Part of the Indiana Biographies Project
Thomas A. Mott
The present superintendent of the public schools of Richmond, Professor Thomas Abbott Mott, is the son of Z. W. and Harriett (Gilbert) Mott, and was born in Gansvoort, Saratoga county, New York, January 22, 1857. On both the paternal and maternal sides he is of English lineage. His grandfather, William Mott, was a native and life-long resident of Saratoga county, where he engaged in farming. Like all of his ancestors, he was connected with the Society of Friends, or Quakers. He married a Miss Merritt and to them were born four children. His death occurred in 1894, when he had reached the age of ninety-four years. Z. W. Mott, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Saratoga county, New York, in 1818, and for many years engaged in farming and in the grocery business, devoting his energies to those two pursuits throughout his entire activity in connection with industrial and commercial interests. He is now living a retired life in Glens Falls, New York, enjoying a rest which he richly merits. He had been twice married, his first union being with Mary Leggett, by whom he had two children. After her death he wedded Harriett Gilbert, and they had two daughters and a son.
The only son, Thomas A. Mott, attended the public schools of the city which is now his home and was graduated in the high school with the class of 1876. During the years he was in the high school his father rented a farm near Richmond, and he walked into the city and attended school. His mother had been a teacher in her early life, and to her efforts in giving him instruction in the house while at work on the farm he owes much of his success in getting through school. Later he attended Oberlin College and subsequently was a student in Earlham College, which institution conferred upon him the degree of A. M. in June, 1898. Throughout his professional career he has been connected with educational interests and has gained marked prestige as a teacher of superior mental force and ability. He began teaching in 1878 and has since devoted his energies to that calling with the exception of one year, which he passed as a student in college. He has always kept in touch with educational advancement, and has given special attention to the improvement that is continually being made in methods of teaching. His own original ideas on the subject have also proved very valuable and have had the test of practical experience in schools of which he and of which others have had charge. For twenty years he has taught in the schools of Wayne county, and for one year was employed as superintendent of the schools of Madison, Indiana, occupying that position in the scholastic year of 1895-6. For four years he had charge of country schools, for four years of the graded schools of Wayne township, for four years was superintendent of the schools of Dublin, for two terms of two years each has been county superintendent, and in August, 1896, he came to Richmond as superintendent of the city schools. At all places his labors have greatly advanced the standard of the schools, his new and progressive methods working many needed reforms. He has a keenly analytical mind, is quick in comprehension, and is a good judge of human nature,—qualities which are very essential to the successful instructor. Under his superintendency the schools of Wayne county made marked progress and showed the efifect of his careful guidance. The educational system of Richmond is one of which the city may well be proud and most satisfactory results are being obtained under his practical and superior methods. At one time Professor Mott engaged in the study of law for two years under the direction of Judge Henry C. Fox, and was admitted to the bar in 1882, but his success in his chosen calling is such as to cause one to believe that he has remained in that sphere of life for which nature intended him; it is certain that the educational circles of Wayne county could ill spare him, and all acquainted with his work acknowledge his prestige in the profession.
In his political affiliations he is a Republican and takes an intelligent interest in the questions and issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, doing all in his power to promote its growth. Socially he is a Royal Arch Mason, and also belongs to Coeur de Lion Lodge, No. 8, K. P., and Olive Branch Lodge, I. O. O. F. On December 23, 1885, Professor Mott married Lida J. Iliff, a daughter of Rev. George W. Iliff, of Richmond, and, like her husband, she enjoys the high regard of many friends. Professor Mott and his wife occupy a prominent position in social circles, and along educational lines he has left the impress of his individuality upon the history of the state. For five years he was one of the managers of the State Reading Circle Board. His labors have done much to quicken literary interest and to promote intellectual activity, and the measure of his influence upon the best development of Wayne county is incalculable.
Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899