October 25 (27?) 1835
Birthplace: Cambridge, Middlesex, MA, USA [alternatively, Boston MA] as per grave stone]
Death: Died November 19, 1862 in Chennai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Cause of death: drowned in the Vaigai River
Immediate Family:
Son of Charles Scudder and Sarah Lathrop Coit
Husband of Harriet Louisa Dutton
Father of Vida Dutton Scudder; David Coit Scudder; Charles Scudder; Eleazer Scudder and Ebenezer Scudder. [Since most reference sources say Vida Scudder is his only child, it is not clear what happened to the other children.]

Brother of Samuel Hubbard Scudder and Horace Elisha Scudder
Half brother of Charles William Scudder; Marshall Sears Scudder and Evarts Scudder

David Coit Scudder Born on 27 October 1835 at Boston, Mass., the son of Charles and Sarah Lathrop (Coit) Scudder. He is not descended from John Scudder, but rather from a Scudder of the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Harriet Dutton. Their children were David C. Scudder, Charles Scudder, David Scudder, Eleazer Scudder and Ebenezer Scudder.
He was an American missionary influenced in boyhood to go to India by the work of Rev. Dr. John Scudder, Sr.{no relation] Scudder arrived at Madras on June 26, 1861. He was in charge of the large station of Periyakulam. He was admired by the Christians of the large village congregations of that station. An enthusiastic young American, his emotions overcame him when he arrived in Kodaikanal in 1862, as he recalled:
"I . . . seized our United States flag, shouted out 'Long may it wave!' . . . at the English collector . . . and did other uncouth things"
David Scudder drowned n the Vaigai River 19 November 1862 between Andipatti & Periyakulam, 20 months after arriving in Tamil Nadu. Interment was in the old Anglican Churchyard, at Kodikanal. The inscription on his headstone reads:
"D.C.S. Missionary of the A.B.C.F.M. In Southern India. Born in Boston, U.S.A. Oct. 27, 1835 Landed at Madras June 26, 1861 Drowned in the Vaigai River Nov. 19, 1862"

A little book, much worn and old, bearing the title: Letters to Sabbath School Children, by Rev. J. Scudder, M.D., Missionary at Madras, with:
"Master David Scudder, from his affectionate friend, J. Scudder, New York, August 8, 1843", written broadly across the fly leaf, was found in his library.
The Clancy and Scudder Scholarship founded with a legacy of $300, bequeathed by Mrs. Taylor of New York State to Mrs. Washburn, and transferred by Mrs. Washburn to the Pasumalai Institution. In January 1885 the Mission accepted it as the Clancy Scholarship. But it was not put on deposit until June of that year, when an additional sum of $400 in commemoration of David Coit Scudder from David's brother Horace E. Scudder was added to it. The two donations were deposited together as the "Clancy and Scudder Scholarship". It amounted to Rs. 1,500, and continued until 1906.

See: Life and Letters of David Coit Scudder: Missionary in Southern India, ed. Horace Elisha Scudder; Kennedy Dane (1996) The Magic Mountains: Hill Stations and the British Raj, University of California Press.

Note: A FAG memorial has been created for Mr Scudder in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge MA. If it is intended to document a physical presence in the cemetery, that representation would be a cenotaph.

Thanks to Julian P. Donahue [49949452] for help with this memorial.