David Neal Scrimgeour was born in 1844 in Perthshire, Scotland. He was the son of Alexander Scrimgeour and Janet Robertson. Alexander emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1848 when David was four and settled his family in Stratford. Alexander Scrimgeour was enumerated in the 1851 census as a carpenter. His family consisted of his wife, Janet and six children including ten year old David.

As a young man, David spent eight years in California and British Columbia. He returned to Stratford in 1869 and joined his older brother, Alex, to form Scrimgeour Brothers Avon Planing Mill located on the south side of Mill Street (Douglas Street). According to the city directory they were manufacturers of doors, sashes, blinds, mouldings, scroll sawing and turnings. They also were contractors and builders who constructed a large number of businesses and houses in Stratford. By 1888 the brothers were also engaged in making furniture.

In 1875 David married Sarah Robertson of Toronto. She was the daughter of Dr. Thomas and Mary Robertson. Sarah and David would become the parents of six children. Unfortunately their oldest son, George, died in 1882 at the age of seven.

David Scrimgeour spent many years of public service as well as being a successful businessman. He was a School Trustee and a councilor for many years before becoming mayor in 1881 following the death of Mayor Robb. In 1882 he was elected to the mayor's chair. He was later appointed city tax collector and served in that capacity until his death in 1906. His daughter, Olive, was his bookkeeper in the tax collector's office.

David Scrimgeour and his wife, Sarah, who died in 1932, are buried in Stratford's Avondale Cemetery.