 John Scott was the son of William Scott (d.1434) and Isabel Finch (died c.1457), youngest daughter of Vincent Finch, or Herbert, of Netherfield, Sussex.Following his father's death, his mother Isabel married Sir Gervase Clifton as his first wife.He had a younger brother, William Scott (1428?–1491), who married a wife named Margery, by whom he had six sons and two daughters, and was founder of the Essex branch of the Scott family.