"A people without  the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots"  ~ Marcus Garvey

In the 1980s when I began my journey to identify my ancestors, I immediately ran into an obstacle researching my paternal side.  My father knew very little about his father which included his father's name and that he was from Sumter SC, but nothing else.  I quickly discovered there were too many Scotts in South Carolina and no way to distinguish any relationships.  It was a genealogical brick wall I could not see myself overcome.  Two decades later genetic DNA became available, and I took my first test with a company, 23andme.  All DNA testing companies require individuals to purchase their kits to be tested, and the driving impetus for many people who tested was a desire to know their ethnicity and where their ancestors were from.  Some of us were also searching for a biological connection.  

I've tested with three DNA testing companies, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA,  and 23andme, which has provided many Scott DNA relatives of which some have trees on Ancestry, or I was able to build family trees for them.  Today, modern genealogy combines genetic genealogy with traditional genealogy to create biological relationships between or among individuals.  By using genealogical DNA testing, genetic genealogy can determine the levels and types of biological relationships between and among individuals.  This Scott Family tree is based upon that concept, plus traditional genealogical research (e.g., census records, probate records, newspaper obituaries, etc.). 
  
This family tree would not be possible if not for Dorothy Davis who had tested her DNA with 23andme which identified us as 2nd cousins once removed.  Dorothy initially contacted me in May 2018 trying to determine how we were related.  Three years later I located several Scott family trees on the Ancestry website, plus one managed by her son.  Those trees enabled me to find the family that connects us.  I wrote to her in 2021 to inform her of the family connection and she responded by providing the name and telephone number of the family historian, Bernell "Bea" Bell.   I'm deeply indebted to Bea for the 2014 Scott Family reunion book which provided information about the family of Robert and Sally Antley Scott, and the newspaper article about the passing of Rev. James Scott.  Additionally, other sources of information were the books;  "Finding Family from Lower Richland County, S.C. An African American Perspective" by Elton Vrede, and "Almost Forgotten: The Real America: A Historical and Genealogical Study for Future Generations" by Brenda Clarkson Turpeau, census records, vital (birth, marriage, death) records, newspaper articles and obituaries.  

Many thanks go out to the many relatives who have tested their DNA.  Without them, this tree would not be possible.  The DNA relatives were indispensable in building our family tree because they verified relationships.  I still have some DNA relatives that I’m unable to connect because I don’t know their parents or grandparents.  The DNA relatives I have identified so far,  descend from three individuals who are the children of Robert and Charlotte Tena Scott.  They are James, Stephney, and Washington Scott.  The earliest census they appear in is the 1870 federal census, which is the first census after the Civil War and the first census identifying the former enslaved people by name.  James, Stephney, and Washington were living in Lower Richland County, South Carolina.  Research by Bea revealed Robert and his family were enslaved to the Lang Syne Plantation.  

The Lang Syne Plantation was in St Matthews, Calhoun County, South Carolina.  It was formed about 1824 from the merger of lands owned by Anne Heatly Lovell after the death of her brother, Andrew Heatly, who left his land to his sisters, Anne Heatly Lovell, Rachel Heatly Richardson, and Sophia Heatly Dulles.  Anne bought her sisters’ shares, combining Heatly’s estate with her adjoining lands to form Lang Syne Plantation.   


Notes:  
Genetic inheritance is a basic principle of genetics and explains how characteristics are passed from one generation to the next.
Genetic inheritance occurs due to genetic material, in the form of DNA, being passed from parents to their offspring. When organisms reproduce, all the information for growth, survival, and reproduction for the next generation is found in the DNA passed down from the parent generation.
People get (inherit) their chromosomes, which contain their genes, from their parents. Chromosomes come in pairs and humans have 46 chromosomes, in 23 pairs. Children randomly get one pair of chromosomes from their mother and one pair from their father. The chromosomes that form the 23rd pair are called the sex chromosomes. They decide if a person is born a male or female. A female has two X chromosomes, and a male has one X and one Y chromosome. Each daughter gets an X from her mother and an X from her father. Each son gets an X from his mother and a Y from his father.

References:
https://www.rootsandrecall.com/calhoun/tag/lang-syne-plantation/  (3 Jul 2023)
Carolina.