Wordless Wednesday...My Eclipsed Epistle Letter

Written as just a letter.

 Read as just a letter.

Eclipse Filed as just a letter.

Fifty years later...My Eclipsed Epistle Letter.

~Epistle is a poetic form that is written like a letter~

Tombstone Tuesday...Who Was Inez?

A friend to the friendless

A helper to the helpless

In her Mercy

and truth met together

 

Here lies Inez, considered a young woman by the age standards of 1901, dead at age 17, and yet she fulfilled her epitaph as a friend to the friendless and a helper to the helpless.  I get that....it's the rest of the inscription that intrigues me.

 

Inez was laid to rest in what is now a Texas Historical Landmark Cemetery, but at the time of her death had been the burial site for soldiers protecting the San Antonio to San Diego mail line.  These Troops also protected the Texas frontier from Indian raids into Mexico on the infamous Comanche trail. 

 

Soldiers and their dependents interred at the Old Fort Cemetery were moved to the San Antonio National Cemetery when the fort closed in 1886.   Local citizens continued to use the cemetery after it was abandoned by the military, and that is how it came to be the final resting place for Inez and several infamous characters from the frontier town of Fort Stockton, Texas.

 

As a former resident of this West Texas town, and a member of the Historical Society, I photographed most of the headstones years ago.  It is only in the last year that my Ancestor Research has brought me back to Fort Stockton and the connections it's residents had with my pioneer ancestors.  Such is the case of Inez (surnames omitted for privacy of descendants). 

Not only was Inez's headstone in itself of photographic and historical interest, but the inscription was intriguing.  So began my quest for 'Who was Inez' and what was  the meaning of 'her Mercy and truth met together'.

Inez was born June 12, 1883 in Illinois to Homer and Josephine...the first born of their five children.  The family first appears in Texas records with the death of Josephine in 1897 in San Antonio.  Inez was fourteen and her youngest sibling was two.  In June 1900, Inez was a 17 year old school girl living with her widowed father and four younger siblings in Fort Stockton, Texas, according to the US 1900 Census.  Perhaps the most interesting information from that census was the occupation of Inez's father.  Homer was a physician. 

Inez's epitaph becomes more clear as a 'Friend to the friendless and a Helper to the helpless'.  As the daughter of a doctor and oldest of four younger siblings, her opportunities for this admirable characteristic were many.  With her death on February 22, 1901, four months before her 18th birthday, her physician father not only lost his oldest child, but likely his helper in the care of the helpless.  Later that year in October, Homer married a widow with six children.  In 1907, six years after his first daughter's death, Homer's last daughter was born.

Homer and his family were citizens of Fort Stockton until around 1920 when they were found on neighboring Upton County Census.  Between 1900 and 1920 when Homer was the doctor in Fort Stockton is when the connection can be made with my Step-Great Grandmother Annie who suffered from a heart condition.  Inez's father, the only doctor within miles of my Great Grandfather's farm, was in all likelihood Annie's doctor.  The documentation of her visits to the doctor in Fort Stockton are well established.  She died in Fort Stockton while there to see her doctor...surely it was Inez's father.

 In her Mercy

________ and truth met together.

I wonder...is Inez's nonsensical inscription missing a word

or is it a riddle left unanswered by her grieving

Merciful Doctor Father? 

Friday Faces...Journal Writer and List Maker

November 11, 1877
Today began with lots of clouds and cool breezes.  The camp is quiet with most of the men on the trail.  Word came this morning of a raiding party within a days ride.

The sun has now burned away the cool.  A herd of ten to twelve deer wandered across the parade ground.

Mrs. Jones has come to call.  She says the Sgt. Majors wife had a son last week.

Game will be plentiful this winter.  So dreary and wet.  Puddles of mud dot the parade grounds.  Another day we must stay inside.

The men have had luck, plenty of wild game.  Randal is away also ~ something about the Indian problem at Palo Duro.  Such horrible conditions for travel.

Mail arrived but no word from home.

The Journals and letters written by frontier women who accompanied their husbands, fathers and brothers to the out posts and forts of the Western Frontier allows us a glimpse of everyday life from a woman's perspective with tidbits of information not found in 'Officers Reports'.  The writer of this Journal is believed to be the sister of the Commanding Officer of Fort Richardson, Jacksboro, Texas. 

Fort Richardson is today, a Texas State Park and Historical Museum where the 'Journal Writer's' writing box, ink bottle and writing desk is on display.  Beside the journal pages is a list of names that appears to be an invitation list.  I'll let the 'List Maker' and Hostess of the event fill you in...here's your invitation.

Musical Friday

The Commander of Fort Richardson

Cordially invites you and yours

to an evening of

Music and Socializing

on the Veranda of

The Commander's Quarters.

Music by

Troubadour Troops Band

Refreshments by

Officer's Wives.

 

The history of Jacksboro and Fort Richardson interests me because it was where my 3XGreat Grandfather J.M. Leatherwood settled after serving in Texas Confederate Civil War.  It is where my 2XGreat Grandmother Josephine was raised and her daughter, my Great Grandmother Martha Jane Marley Carroll was born and raised.  All lived within a few miles of Fort Richardson at the time this Journal Entry was written...Martha Jane was an infant.   A 'Time Travel' experience...neat, huh?
~Portrait photo from CITexasGal Collection of Vintage Photos (Unknown Woman...a representative of the period).  All photos by CITexas Gal.

Wordless Wednesday...Vintage Victorian~Ribbon and Roses

From my Collections of

Vintage Victorian Crochet and Grandmother's Rose Bushes

Oil Boom Back...21st Century Style

Oil and Gas Industry in Pecos County

Located in the Petroleum rich Permian Basin, Pecos is one of the most prolific Oil and Gas Producing Counties in Texas.  The petroleum business here began about 1900 with the drilling of the Turney Well near an ancient 'seep', a traditional local source of oil for lubricating and medicinal purposes.

 

A short lived BOOM in 1921 caused by the discovery of the 'Miracle Well' heralded the arrival of the fabulous Yates Oil Field 1926, indicating the area's great potential oil wealth.  Since that year over 710 million barrels of oil have been produced from the Yates, Fort Stockton and other county fields.

 

The presence of Natural Gas, known for years, was slow to be exploited because gas was considered an undesirable By-Product of the oil business.  The first commercial use of gas here was inspired after it was found by workers drilling a water well, in 1925.  The discovery, about 1948, of Santa Rosa Field spurred exploration that brought in the Puckett Field in 1952.  Subsequent deep drilling tapped many extensive pools, including in 1963 the prolific Gomez Field, which had produced over 478 billion cubic feet of gas as of 1970.  Today petroleum is the single most important economic asset of Pecos County.  Texas Historical Marker 1973

 

Yes, the Oil Boom is Back in West Texas and in my home towns.  It's come a long way since the discovery of that 'undesirable by product' back in 1926.  In the last 87 years technology and the demand of oil and gas world wide has brought the OIL BOOM back to Texas...Twenty-first Century Style with...

  Clipboards and Walkie Talkies to Laptops and Cell phones. 

Tent Towns to Trailer Towns

They say it's 'Here to Stay'... for how long 'They Cannot Say'!

Ah, History....you will 'Repeat One Day'...with

BOOM to BUST!

Linking To:

Smiling Sally's Blue Monday

Hawaii Cardstock Sticker Shocker

Aloha from Hawaii...that's me sitting on the beach and posing in my floppy brimmed hat.

Over on the right is Hi Honey...husband...standing knee deep in the calm surf of

Oahu with Diamond Head in the background.

The International Market Place was one of the places we visited when we were in Hawaii....

Forty-five years ago in 1970!

 

I wonder if things in Hawaii have changed as much as we have in the last forty-five years?   I suspect so!  I know for sure if we were there today, we would both have to get new swim suits.  Gone are the days of my being seen in public in a two piece bathing suit, and HiHoney...well, he might need a size or two larger.

I'd love to go again, and there's a chance that might happen since a nephew recently moved there.  But in the meantime, I'm having a great time Scrapbooking our Military RandR vacation from March 1970.

It's another section of our 'Two Year Hitch in the Army' Scrapbook, and RandR was about the ONLY perk for serving a year out of country.  The 'Perk' for waiting all these years to put together this Scrapbook is the fantastic Scrapbooking Materials available now...like the 'Cardstock Sticker' sheet with Hawaii stickers.  Back in the Day...1970...there were no cool stickers, no decorative papers, and no Acid Free adhesives.  Today all of those materials are Acid Free.  What a difference that will make years from now.  I will never have to Re-Do this 'Memory Book' due to yellowed paper, dried out scotch tape and falling apart albums.

The variety of Stickers, Papers and Albums is endless. 

There are stickers for every occasion, event and activity you can imagine. 

The colors, patterns and themes of paper packs cover everything from

Christmas to Camouflage.

I've been a Scrapbooker most of my life, and I'm here to tell you

NOW is the BEST TIME of All.

Did I mention People Places and Things Stickers?

Just look at how the 'Cardstock Stickers' for Washington DC dressed up

Our Capitol Visit at Cherry Blossom Time in April 1969.
 

Sticker Tip from Your Own Photos

Select a photo from your collection...Take it into your Photo Printing Program.

Enhance the color...Size to sticker size desired.

Select a photo size from your Photo Printing Program.

Options for numbers of copies...most will allow for one or a page full.

Print on White Bristol/Cardstock Paper.

Cut out with Xacto Knife or Precision Paper Scissors...Adhere with Acid Free Craft Glue Stick.

Linking To:

Beverly's How Sweet The Sound's Pink Saturday

and

Claudia's Mockingbird Hill's A Favorite Thing

MEN WALK ON MOON...In My Scrapbook

For once in my life, YEARS of procrastination has been a 'Good Thing'. It has been 44 years of putting off until tomorrow what I could have done 'Back In The Days of 1969'.  It has been 44 years of collecting, sorting, storing and memory banking the events of our lives from September 1968 through September 1970.

Usually, procrastination is not a word I'm familiar with or embrace as a 'Good Thing', but in the case of putting together this scrapbook of our two year 'Hitch in Uncle Sam's Army', waiting has been a good thing in many ways.

As in most trying times of one's life, there are good times and bad times.  In the last 44 years time has helped to heal the wounds of the bad times, and time has been on our side in being able to remember, appreciate and embrace those years as a time of making us who we are today.

Now is the time for all this good men woman to come to the aid of their country  her 'Memory Bank'...and 'Do This'!  And what fun it is to do this now when Scrapbooking is a commercial art form and so much information, pictures and more documented and saved memorabilia than one could collect in another 44 years is a 'Google Click Away'.

Here's our Men On The Moon Memories:

Men Walk On The Moon July 20, 1969

The United States Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the moon, and as the owners of the only color TV in the apartment complex, we had a room full of Army friends packed in our apartment to watch the historic landing.

 

Every evening we watched the NASA simulations of the journey to the moon and listened to the conversations between the astronauts and NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas. 

 

We held our breath as we watched the live feed from the Lunar cameras as the Eagle Lunar Module touched down on the surface of the moon.

 

Everyone in our small apartment could hardly believe it was REAL and hearing Neil Armstrong say, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" was an incredible moment in history to have witnessed. 

 

When the American Flag was planted on the moon, everyone of our Soldier husbands and Army wives stood and saluted, placed our right hands over our hearts and said the 'Pledge of Allegiance'. 

On this Day in History...July 17, 1969...Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins

were in the second day of the historic 'Flight To The Moon'.

On this Day July 17, 2013...44 years later...I remember it like it was yesterday!

Thanks for the Memories

Astronauts, NASA and Walter Cronkite! 



PS...Scrapbooking Materials of 2013 sure make for special presentations with decorative papers, stickers, glue sticks, albums and more. The thing I appreciate most is the acid free quality that preserves these 44 year old photos for generations to come. Afterall, there will NEVER be another First Time For Men to Walk On the MOON.

 

Please come back soon for 'Our Capital Visit at Cherry Blossom Time' in 1969.  More 2013 Scrapbooking hints and tips then.

Miss Lucy's Name Change To Mrs. Lucy Soandso

When you are deep into discovering your 'Family History', female 'Given' (first) names become a solid clue to tracing Great Grandmothers, Aunts, and Cousins no matter how far they branch off of your Direct Line.  It may take awhile to get them sorted out and straight not only in your Tree, but in your head as well.  Why?

Because female's change their Surname (last name).  As soon as females become Mrs. Soandso, it seems they drop off the face of the earth or in this case fall out of the Family Tree.  Of course they haven't, but finding them can become a real challenge and often creates a 'Brick Wall' that can remain standing for generations.

So it was with the Miss Lucy's in my family tree until I found the first Miss Lucy.  There she was, a young girl living in a wigwam on the Susquehannah River among the Mohawks.  Her father, a frontier Baptist Missionary was intent on converting the heathens to Christianity back in Colonial America in the 1760's.  You can read about my 4xGreat Grandmother Lucy's Mohawk experience in Making Tracks Out of Virginia.

After Lucy the First, the rest of the Lucy's fell right in line with Fifteen of her descendants named Lucy, and everyone of them became a Mrs. Lucy Soandso, and the search began all over again.  I must say however, none of the descendant Lucy's have had as exciting a story to tell as Lucy The First.  The descendant Lucy's are found in Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors and lived during the Colonial and Revolutionary War period through the Civil War and Reconstruction of the South.

Next on the list of Lucy stories to tell is Lucy Eunice Pittman who's Mrs. Soandso name turns out to be Jenkins.  Mr. Soandso Jenkins, it seems, was pretty much of a Soandso and finds out that Pittman women named Lucy have an inherited sense of Mohawk Missionary Justice.  Poor ol Mr. Soandso Jenkins, he was scalped, striped naked and declared dead....all the while living in a stupor right next door to Mrs. Lucy, the Great Grandaughter of Wigwam Lucy.

Just goes to show how Sweet Georgia Gals in Blue Bonnets 

truly do have GRIT and are not known as

GRITS...Girls Raised In The South...for nothin'.

Linking To

Smiling Sally's Blue Monday.

Is It Randomness or Purposefulness?

Join me in a post of randomness.  I seldom do this as it goes against my OOPS...Over Organizer Personality Sensibility.  See, I can't even begin this randomness without getting it organized, named and established as a 'Real Thingy'.  Okay...I'm done with that...for now. 

I shot this photo a month or so ago.  I was so taken with the mixture of plants I don't think I even noticed the numbers until the group of pictures were downloaded.  So here's my first reaction to Randomness....random mixture of plants.  It does appear that a big pot was randomly filled with a random mix of plants with no thought to color, textures size etc. etc. and the numbers stake haphazardly stuck in the mix because....well, just because.  Can I accept that?  Usually not, but for now I won't OOPS it to death.  I will say, however, that it is a nice group of pleasing textures, good color selections and that 'Numbers Stake' is pitched at the perfect angle for a OOPS persons photo shot!  I'm really proud of myself for being able to not OOPS it to death....yes, I could have said more.

Then there's 'The Big Picture'!!!!

Surely, I noticed the numbers when I backed off the ZoomZoomZoom!

But maybe not, since I was being rushed a bit to get out of the heat and inside the shop where so much more 'Randomness' awaited for this OOPS person to make sense of. 

 

Have you ever been challenged to make sense out of what appears to be thrown together, stacked in disarray, sorted, stored and stuffed with random abandonment in places that don't jive?   It was a nightmare and a dream come true all put together by someone you would think didn't have a clue about the Rules of Composition and absolutely no Sense of Purpose! 

Junkology....a shop of Purposeful Randomness!

 

Look!!! I think they are Kinfolk!

I've spent so much time researching and writing about my Georgia Ancestors these days, that I am constantly looking for and photographing 'Scenes and Memorabilia' that relate to their places and time in history.  This handsome couple will most likely appear as relatives on Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors sometime soon...but not with 'Random' abandonment!

It has been and continues to be an exercise that fits my Over Organized Personality perfectly!

Here are the Links to the latest posts about my

3x Great Uncles....Sons of John Ichabod and Lucy Eunice.

Eight Is Enough...Second Son's Testament to The Scriptures

John...Son of John, Grandson of John, and On and On John's

The Missing Life of Jeptha

Jefferson~Born In Time of Peace~Died In Time of War

 

PS...I think Over Organized Personality Sensibility  is inherited....all those Johns, all those Baptist, and all those kids.

PPS....Junkology is a shop in New Braunfels, Texas.  Don't miss it if you are ever there and need a HUGE FIX of Random Purposefulness!!!

Baby's Pink and Blue...It's A Test of Time

Blue for Boys and Pink for Girls!

It's the rule...and one that for me at least, was accepted without question through my only blue eyed baby boy through my fourth and final blue eyed grandson....UNTIL!!!

Before I get to the 'Until', let's look at when, how and why most of us are 'Dyed In Time' pink and blue rule followers.  A bit of research revealed:

For centuries, ALL children wore practical white dresses, which made for easy change of nappy's (cloth diapers).  Pastel baby clothes were introduced in the mid-19th century, but were loosely gender specific.  For instance this from  a Ladies Home Journal in June 1918..."the generally accepted rule is pink for boys and blue for girls.  The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." 

So there ya go...just the opposite of our thinking today.  So what happened? 

Baby Boomers and Women's Lib...that's what!!!  In the 1940's baby clothes manufactures made the decision for everyone and declared Blue for Boys and Pink for Girls.  So much for the 'Strong and Delicate Theory'.  The next Trend we can thank the Women's Liberation movement for...The Unisex Trend of the 1960's and 70's. 

You should know that as a 1960's and 70's Texas Mama there was no way my blue-eyed baby boy was allowed to wear pink by his Cowboy Granddaddy and his Football Father who had definite ideas about that Baby Boy's sex...and there was no Uni about it!  I 'Sew' wanted to make Pink Stuff, and finally did with the birth of a granddaughter.

~And now for the UNTIL Reveal~

Tough Enough To Wear PINK!!!!

Oh...BTW, one of his Sponsors?  A Baby Clothing Shop!

 

4xGreat Grandmother Lucy birthed EIGHT Boys and ONE Girl.

I bet they ALL wore White Dresses and Cloth Nappy's!

 

New on Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors

 

Eight Is Enough...Second Son's Testament to the Scriptures

 

Linking To

Smiling Sally's Blue Monday

Is It String Theory or Just Junk In Jars?

It has only been in the last few years I have learned about 'String Theory'...at least on a scientific physics kind of level.

Before I go any further with this string line of thought, I'm saying right here from the get go that...

...this theoretical framework in which the particle points made are purely hypothetical by any standard mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces for a 'Theory of Everything', and  as a spatial dimensional being with a quantum cerebral cortex, I disavow any responsibility for what any reader (Big Bang Theorist or Not) may or may not conclude.  Whew!

As you may have guessed, this 'String Theory' post has been inspired by someone's ingenious semi-vacuum sealed storage of string balls.  Discovered in a shop that defies all the laws of physics and gives new meaning to Recycle and Trash to Treasures, this collection of 'Junk in Jars'  confirmed the theoretical quote....'Great minds think alike'....BANG!!!  Yep, I've been storing 'Junk in Jars' for years!

Is it String Theory or Just Junk In Jars?

What say you?



Time for 'The Next Generation'

The 4th of July has come and gone with it's 'All American' traditions of hot dogs, *iffy potato salad,

 fireworks and sharing a special 'Moment In Time' with the next generations. 

 

 This year I have a renewed appreciation for the significance of the 4th of July's 'Let Freedom Ring' with the time I've spent researching and writing about my Colonial Ancestors.  It has been an amazing journey from the Colonies of Virginia through the backwoods of South Carolina, down the Ohio River, across the Kentucky frontier and finally to settlement in Georgia.  Thanks to my Fifth Great Grandparents and their children, our family is deeply rooted in the establishment of the Southern Baptist Faith, the fight for Independence in the Revolutionary War, and the perpetuation of the great American Pioneer Spirit.

 

Now, it is time to move on to the 'Second Generation' in Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors.

John Ichabod Pittman as son of the First Generation of Pittmans in America has been established in that periods history and referenced numerous times.  His early years are as described in the previous accounts of his brothers Buckner and James Greene.  Their migration from Virginia through South Carolina and settlement in Georgia are documented in the earlier writings of the Pittman Colonials.  Although, John Ichabod was born and raised in the Colonial Period, as our Direct Descendant, he will stand as the first of 'The Second Generation of Georgia Pittman's.

 

Lucy Eunice Marshall's early years have also been written about and closely connected with the Pittman Family as a result of religious ties between her father, Reverend Daniel Marshall and John I. Pittman Sr., father of John Ichabod.  Their association and lifelong friendship have been written about in length in this account of Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors.

 

With that said and their background firmly established in the Colonial Period,  we will begin

'The Second Generation' of Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors with

John Ichabod Pittman ~ Private Continental Army

Second Georgia Battalion

Fourth Great Grandfather A Continental Freedom Fighter

*My favorite July 4th Quote..."You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You many think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."  Erma Bombeck

Photo...The Second Generation...My son and grandson-July 4, 2013

My Name Is America

What's in a name? Everything! The power of a name and its value has long been immortalized in prose, poetry, and religious ceremony. Everyone recognizes himself or herself by name.

What's in the name America?
~The first name of America gives one an eagerness for knowledge and an intense desire to do something worthwhile in life.
~A person named America longs for freedom from restrictions and for outlets from restlessness, and does not tolerate drudgery and monotony.
~America, it isn't easy for you to take advice, therefore, you tend to work independently.
~You suffer inner turmoil especially when you feel misunderstood, and being sensitive, you are easily hurt and offended.
~Many people do not realize that you have a depth to your nature resulting from having thought a lot about life in many facets.

America's in my Georgia Family Tree



America Taylor Pittman

Nov. 16, 1805 - Aug. 24, 1872

daughter of

James Greene and Martha Patsy Taylor Pittman

wife of

Benjamin Woods Cash

mother of

Marion Linton, Ethelred Green, Julianne, Noah Bee and Martha America Cash

America Harden Pittman

1820 ~ 1870

daughter of

Jefferson and Rachel Harden Pittman

wife of

Jackson Boyd Sloan

mother of

 Florence, Robert, Mary Jane, Jackson Boyd,  and Jabez Henry Sloan

Martha America Pittman

Feb. 22, 1836 ~ March 19, 1898

daughter of

Pleasant Owen and Susannah Benton Pittman

wife of

Cephus W. Matthews

mother of

Effie, Charles, Noah, Mary Lou, Milton, and Edith Matthews

Martha America Cash

April 16, 1839 ~ July 1904

daughter of

Benjamin Woods and America Taylor Pittman Cash

As was the custom and tradition in the early 1800's, children were named after close relatives.  Such was the case with three of these America's.  America Taylor was the first to bear a name that reflected her father's service in the Revolutionary War, his love of country and dedication as a Georgia statesman.  America Harden and Martha America Pittman were named after their Aunt America Taylor, and Martha America Cash after her mother, the first America.

 

As most 'Trend/Fad' names do, the name 'America' in the Pittman Family Tree ended with Martha America Cash...so far in the research. However, the pride and patriotism of our early ancestors in 'America' has not waivered.

 Our love of Country and Flag is still a tradition as seen in the 'Sleeping Baby on Stars and Stripes' photo.

That sleeping baby, a descendant of the first America, is today a Pittman American Beauty from Texas.


"The dons, the bashaws, the grandees, the patricians, the sachems, the nabobs, call them by what names you please, sigh and groan and fret, and sometimes stamp and foam and curse, but all in vain.

The decree is gone forth, and it cannot be recalled, that a more equal liberty than has prevailed in other parts of the earth must be established in America."  John Adams

Letter to Patrick Henry, June 3, 1776

Tombstone Tuesday...Revolutionary Soliders Monument

Erected A.D. 1967

In Loving Memory of

Soldiers of the Revolutionary War

John Pittman 4th Art. ACG. S.C.

SONS

Bunckner - VA. Troops

John Jr. 2nd Bat.

James - Lt. GA.

Phillip & Timothy

*****

WAR of 1812

John Green Pittman

Maj. 53rd Bat. GA. Militia

*****

Sarah Christian Pittman

James Gresham Maddox

Guard Andersonville Prison CFA

*****

Chas. Wm. Gresham Maddox

Clara Melissa Stark

by Maddox Descendants

 

 

Bronze Marker of the United States Daughters of the War of 1812

Secured through the efforts of great-granddaughters of James Greene Pittman.

Honoring John Pittman and Sons - Revolutionary War

James Greene Pittman - War of 1812

Erected in the Pittman Cemetery ~ Madison County Georgia

John Pittman - 5th Great Grandfather

John Ichabod Pittman -4th Great Grandfather

James Greene, Buckner, Phillip and Timothy Pittman - 4th Great Uncles

John Green Pittman - 1st Cousin 5xRemoved
 

"We have therefore to resolve to conquer or to die. Our own, our country's honor, calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion; and if we now shameful fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us then rely on the goodness of our cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions. The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the tyranny mediated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a freeman contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth."

George Washington - General Orders, July 2, 1776

Fourth Great Grandfather A Continental Freedom Fighter

Headquarters, Savannah, Georgia 19th August, 1778
The first Battalion is ordered to march to the western frontiers, as soon as possible; those in Savannah must be sent to Augusta immediately, and Lt. Colonel Harris will give the necessary directions for having the remainder who are to the southward marched after them. As the laws of self preservation will justify the measures, such of that battalion who are prisoners of war are ordered to be armed, for the purpose of securing helpless and innocent women and children from the scalping knife of the bloody allies of the British King.
By order of Commander Colonel Samuel Elbert
2nd Georgia Battalion, Continental Army

From: The Collections of the Georgia Historical Society Vol. V. part 2 Order Book of Samuel Elbert, Colonel and Brigadier General in the Continental Army, Oct. 1776 to Nov. 1778

The order given by Brigadier General Elbert for the 2nd Georgia Battalion to be sent to Augusta immediately, set into motion Private John Ichabod Pittman's march into battle against the British King and his bloody allies.   As a soldier under the command of Colonel Elbert and Captain George Hancock, it is probable he saw action at The Battle of  Kettle Creek, a major encounter in the back country of Georgia, near what would become the Pittman Plantation in Wilkes County.  That February 14th of 1779, the Continentals decisively defeated and scattered a Loyalist force that was on it's way to British-controlled Augusta. 

The 2nd Georgia Battalion under Col. Elbert met the British again in the Battle of Brier Creek.  On the afternoon of March 3, 1779, the Continental Army camp was warned of the approaching British, and hurriedly deployed about 900 troops with a short supply of ammunition and varying muskets.  They finally arrived at Brier Creek and positioned their troops in the center formation with a North Carolina regiment to their right and a large gap and the river on the left.  The British engaged with long range artillery forcing the Americans to split ranks and advance into the British Calvary and foot soldiers armed with bayonets.  Outnumbered and armed with only muskets, the Patriot Militia broke and ran without firing a shot.  The North Carolina regiment fired a few shots and then abandoned the fight.  Col. Elbert's 2nd Georgia Battalion held formation in the center while the militia around them fled for the swamps, and were eventually surrounded, forcing Elbert to surrender.  Two hundred of his re-enforcement troops arrived too late, and withdrew before getting caught in the surrender.

In the aftermath, the British counted five dead and eleven wounded.  The devastation of the Americans was never fully tallied, as many militiamen retreated all the way back to North Carolina, and an unknown number drowned in the swamps.  The British claimed that 150 American bodies were found on the battlefield, and 227 captives were taken, mostly from Colonel Elbert's Continentals.

Several months after the Battle of Brier Creek, Private John Ichabod Pittman's name was among the names on the 'Casualty List' in Augusta.  The extent of his injuries is not known, but he survived and  was among the Pittman Revolutionary Soldiers to receive land grants for their service in the Sons of Liberty Militia and the Continental Army.  He was discharged in September 1779 as a result of his injuries.

John Ichabod Pittman  was 28 years old at the end of his service in the Continental Army.  He lived a long and prosperous life on the 287.5 acres from the land grant and other Georgia land he bought and sold throughout his life.   His descendants continued to farm and raise families on those properties as well as continued to serve the State of Georgia, the Confederacy, and the United States Armed Forces in World War I and II. 

The Colonial Period for Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors has been a genealogy dream come true with the discovery of  Fifth Great Grandparents John and Mary Polly Rowe Pittman.  The events of their lives in conjunction with the historical events of their time has enriched my knowledge and appreciation for Colonial America, The Revolutionary War, the History of Georgia, and my Ancestors.  

"Yesterday the greatest question was decided... and a greater question perhaps never was nor will be decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states."
John Adams, Letter to his wife, Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776