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James B. Sclater Jr.

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James B. Sclater Jr.
Born
James Benjamin Sclater Jr.

July 19, 1847
Orange County, Virginia, US
DiedApril 5, 1882(1882-04-05) (aged 34)
Richmond, Virginina, US
Burial placeHollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
Alma materVirginia Military Institute
University of Virginia
Occupation(s)Commercial broker and druggist
Employer(s)Brockenbrough & Sclater
J. B. Sclater & Son
Known forFounder of Pi Kappa Alpha

James Benjamin Sclater Jr. (July 19, 1847 – April 5, 1882) was an American commercial broker and druggist. He was a founder of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of Virginia in 1868.

Early life

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Sclater was born in Orange County, Virginia, on July 19, 1847.[1] He was the son of Harriet (née Wharton) of Louisa County and James Benjamin Sclater Sr. of Fluvanna County.[1][2] Soon after his birth, his family moved to Richmond.[3] In Richmond, his father was a produce and merchandise broker and agent for Williams & Brothers.[1][4][5][6] His father was also a director of Citizens Bank of Richmond.[7]

Sclater briefly attended the Cabell School in the Virginia.[3] In March 1864, he started studies at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) when the college was temporarily relocated from Lexington to Richmond.[8][9][3] Schater and the other VMI cadets served the Confederacy in the defense of Richmond.[10][11][9] In April 1865 after General Robert E. Lee's army left Richmond, Sclater was paroled from the Cadet Battalion by order of Union Army officers.[3]

Sclater enrolled in the University of Virginia in 1867, where he remained for two academic years.[12][13] While there, he was one of the founders of Pi Kappa Alpha in 1868, along with other students he met while attending VMI.[14][10] He lived in Room 47 with Robertson Howard, another Pi Kappa Alpha founder.[9][3] Although he was later known to his friends as "Doc", Sclater did not receive a medical degree.[1][3] He did, however, take two years of classes in anatomy and materia medica, chemistry and pharmacy, physiology and surgery, and medicine before leaving the university after the 1868–1869 academic year.[1][12][13]

Career

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After leaving college, Sclater worked for his father in Richmond.[1] He then started Brockenbrough & Sclater, a drug business in Charlotte, North Carolina.[1][15] In 1870, he was a clerk in a drug store in Essex, New Jersey.[16]

He returned to Richmond in 1870 and lived with his father.[1][17][18][19] By March 1873, Sclater and his father had formed a business, J. B. Sclater & Son located at 5 South 14th Street.[20] The Richmond City Directory listed his occupation as a commercial broker in 1873.[19] However, the firm dissolved by mutual agreement on April 1, 1874.[21]

The 1877 Richmond City Directory listed him as a clerk working for his father.[22]

Personal life

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Sclater never married.[9][3] His health declined in the 1870s.[3] On April 5, 1882, he died of heart disease at the age of 35 at his uncle's Richmond home.[1][23] He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.[14][24] His grave was marked by an ornamental urn placed there by his sweetheart.[3] On August 27, 1958, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity dedicated a marker for Sclater's grave.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hart, Freeman H. (12 April 1933). "Finding A Founder". Lexington Gazette. p. 2. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via Virginia Chronicle | Library of Virginia.
  2. ^ "Marriages". Richmond Enquirer. 1845-11-28. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "James Benjamin Sclater, Jr. (1847-1882)". The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. April 4, 2006. Archived from the original on June 21, 2006. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via web.archive.org.
  4. ^ "Other Deaths". Richmond Dispatch. 27 December 1889. p. 1. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via Virginia Chronicle | Library of Virginia.
  5. ^ "Notice". Richmond Dispatch. 1854-05-02. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Storage, Storage". Richmond Dispatch. 1855-02-07. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Citizens Bank of Richmond". Southern Planter. 37 (8): 88. 1 August 1876 – via Virginia Chronicle | Library of Virginia.
  8. ^ Account, Admin. "Home - The Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity". Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  9. ^ a b c d Howard, Robertson (2021-01-22). "The Founders of Pi Kappa Alpha - Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity". Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  10. ^ a b "Fraterniies in Virginia". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 1939-01-29. p. 71. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "History of Fraternity Tells of Charge at New Market". Rockbridge County News. 3 May 1934. p. 2. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via Virginia Chronicle | Library of Virginia.
  12. ^ a b Catalogue of the University of Virginia 1868-69. Baltimore: The Son Book and Job Printing Establishment. 1869. p. 15 – via Ancestry.
  13. ^ a b Catalogue of the University of Virginia 1867-1868. Wythville: D. A. St. Clair, Printer. 1868. p. 15 – via Ancestry.
  14. ^ a b "National Undergraduate Fraternity Holds Leadership Session At W&M". The Virginia Gazette. Williamsburg, Virginia. 1958-08-29. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Personal". The Charlotte Observer. 1878-09-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. Census Place: Orange Ward 2, Essex, New Jersey; NARA microfilm publication M593_861. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration., n.d. page: 332A. via Ancestry.
  17. ^ Richmond, Virginia, City Directory, 1871-72. Richmond: B. W. Gillis Publisher. 1871. p. 147 – via Ancestry.
  18. ^ Boyd's Directory of Richmond City, 1870. Richmond: Bates & Waddy Brothers,. 1870. p. 203 – via Ancestry.
  19. ^ a b Richmond City Directory, 1873-74. Richmond: B. W. Gillis Publisher, 1873. p. 129 – via Ancestry.
  20. ^ "Candles, Candles". Richmond Dispatch. 1873-03-13. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Dissollution & Partnerships". Richmond Dispatch. 1874-04-02. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ The Chataigne & Gillis Richmond City Directory, 1877 -1878. Richmond: Chataigne & Gillis, 1877. p. 238 – via Ancestry.
  23. ^ Virginia, Death Registers, 1882. p. 39. Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. via Ancestry
  24. ^ a b "Fraternity to Honor Founder". The Richmond News Leader. 1958-08-22. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-04-05 – via Newspapers.com.
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