me to a family reunion in the Cayman Islands those many years ago.
Mr. Linton found me because he knew and respected my grandfather, Capt. Devey E. Scott, who was also born in Little Cayman and was Linton’s cousin. Because of that first contact with Linton, my family and I have re-established our love for and relationship with the Cayman Islands.
Twenty-three years ago, my son, Allen III, who has just graduated from the University of Florida, was baptised in the Cayman Brac Baptist Church, where his great-great grandfather Rev. Charles Barron was Pastor in the early 1900s. Allen III now has plans to find employment in and move to the Cayman Islands. As a result of our many visits over the years, he loves the Cayman Islands more than Florida, where he was born and raised.
This comment was made simply to underline the fact that I and my family are probably only one of a hundred or more expatriate Caymanian families who have been brought back to the islands through the single-handed efforts of Linton Tibbetts, a man who despite his incredible business successes in America has never forgotten his Caymanian roots.
The upcoming dedication of the Little Cayman Maritime Museum may not be terribly important to some, but to my family and me it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate our Caymanian heritage in a way that we can forever be proud of.
A couple of months ago, Linton called me and told me about his plans for his Maritime Museum addition to the already wonderful Little Cayman Museum. Linton knew, of course, from his childhood and life experience that my branch of the Little Cayman Scott family had always historically been mariners, so he invited me to find and dedicate whatever old family photos and artifacts may be appropriate for exhibition in the museum. I’ve already found and dedicated what I can and I’m still looking for more from extended family members. The Maritime Museum addition is already taking shape and only needs more Cayman families to make dedications to their own maritime forebears.
I have tracked my earliest Scott ancestor, William Robert Scott (born 1767) back to Grand Cayman. Whole lines of his descendants remained in and still inhabit Grand Cayman.
However, the best account of my Little Cayman roots comes as a quote from Dr Michael Craton in his comprehensive work, Founded Upon the Seas: A History of the Cayman Islands and Their People. At page 127, Dr. Craton states:
“According to the strongest oral tradition, around 1833, two Grand Cayman men, one a Scott and the other a Ritch, who were familiar with the Sister Islands from fishing trips, rowed their families the eighty-odd miles in open canoes to the Sister Islands. They settled at Bloody Bay and South Hole in Little Cayman…”
My great grandfather, James Allen Scott, then a second generation Little Caymanian, was born in 1869, and his marriage certificate dated August 2, 1893, lists him as a “Sea Captain” at age 24, residing in South Hole, Little Cayman.
After the marriage of James Allen Scott to Julia Foster of Stake Bay, Cayman Brac, on August 2, 1893, their only son, Devey Erben Scott, was born on August 7, 1898, in Little Cayman. My grandfather, Devey, like most Cayman boys, grew up on the sea and going to sea. At a very young age, he, like his father, became a sea captain. In his early years, he was captain of sailing vessels, but as the days of motor vessels progressed, he progressed with the times and also obtained his Master’s license for all vessels, all oceans. He married my grandmother, Violette “Chrissie” Barron (the Cayman Brac Pastor’s daughter) and they soon had four children. As our family photographs depict, in many cases, the family actually went to sea together.
My father, Captain Allen Scott, was the first-born son (December, 1922) of Devey and Chrissie. He also became a Master Mariner with a distinguished career in the Merchant Marine.
At this point, I want to tell a few stories about cousin Linton Tibbetts, benefactor of the Little Cayman Maritime Museum.
Linton was born in 1923, about the same age as my father (and he so much reminds me of my father and grandfather). In about 1942, during the Second World War, Linton managed to scratch up the money to come to the United States. If you ask him today, Linton will readily tell you that his sole aspiration as a youth was to go to sea and become a captain like so many of his peers. So it was that in 1942 he was delivered to Tampa, Florida, with only a few dollars in his pocket. My grandmother, Chrissie, managed to pick him up and deliver him to their home in Jacksonville, Florida, where my grandparents “took him in” as the saying goes.
When Capt. Devey Scott returned from a voyage, he took Linton on as a seaman aboard the M/V Arrow, a small freighter that my grandfather then mastered. Capt. Devey put Linton on the same watch (work schedule) as himself in order to look after his young teenage cousin and to personally teach him the ways of the sea. I can’t begin to tell you all the stories repeated and all the memories that Linton has about his time at sea with my grandfather. There is, however, one particular story and one particular point I want to make about Linton’s service with my grandfather.
Most people don’t know it, but the Caribbean was one of the deadliest seas (and possibly the most deadly) for German U-Boat destruction during World War II. The Seaman’s Memorial in George Town gives some indication of Cayman mariner lives lost in World War II.
Linton tells me one story, for example, when the M/V Arrow was held out of harbor for several days at sea, off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, on a trip from the Caribbean, because a German U-Boat had destroyed a merchant ship in or near the Savannah harbor entrance.
Many other ships were held back and delayed outside the port entrance, all fearing the same fate from a German torpedo. Linton tells me, “While we were waiting to get in, your granddaddy took the old Arrow in water so shallow we could almost wade around so the Germans couldn’t get us…”
There can never be enough said for the services of Caymanian merchant mariners who risked their lives every day for us and for our freedom in World War II. In Linton’s case, as it was for my father and grandfather, it took the US Congress over 40 years after World War II to grant veteran status to the constant and brave allied mariners who continued to move trade and material for our forces in World War II. Linton Tibbetts did not ever become a sea captain as he had envisioned as a child, but I can think of no living person better qualified to dedicate a Maritime Museum in Little Cayman. Instead of a career at sea, Linton became probably the most successful and influential Caymanian ever.
Back briefly to my own Little Cayman maritime heritage, the following:
Captain Devey E. Scott (my grandfather)—Born August 7, 1898, died August 11, 1977—Master of all ships, all oceans, sail and motor—continued his life and career as a Master Mariner after World War II, and during his lifetime progressed from sailing ships to his last career assignments before retirement: Captain of US missile tracking ships off Cape Canaveral (now Cape Kennedy), Florida, in the 1960s, which were the formative years of the United States Space Program.
Captain Allen C. Scott (my father)—Born December 26, 1922 (Stake Bay, Cayman Brac), died November 3, 1993—Master Mariner, reported his employment in a 1950 resume: “Various ports of the world and high seas.” Veteran, World War II, and the idol of a loving son. Capt Allen Scott formed the first local union of the merchant ship officers in Jacksonville, Florida, in about 1952, and went on during his long maritime career to become the Executive Vice-President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (merchant ship officer’s union).
Allen C. Scott, II - yours truly - with the help of my father and my grandfather, I went to sea every summer and part-time (Great Lakes ore carrier, Hess Oil tanker, U. Miami marine research ship, offshore oil tugs, harbor tugs) to pay for my college education. Upon the insistence of my father, but as a great embarrassment to our maritime family heritage, I became a lawyer (now practicing 38 years, in St. Augustine, Florida).
(First published as an article in Cayman Net News 2009)
It happens that I have become the family historian for our branch of the Little Cayman Scott family (son of a son of a son of many sailors) so I have gathered a lot of information about my particular Cayman ancestors. I understand that the Little Cayman Maritime Museum which is about to open this weekend is not about my family, but about every Little Cayman family, because they all historically relied upon the sea for subsistence, in one way or another. Unfortunately, I can only give you some bits and pieces of my own family history (and a few interesting tidbits about Linton Tibbets) that may help you out.
First, let me say a few words in general about Linton. I have only known Linton for about twenty-five years, and that is because he once took it upon himself to track me down and personally invite me to a family reunion in the Cayman Islands those many years ago.
Mr. Linton found me because he knew and respected my grandfather, Capt. Devey E. Scott, who was also born in Little Cayman and was Linton’s cousin. Because of that first contact with Linton, my family and I have re-established our love for and relationship with the Cayman Islands.
Twenty-three years ago, my son, Allen III, who has just graduated from the University of Florida, was baptised in the Cayman Brac Baptist Church, where his great-great grandfather Rev. Charles Barron was Pastor in the early 1900s. Allen III now has plans to find employment in and move to the Cayman Islands. As a result of our many visits over the years, he loves the Cayman Islands more than Florida, where he was born and raised.
This comment was made simply to underline the fact that I and my family are probably only one of a hundred or more expatriate Caymanian families who have been brought back to the islands through the single-handed efforts of Linton Tibbetts, a man who despite his incredible business successes in America has never forgotten his Caymanian roots.
The upcoming dedication of the Little Cayman Maritime Museum may not be terribly important to some, but to my family and me it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate our Caymanian heritage in a way that we can forever be proud of.
A couple of months ago, Linton called me and told me about his plans for his Maritime Museum addition to the already wonderful Little Cayman Museum. Linton knew, of course, from his childhood and life experience that my branch of the Little Cayman Scott family had always historically been mariners, so he invited me to find and dedicate whatever old family photos and artifacts may be appropriate for exhibition in the museum. I’ve already found and dedicated what I can and I’m still looking for more from extended family members. The Maritime Museum addition is already taking shape and only needs more Cayman families to make dedications to their own maritime forebears.
I have tracked my earliest Scott ancestor, William Robert Scott (born 1767) back to Grand Cayman. Whole lines of his descendants remained in and still inhabit Grand Cayman.
However, the best account of my Little Cayman roots comes as a quote from Dr Michael Craton in his comprehensive work, Founded Upon the Seas: A History of the Cayman Islands and Their People. At page 127, Dr. Craton states:
“According to the strongest oral tradition, around 1833, two Grand Cayman men, one a Scott and the other a Ritch, who were familiar with the Sister Islands from fishing trips, rowed their families the eighty-odd miles in open canoes to the Sister Islands. They settled at Bloody Bay and South Hole in Little Cayman…”
My great grandfather, James Allen Scott, then a second generation Little Caymanian, was born in 1869, and his marriage certificate dated August 2, 1893, lists him as a “Sea Captain” at age 24, residing in South Hole, Little Cayman.
After the marriage of James Allen Scott to Julia Foster of Stake Bay, Cayman Brac, on August 2, 1893, their only son, Devey Erben Scott, was born on August 7, 1898, in Little Cayman. My grandfather, Devey, like most Cayman boys, grew up on the sea and going to sea. At a very young age, he, like his father, became a sea captain. In his early years, he was captain of sailing vessels, but as the days of motor vessels progressed, he progressed with the times and also obtained his Master’s license for all vessels, all oceans. He married my grandmother, Violette “Chrissie” Barron (the Cayman Brac Pastor’s daughter) and they soon had four children. As our family photographs depict, in many cases, the family actually went to sea together.
My father, Captain Allen Scott, was the first-born son (December, 1922) of Devey and Chrissie. He also became a Master Mariner with a distinguished career in the Merchant Marine.
At this point, I want to tell a few stories about cousin Linton Tibbetts, benefactor of the Little Cayman Maritime Museum.
Linton was born in 1923, about the same age as my father (and he so much reminds me of my father and grandfather). In about 1942, during the Second World War, Linton managed to scratch up the money to come to the United States. If you ask him today, Linton will readily tell you that his sole aspiration as a youth was to go to sea and become a captain like so many of his peers. So it was that in 1942 he was delivered to Tampa, Florida, with only a few dollars in his pocket. My grandmother, Chrissie, managed to pick him up and deliver him to their home in Jacksonville, Florida, where my grandparents “took him in” as the saying goes.
When Capt. Devey Scott returned from a voyage, he took Linton on as a seaman aboard the M/V Arrow, a small freighter that my grandfather then mastered. Capt. Devey put Linton on the same watch (work schedule) as himself in order to look after his young teenage cousin and to personally teach him the ways of the sea. I can’t begin to tell you all the stories repeated and all the memories that Linton has about his time at sea with my grandfather. There is, however, one particular story and one particular point I want to make about Linton’s service with my grandfather.
Most people don’t know it, but the Caribbean was one of the deadliest seas (and possibly the most deadly) for German U-Boat destruction during World War II. The Seaman’s Memorial in George Town gives some indication of Cayman mariner lives lost in World War II.
Linton tells me one story, for example, when the M/V Arrow was held out of harbor for several days at sea, off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, on a trip from the Caribbean, because a German U-Boat had destroyed a merchant ship in or near the Savannah harbor entrance.
Many other ships were held back and delayed outside the port entrance, all fearing the same fate from a German torpedo. Linton tells me, “While we were waiting to get in, your granddaddy took the old Arrow in water so shallow we could almost wade around so the Germans couldn’t get us…”
There can never be enough said for the services of Caymanian merchant mariners who risked their lives every day for us and for our freedom in World War II. In Linton’s case, as it was for my father and grandfather, it took the US Congress over 40 years after World War II to grant veteran status to the constant and brave allied mariners who continued to move trade and material for our forces in World War II. Linton Tibbetts did not ever become a sea captain as he had envisioned as a child, but I can think of no living person better qualified to dedicate a Maritime Museum in Little Cayman. Instead of a career at sea, Linton became probably the most successful and influential Caymanian ever.
Back briefly to my own Little Cayman maritime heritage, the following:
Captain Devey E. Scott (my grandfather)—Born August 7, 1898, died August 11, 1977—Master of all ships, all oceans, sail and motor—continued his life and career as a Master Mariner after World War II, and during his lifetime progressed from sailing ships to his last career assignments before retirement: Captain of US missile tracking ships off Cape Canaveral (now Cape Kennedy), Florida, in the 1960s, which were the formative years of the United States Space Program.
Captain Allen C. Scott (my father)—Born December 26, 1922 (Stake Bay, Cayman Brac), died November 3, 1993—Master Mariner, reported his employment in a 1950 resume: “Various ports of the world and high seas.” Veteran, World War II, and the idol of a loving son. Capt Allen Scott formed the first local union of the merchant ship officers in Jacksonville, Florida, in about 1952, and went on during his long maritime career to become the Executive Vice-President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (merchant ship officer’s union).
Allen C. Scott, II - yours truly - with the help of my father and my grandfather, I went to sea every summer and part-time (Great Lakes ore carrier, Hess Oil tanker, U. Miami marine research ship, offshore oil tugs, harbor tugs) to pay for my college education. Upon the insistence of my father, but as a great embarrassment to our maritime family heritage, I became a lawyer (now practicing 38 years, in St. Augustine, Florida).
Captain Devey E. Scott aboard the M/V Arrow (my Grandfather) and Captain Allen C.D. Scott (my Father)
