Thomas Scott, the commentator, was ordinated curate of this parish together with Weston Underwood in 1772.

He was born 4 February 1747, answering, since the change of style to 16 February 1747, at a small farmhouse at Bratoft, in Lincolnshire; about six miles from Skegness, His father was a grazier, whose circumstances were very narrow and who for many years struggled with urgent difficulties. He ultimately rose above them and lived in more comfortable circumstances. Thorns, the subject of this comment was the tenth of thirteen children.

After being taught to read fluently by his mother, he was sent to school at Burgh, two miles off, as a day scholar, where he learned the first elements of Latin. At the age of eight he was sent to Bennington, a village four miles north of Boston, where his father had a grazing farm, that he might attend a school there, kept by a clergyman. Here he remained two years, till the age of ten, when he was sent to Scorton, one hundred and fifty miles from Bratoft, for five years, where his deceased brother had been educated. His conduct, at this period was as immoral as want of money, pride, and fear of temporal consequences and a natural bashfulness, would allow it to be.

There was no fear of God before his eyes; no restraint from the from the thought of any relations watching over and approving his conduct; no want of most vile examples and prompters; and little fear of detection by the master. In one instance, however, this latter confidence failed him, and he was put to shame before the whole school for robbing an orchard.

On his return from Scorton in June, 1762, he spent his time in visiting his friends and relations up to September of that year, when he was apprenticed to a surgeon at Alford, about eight miles from Bratoft, in whose employ he so misconducted himself that his indentures were cancelled and he was sent home, where he had to do the most laborious and dirty work on the farm. In this occupation he had the society of people of the lowest station of life and with their low-lived riots he was often connected causing a further breach in his relations towards his father. He put up with this drudgery until April, 1772, when in some dispute at home, he hastily threw aside his shepherd’s frock and departed, vowing never again to resume such employment.

Wending his way to where his brother lived he called on the clergyman of the parish and expressed a wish to study for the ministry. This surprised the minister who had only known him as a shepherd, but on finding that he was well acquainted with Greek and Latin, promised him assistance, which led to his becoming ordained by the bishop of Lincoln on 20 September 1772, and gaining the curacy of Stoke Goldington and Weston Underwood, at an annual income of fifty pounds ,with some trifling additions.

At a christening party here, he became acquainted with a Miss Jane Kell, whom he married on 5th December 1774. Within a few months after his marriage, he was led unexpectedly by the Reverend Mr Chaplin, vicar of Ravenstone, to change his curacy for that place to which he went in 1775, and held the same for two years.

In the spring of 1777, he removed to “The Lodge”, Weston Underwood. And from here, dated 26 February 1779, we have the publication of his “Force of Truth”.

On the removal of John Newton to London, he proposed to Scott the idea of accepting the curacy of Olney, which was not entertained at the time by the latter.

The following events, which occurred between the time of the proposed removal to Olney being abandoned, and that of its being subsequently carried into effect, show Scott more as a physician than as a a divine.

Just before Newton left Olney, the small-pox made its appearance, and in a considerable measure through the intractable behaviour of the inhabitants, great mortality prevailed. Through negligence the disease was communicated to Ravenstone, and a poor woman discharging her duties as mid-wife became infected. After a short but painful illness, she died without any eruption appearing, and being assured by the apothecary, who attended, that it was not a case of smallpox. Scott preached a sermon to a large congregation, the corpse being in the church, during the service. Soon after, every person who had attended her, in her illness and who had not had smallpox, was taken ill with symptoms of that disease. Under these circumstances Scott not being satisfied with the local apothecaries, called in Dr Kerr, a surgeon in the army, and under him, he says,

“I was physician, apothecary, and almost a nurse, I inoculated none, but some inoculated their neighbours, and I subsequently directed their proceedings.

Soon after these events a circumstance took place at Stoke, with which I was in some measure concerned (though not then connected with the parish), and which appears to me to suggest an important caution. A baker allowed a poor man, his customer, with a large family, to run into his debt to the amount of ten pounds, and then arrested him for the money, foolishly supposing that the overseers would pay it, rather than suffer the man to be thrown into prison.

They, of course, disappointed his expectation: the debtor was sent to Aylesbury gaol, where the gaol fever then prevailed. He took that dire disease. His wife went to see and nurse him; he died; she returned home, sickened and died; the malady spreading in the village, sparing the children, but proving fatal to the parents.

The neighbouring apothecaries in vain attempted to stop its progress. I also ventured into the recesses of misery and infection, and in a few instances tried my medical skill, as well as gave spiritual counsel. But I soon found that the case baffled all my efforts.

I believe forty children had been bereft of one parent, and nearly twenty of both. I knew the overseer: I went to him, and remonstrated with him, on the grounds not only of mercy and humanity, but of policy; and succeeded in convincing him, that no medical expense which could be incurred was likely to burden the parish a tenth part so much, as this fatal progress of the disease was doing.

I prevailed with him therefore to send immediately for Dr Kerr, who came and spent nearly a whole day in the service; and he laid down such rules for the management of the patients, that not one afterwards died, the disease was speedily extirpated.”

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At the time of his removal to Olney in 1711, it was a much divided place; the people were full of religious notions and it was therefore not a very unwilling scene for his ministerial services. After four years at Olney he was appointed as chaplain of Lock Hospital, at an annual salary of eighty pounds, during which time he resided for twelve months at number 16, Hamilton Street, Piccadilly, since transformed into Hamilton Place; and then at number 2, Chapel Street, Upper Grosvenor Place.

It was during the time he occupied this position that it was proposed to him to write the “Commentary”. His embarrassments and losses upon its publication caused him considerable anxiety, and although during his lifetime one hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred pounds, had been expended on the purchase of the English and American editions, the author had received nothing as a reward for all his labour,

On July 22, 1801, he was instituted at Buckden to the living at Aston, where he erected a parsonage house, there hot being a suitable one, to which he removed in the spring of 1803. At Aston he became the successful tutor to several who were preparing under the Church Missionary Society to go out as missionaries. This service he continued about the space of seven years, 1807-14. Those who came under his instruction in this capacity were several of them Englishmen, who received ordination; but the majority, Germans, in general Lutheran clergymen. The sentiments of grateful and affectionate veneration which they without exception, conceived for their instructor were publicly testified by them, as they took leave of the society to repair to the stations assigned to them. The progress which they made in their studies was highly creditable, in some instances remarkable. The commencement of the year 1818 introduces us to what was the principle employment of his remaining day, the preparation of a new edition of the Bible. After eighteen years of hard and prosperous ministerial work at Aston, he died on Monday the 16 April 1821.