A five times Great Grandmother is a wonderous discovery in anyone's ancestorial research, especially when you are rewarded with names, dates and a story of her achievements that has been passed down for generations.
Just knowing her name as the Mother of my Direct Descendent was in itself a satisfying genealogy bit of information. It is afterall, quite a challenge tracing the women in one's family tree, due to the traditional practice of women assuming their husbands surname.
In Virginia, when my 5xGreat Grandmother married on May 1, 1747, marriage was performed by ministers of the Church of England. It would be another forty years before 'dissenting ministers', like Daniel Marshall, could perform marriage ceremonies. Ministers were required by law to file marriage certificates with governing offices, however, the laws were rarely enforced, resulting in many incomplete or nonexistent certificates.
Although women were treated as second-class citizens during the 1700's, their roles as women and mothers during the American Revolution gave rise to The Articles of Confederation and the important part they played in support of Republican Motherhood. She encouraged her sons and husband to be soldiers, she boycotted particular goods and supported the causes of the Revolution by speaking out at home and in public.
My 5xGreat Grandmother Mary Polly Rowe Pittman was an
American Revolutionary Wife, Mother and Patriot.
Husband John I. Pittman
December 1776...4th Artillery Regiment of South Carolina
Commanded by Colonel Barnard Beeckman.
Photo: Revolutionary Canons…Revolutionary War Antiques
~In 1778 John Pittman was reported in the South Carolina Militia as a Ships Master. *Georgia Revolutionary War Soldiers Graves by Arnold and Burnham, 1993 pg 576. Other Documentation: The Roster of South Carolina Patriots In The American Revolution by BG Moss, 1983 pg 775.
~ John Pittman is also listed with the Rebels who kept watch on the Savannah River Crossings. On the Muster Roll of Capt. Ephraim Mitchell’s Company of the South Carolina Continental Regiment of Artillery Encampment at the Two Sisters Ferry commanded by Colonel Owen Roberts…March 21, 1779.
~Sons of John Pittman and Mary Polly Rowe Pittman
Served in the Revolutionary War:
Served in the Revolutionary War:
*John Ichabod Pittman
Buckner Pittman
James Greene Pittman
Phillip Pittman
Timothy Pittman
The Torries Raid on John Pittman Homestead
While John and his sons were away fighting in the American Revolution the Torries raided their home on Kiokee Creek, Georgia. The house was ransacked and Mary Polly was thrown off the porch while trying to defend her home. She suffered a broken hip which left her crippled for the rest of her life.
Her achievements will linger for generations....
*John Ichabod Pittman...Direct Descendent...4xGreat Grandfather
