Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William Scott was born in Warrenton, Fauquier County, Virginia. He began studying law at the age of eighteen and was admitted to the bar in Virginia. In the fall of 1826, he came to Missouri and settled in Howard County where he established his law practice. He was appointed Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court in 1835. In 1841, he became Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri when Judge McGirk resigned. Scott served in this capacity for about 18 years. His judicial opinions were numerous and covered almost every branch of the law, but the most significant was Dred Scott v. Emerson. The complicated case was heard in the fall of 1851, amid growing sectional tension to overturn all previous opinions that recognized the validity of slavery prohibitions. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's findings and ruled that Dred Scott and his family were legally slaves. The vote was split 2-1 and Scott delivered the majority opinion. The decision passed down by the Missouri Supreme Court challenged the legality of slavery. It widened the gap between the North and the South and was a precipitating factor in the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1862, a strongly pro-Union provisional government required all state officers to sign an oath swearing loyalty to the Union. All three justices, including Scott, refused to take the oath and retired from the bench. After a lengthy illness, he died on his farm near Elston at the age of 57, and was buried on a hilltop there. In time, the farm passed out of family hands. The cemetery was unfenced and livestock roamed freely. With the family's consent, the General Assembly of Missouri had his remains moved to Woodland-Old City Cemetery.