Willem Bartholomeu Zcott

   Willem Bartholomeu Zcott was born to Czeckloslovokian immigrants hiding out in present-day Budapest during the Czech inquisition of 1830.  Willem's father, Bartholomeu Luchien Zcott, worked in the Eidzelfaf Shoe Factory from the time he was eleven, until the age of 19, when he met Willem's mother, Helena Theretse Bulgarri.  Helena also worked at the Eidzelfaf Shoe Factory, where she mastered the art of leather tanning. Helena was paid 4 cents per hour, while Bartholomeu earned 7 cents per hour. Although Bartholomeu was paid more, his job was very dangerous.  He worked on the eyelet molding turnpress, where molten hot iron was injected into an ice water turbine, producing hollow tubes of iron.  These tubes were then cut to make eyelets for the shoes. Many workers lost teeth, fingers, eyes - and even arms - as the turnpress had no safety controls.
      In 1842, Bartholomeu moved his family of three to the United States, in search of better jobs and the opportunity of free enterprise.  In New York City, the immigration officers changed their last name Zcott to Scott and changed the spelling of young Willem to William. Helena and Bartholomeu were allowed to keep their names.


Eidzelfaf Shoe Factory
    In 1848, on William's 18th birthday, he purchased his first property.  It was a small tenement house in the poorest section of New York City, rented to unwed mothers. Rent for the mothers was $1 per month, and included food for the mothers and their babies.  Each tenant was assigned chores for the house.  Some chopped firewood for the cast iron cooking stove, others loaded coal through the basement coal chute. Willem and his parents lived in the attic of the tenement house, where it was very cold during the long Eastern winters.  The attic was not insulated,and the old wooden shingles let snow drift inside.  Many a morning was spent sweeping the snow from their bed covers.
The original Scott tenement house before demolition in 1906
      The Scott family was founded on waste-not want-not, and their frugality soon paid off.  In 1850, William leveraged the tenement house,by convincing a banker to buy the house and then immediately re-sell the house back to him at a price higher than he originally paid. This unheardof practice (which we now call home equity loans), allowed William to buy his first housing  project - with no money down.
    Within 10 years, William Scott Properties had amassed over 22,000 apartment units in New York State. In 1871, the Scotts moved their family westward, in search of better living conditions, and settled in Aztalan Valley, on the shores of Moon Lake - which is now called Lake Monona - in Madison, WI.  The Lakefront property that was their home, now houses the Frank Lloyd Wright Convention Center.
 
Frank Lloyd Wright Convention Center
    William Scott Jr. still manages his father's properties here in Madison.  Bill Jr. is aging though, and is looking to retire in the next few years.  Bill Jr.'s son, Guy, will most likely continue to run the family business, along with his trusty "Girl Friday" Kari.