Colonial Will and Summary of 1700's Ancestors

State of Georgia, Richmond County

I, John Pittman, being in a low state of health, but in perfect sense and memory give and bequeath my estate, as followeth, both real and personal.

I give and bequeath unto my wife, Mary Pittman, my Kiokee plantation of 200 acres of land, and Tony and Jack during her life and widowhood, and then I give and bequeath the said plantation of land unto my well-beloved son Timothy, and the two Negroes to be equally divided among Grace Pittman, and if they die without heirs the land and Negroes to be divided among my five youngest children.

I give and bequeath unto my well beloved son Phillip Pittman 200 acres of land in Wilkes County.

I give and bequeath unto my well beloved daughter Patty Pittman 100 acres of said tract.

I give and bequeath unto my well beloved grandson, Jesse Pittman, 100 acres of the same tract.

I give and bequeath unto my well beloved son, Buckner Pittman, one shilling.

I give and bequeath unto my well beloved son, John Pittman, one shilling.

I give and bequeath the rest of my estate to be equally divided among my 7 youngest children, Mary Rogers, James Pittman, Patty Pittman, Zilpha Nobles, Phillip Pittman, Timothy and Grace Pittman and them that have received beds, the other to be made equal out of the estate, and the rest divided, only James Pittman is to be paid 25 pound Sterling.

I leave my well beloved son-in-law Peleg Rogers and Phillip Pittman whole and sole Executors of my estate this being my last will and testament as Witness my hand and seal this 19th day of April 1782.

Signed:  John Pittman

Attest:  William Courson, Zachariah Marshall, James Simson

Execution and Subsequent Events of John Pittman's Last Will and Testament

(in order as named in the will)

~John Pittman died three years later, to the day of signing his will at age 58.  Wife Mary Polly Rowe lived out her life on the Kiokee Plantation.  She died on May 1, 1810 at the age of 80 years.  It is believed that she and John were buried on the plantation.

~Timothy Pittman lived in Columbia County as late as 1816, most likely on the land left to him in said Will.  He married Sarah Lazenby  on Feb. 21, 1796...they had twelve children.  In the 1850 Census his residence was Randolph County, formerly Columbia County, presumably the Kiokee Plantation.  He died in 1854 at the age of  87.

~Phillip Pittman was granted 287.5 acres of land in Washington County, Georgia for his service in the Revolutionary War even though, if records are correct, he was only 10 years old.  Other than his father's will his name does not appear again until is marriage to Espie Jasper 1792 in Jackson County, Georgia.  In 1820 he lived in Wilkinson County and later at the time of his death at age 74 he resided in  Bainbridge, Decatur County, Georgia.  It is not know at this time if he ever lived on or sold the land in Wilkes county he inherited from his father's estate.

~Patty Pittman married David Langston in 1791 taking her dowry of 100 acres in Wilkes County to the marriage.  Her story:  Colonial Daughter's Dowry 100 Acres of Cherokee Land.

~Jesse Pittman was the son of Buckner Pittman from his first marriage.  His mother died in childbirth, and Jesse was raised by his grandparents when Buckner left Georgia for Kentucky.  He married Jincie Garrett in 1790 and fathered at least twelve children.  In 1820 and 1830 Census he was listed in Wilkinson County, Georgia.  At the time of his death in 1836, he was in Yalobusha, Mississippi, where several of his children resided including Samuel Moon and Buckner Pittman.  Buckner having been named after Jesse's father who eventually settled in Missississippi.  The Wilkes County land inherited from his grandfather John appears to have been passed down through Jesse's descendents who remained in Georgia.

~Buckner Pittman was bequeathed one shilling, which converts to under $10 in today's (2013) market.  Buckner having left Georgia and settled in Mississippi after his service in the Revolutionary War in Kentucky, most likely never returned.  As the oldest son and apparent heir to his fathers estate, his son Jesse was given his inheritance.  Buckner's stories:  Colonial First Born Son and Revolutionary Soldier,  Pennsylvania to Kentucky In A Flat Bottom Boat, The Patriot and The Pennsylvania Farmer's Daughter.

~John Pittman was also bequeathed only one shilling.  Due to the fact that both of his older sons John and James Greene Pittman were granted land for their service in the Revolutionary War and had become what was considered at the time wealthy land owners in their own right, they were not in need of an inheritance from their father.  John Ichabod Pittman's one shilling was, it seems, simply a way of recognizing him as a descendent.  John Ichabod married Lucy Eunice Marshall, the daughter of Rev. Daniel Marshall and one of John and Mary Polly's most beloved friends.  John Ichabod and Lucy Eunice's story as our Line of Direct Descendants to follow.

~Mary Pittman Rogers, wife of Beloved son-in-law Peleg Rogers.  Their story:  Colonial Daughter Weds for Love. 

~Zilpha Pittman Nobles was the seventh child of John and Mary Polly.  She was married to Blanton Nobles at the time of the Will's writing.  She later married Simon Peacock.  Her story:  Colonial Daughter's Biblical Name Prophecy.

~James Pittman was the third born child of John and Mary Polly.  His 25 lb. Sterling inheritance converts to about $40 in todays (2013) market.  As stated earlier James Greene Pittman was a wealthy man in his own right.  Georgia history and records make him the most Notable of John and Polly's children.  His story:  Colonials Third Son A Georgia Soldier, Statesman and Judge.

 

John and his wife Mary Polly Rowe moved from Virginia to Edgefield District, South Carolina about 1770 and later to Georgia, settling in the part of St. Paul's Parish that became Richmond and then Columbia County.  He left a will in Richmond County, where he died April 19, 1785.  He and his five sons were Revolutionary soldiers.

John Pittman was of Scotch-English descent.  He lived in Bucking ham County, Virginia then moved to Edgefield, South Carolina.  Prior to 1770 he moved to St. Paul's Parish, Georgia and settled on Kiokee Creek.  His plantation was located in that portion of land later named Richmond County and in 1790 was cut off and named Columbia County, Georgia.

John Pittman and some of his children were charter members of Kiokee Baptist Church, the first Baptist church established in Georgia.  (Kiokee Baptist Church established by Reverend Daniel Marshall, father of Lucy Eunice Marshall Pittman, wife of John Ichabod Pittman). 

John Pittman enlisted on December 18, 1778 in the 4th Artillery Regiment of South Carolina, commanded by Col. Barnard Beckman.  He served as Matros in Capt. Harmon Davis's company.  Five of his sons also saw service in the Revolutionary War.  While they were in service, the Torres invaded their home and Mary Pittman was thrown from the front steps and crippled for life when she tried to resist the invasion of her home.

John Pittman's name is last borne on the roll for the period from November 1,1779 to January 1, 1780 with remark:  "Paid to Jan 1, 17__," and signed "Col. F.C. Ainsworth, USA."  (See National Numbers DAR 36513, 87362, 178600). 

From the book: 

Pittman Descendants of the Revolutionary Soldier John Pittman 1725-1784

by Lynne Pittman Selzer

(listed on Amazon.com as 'out of print-limited availability')



Millicent's Son ~ Minister of the Scriptures

Throughout the early history of my Colonial Georgia Ancestors, Religious Freedom played a significant role in their lives beginning with their migration from the Virginia to Georgia. Passionately devoted to the early Baptist Separatist Theology, the sons and daughters of John and Mary Polly Rowe raised their children in the same vein of what would prove to be a dominate force in their spiritual and daily lives.

So it would be for John and Mary's grandson, Elisha Coleman.  Elisha was born four years to the month after the death of his grandfather John, and although he didn't experience his  grandfather's passionate Baptist beliefs, he was strongly influenced by his mother, Millicent, John and Mary's fourth daughter.

Elisha was born on April 2, 1789, the fourth child of Jonathan and Millie Pittman Coleman.  His older siblings were brothers Charles born in 1786, and Jesse and Joseph who from all indications of their birthdates were twins.  Elisha would become the older brother to fifteen younger siblings among them another set of twin brothers

His parents were founders and Charter Members of The Bark Camp Baptist Church in Burke County, Georgia on land that once was hunting and grazing land of the Indian Nations.  After the Indian Treaty of 1763 people moved into the area in large numbers.  The church was organized in 1788, even before George Washington was elected president.  It was a center of worship, culture and hospitality in one of the oldest settlements in Burke County. 

Elisha remained a faithful member of Bark Camp Church for 52 years.  During those years, his father Jonathan was buried in the churches cemetery along with his older brother Charles.  His mother Millicent, would join them in a matter of years.  His calling to the ministry in 1841, moved Elisha and his family to Emanuel County, Georgia where he joined the Old Canoochee Church.  After a few years of his service there, he went on to build his own church in Swainsboro, Emanuel County Georgia on land surveyed by and deeded to Elisha's older brother Charles Coleman.  Charles had obtained a grant from the state of Georgia and deeded a part of the tract to Nathaniel Daniels who in turn made a deed to the church dated October 16, 1849.  The Hawhammock Baptist Church continues to be an active part of the community today.

His obituary stated:  The church has lost her brightest light, and the county one of it's best citizens, ever ready to lend the helping hand to the needy and distressed.  His theme was to hear and expound the Scriptures.  ~The Christian Index, Feb. 13, 1861~

Reverend Elisha Coleman died on October 30, 1860 and was buried in a cemetery named in his honor, Elisha Coleman Cemetery in Swainsboro, Emanuel County, Georgia.  His life and service are well documented in Georgia history, and now in 'Tracks of My Georgia Ancestors'.  Reverend Elisha Coleman's branch in our family tree puts him as 1st cousin 5x removed.  His mother was my 4th great aunt, sister to my direct ancestor and 4th great grandfather John Ichabod Pittman, Jr.

Elisha's mother, Millicent 'Millie' Pittman Coleman's story.

Colonial Daughter Raised In The Revolutionary War

Colonial Daughter Raised In The Revolutionary War

From the day she was born until the day she married, Millicent 'Millie' Pittman lived in the turmoil of the Revolutionary War.   Born February 3, 1766 to John and Mary Polly Rowe Pittman, her birth coincided with the much anticipated Repeal of the Stamp Act.  Her father and brothers along with other Virginia colonists, were actively involved in the Sons of Liberty and the resistance to the British Taxation without Representation.

The following month of her birth  in March, the Stamp Act was repealed by the British Parliament.  The colonists victory was short lived, however, when Parliament  followed the repeal of The Stamp Act with the Declaratory Act of 1766.  This act provided the British with a broad mandate to impose laws, and taxes on the colonies as it had done with the Irish in 1719.  The Declaratory Act of 1766, along with other imposed tax acts in the following months drove the American Colonists closer to the Revolution.

In 1784 with the Revolutionary War officially over and the Treaty of Paris ratified by Congress, Millie married Private Jonathan Coleman of the Burke County Georgia Militia.  At thirty-four years of age, Jonathan was sixteen years older than young Millie when they married.  Her youth, however was in her favor as she gave birth to 17 children over a period of  30 years.  Of those births there were two sets of twins. 

Millicent and Jonathan lived most of their lives in Burke County Georgia where they were known for their devotion to their family and their church.  They were charter members of the Bark Camp Church organized in 1788, before George Washington was elected president. 

Both Jonathan and Millie are buried in the Bark Camp Church Cemetery.  Jonathan died at age 74 on January 13, 1825 and Millie at age 72 on December 30, 1838.  Their oldest son Charles is buried there as well.  He died in 1831.

Their son Elisha Coleman followed in his parents faithful Christian life and became a minister.  He was a member of the Bark Camp Baptist Church until 1832, when he moved to Emanuel County and began his ministry in 1841.  Some years later he built Hawhammock Church and remained there until his death in 1860.

He is buried in a cemetery named after him, Elisha Coleman Cemetery in Swainsboro , Emanuel County, Georgia.

 

Millicent 'Millie' Pittman Coleman was the only daughter of John Pittman NOT mentioned in his 'Will'.

Colonial Daughter's Biblical Name Prophecy

 Zilpha was the seventh child of John and Mary Polly Rowe Pittman.  Of their twelve children, daughter number seven appears to be the only child given a really uncommon name.

Their other children had relatively simple and traditional names like Martha, Grace, Timothy, and Lucy...so how and why Zilpha?  Several of their children had names found in the Bible like John, Sarah, and Mary, which was not surprising as John and Mary Polly were devout and passionate Baptist Seperatists and naming their seventh daughter a Biblical name followed the established trend.

In the Bible, Zilpha was the handmaid of Leah and the concubine of Jacob. Her sons Gad and Asher were the founders of two of the twelve tribes of Israel. It is Hebrew in origin and means dropping or sprinkling. 

Zilpha was born January 16, 1762 in Amelia, Virginia. She was a young girl during the American Revolution. Her father and brothers were soldiers and Virginia Patriots. Zilpha was with her mother when the Tories raided their home and threw Mary Polly off the porch leaving her with a broken hip and a cripple for the rest of her life. 

Zilpha's first marriage was to Blanton Nobles from Edgefield County, South Carolina, with one child, a son, Theodore, born to the marriage.  She is named as Zilpha Nobles in her father John's will written and sealed on April 19, 1782 which casts some doubt on the date of her second marriage to Simon Peacock and puts into perspective the following account of Blanton Nobles.

In 1780, Blanton Nobles, age 18, was listed in the service of Loyalist Colonel John Fisher's Regiment, Orangeburgh Militia, under the command of Captain Joseph Nobles Company.  Captain Nobles was killed in action that same year leaving his son Joshua and nephew (?) Blanton without their leader.  The following year in September 1781, Blanton and Joshua defected from the Loyalists Ninety-Six Brigade/Stevensen's Creek Militia of South Carolina over to the rebels also known as the Sons of Liberty, of which Zilpha's father John and brothers Buckner, John, James and Phillip were active members. 

After the birth of their son Theodore, Blanton disappeared...according to Nobles Family History documentation.  It is thought that he re-invented himself as Beland Nobles and started a new life in Orangeburgh, South Carolina.  Dates are not included here as they are highly speculative and in direct conflict with dates from the Pittman Family history that are historically documented and correct.  In summary, it is probable that Zilpha and Blanton were married sometime in 1781 after his defection from from the Loyalist.  The birth and subsequent history of their son Theodore is not documented in Zilpha's  history...unless...he became Barnabas T. Peacock born in 1782.

Zilpha and Simon Peacock had 10 sons and 4 daughters.  The last child, son Washington born in 1801 would have been just two years old when his mother died at the age of 41.  Simon lived until 1831 and died in Wayne County, North Carolina at the age of  78.  He and Zilpha Pittman Peacock are the Patriarch/Matriarch's of a long and well documented line of Peacock descendants in North and South Carolina. 

As it turned out Zilpha's parents were prophetic in the naming of their seventh daughter.

Like her namesake, whose sons became the founders of Two Tribes of Israel,

 Zilpha's sons became the founders of Ten Tribes of Peacocks.

Colonial Daughter's Dowry 100 Acres of Cherokee Land

I give and bequeath unto my well-beloved daughter Patty Pittman 100 acres of land in Wilkes County.

Martha Patsy, referred to as Patty by her father, was the sixth child of John and Mary Polly Pittman.  She no doubt was very close to her parents, having been with them until she was thirty years of age. 

She was likely the one to care for her mother after the Torries attack on their home while her father and brothers were off fighting on behalf of the Sons of Liberty during the height of the Revolutionary War.  The Torries ransacked the log cabin and Mary Polly was thrown from the porch while defending her home and children.  She suffered a broken hip which left her a cripple for the rest of her life.  Patty was about fifteen at the time.

On April 9, 1791, at the age of 31, Martha Patsy Pittman married David Langston and brought to the marriage her dowry of 100 acres in Wilkes County.  Wilkes county was unique among the early seven counties in that it was formed from land ceded in 1773 by the Creek and Cherokee Nations in the Treaties of Augusta.  With it's location on the Savannah River, it was considered prime land, and the owners were fortunate indeed. 

Patsy and David Langston spent most of their 47 years of marriage in Georgia.  They had four children with the oldest Etheldred born in Virginia in 1796, and Mary, Isaac and Frances born in Georgia in  1797, 1892 and 1803 respectively.

David died on Christmas Eve, 1838 at the age of 75 and is buried in Cherokee Corner Cemetery in Oglethorpe County, Georgia next to his daughter Mary who died at the age of 25 in 1822.  Her headstone inscription an eerie prediction...

The debt of natures paid.

My grave you see:

Look: reflect, and prepare

To follow me.

John Pittman's beloved daughter Patty, outlived all but one of her children,  and all but one of her siblings. Her death was recorded in Madison County, Georgia Death Register with cause of death listed as Old Age.  She died in March 1850 at 90 years of age.  She was laid to rest beside her husband, daughter Mary and daughter Frances who died in 1825 at age 34.  Martha Patsy's son Isaac died six years after his mother at age 56.  Records indicate that Martha Patsy and David had only one grandson by their oldest son Etheldred.

Daughter Mary's Tombstone's inscription may have set the tone for the those who followed all to quickly.

Colonial Daughter Weds for Love

Mary Ann had the typical Colonial upbringing with two older brothers and an older sister, Lucy. She followed in her sisters footsteps in learning the domestic lessons of colonial girls and was herself a big sister to seven younger siblings. This meant that she was well prepared for becoming a wife and mother when the time came for what she hoped would be marriage for love...unlike her sister Lucy's somewhat arranged marriage.

She knew Lucy was fond of Peleg.  He was a fine man, and would be a good provider, and their children would be the links for two closely tied families to be joined together for many generations to come.  With Lucy's marriage, Mary would be free to look for love in a union that would also be blessed by her parents.  By the age of twenty years old, Mary Ann had not found true love.  Little did she know that true love would come from tragedy and a family obligation she once thought was not hers to fulfill.

In the aftermath of her sisters tragic death, Mary Ann, her parents John and Mary, and the youngers were in a state of shock and devastation.   The mourning was twofold for the bridegroom to be, Peleg Rogers.  He had lost his future wife and mother of his children, and it was his fault she was dead.  He was seriously wounded, inconsolable, and bent on revenge.  Mary Ann's nursing and compassion for Peleg touched him deeply.  Her admiration and respect for him grew into something more as he recovered.

It would be eight years of courtship before Mary Ann Pittman and Peleg Rogers would marry. 

Revenge for the death of Lucy was first and foremost on the minds of Peleg and Lucy's brothers Buckner and John along with many of the Colonial Sons of Liberty.  Despite his mourning and injuries, the next month after Lucy's death, Peleg gave a rousing and passionate speech on behalf of the Virginia Sons of Liberty to the First Continental Congress.  His personal tragedy and the attempt on his own life by the British, added fuel to the already outraged colonials over the British Crowns Proclamations and Intolerable Tax Acts levied against the Colonies.

In the following years, Peleg and Mary Ann would be caught up in the Colonials Pre-Revolutionary War events and support for the Continental Congress during  1774-1775.  With Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty, or give me Death", the Virginia Sons of Liberty were thrown into the beginning of the American Revolution.  John Pittman and sons, Buckner, John Ichabod, James Greene, Phillip and even young Timothy served in the Virginia, Georgia and Kentucky Regiments. 

Lucy's memory and Mary Ann's promise to wait for him sustained Peleg Rogers through the war.  In March of 1781 with the adoption of the Articles of  Confederation, and the surrender of Cornwallis, Peleg and the Patriot Colonists were hopeful the end was near.   One year later the Preliminary Articles of Peace set the stage for the Treaty of Paris which formally ended the American Revolutionary War in 1784.

 In May 1782, Mary Ann Pittman became the wife of Peleg Rogers.
They married for LOVE.

A historically based creative writing...Mary Ann and Pelegs love story based on family history research.

Colonial Daughter of Liberty

John and Mary Pittman had seven daughters with first born daughter Lucy born in 1750 and seventh daughter Grace in 1773.  With seven daughters and five sons, the Colonial Pittman Family was very interdependent on each other, and like most colonial families, were God-fearing and tight-knit with family life centered around religion and hard work.

Unquestioned obedience was expected of children and their life of working for the good of the family began at a very early age.  Girls were trained by their mothers to help with cooking, gardening and learning how to make soap, candles, clothing and blankets. 

Their education revolved around learning The Bible, and the necessary skills to provide and care for the family.  Boys in particular were taught reading, writing and numbers for the purpose of record keeping for farming and family  interests.

Among the many skills girls learned was spinning, weaving and knitting which were essential to the production of clothing and blankets.  Women and girls hatched, combed and spun flax for thread, and for woolen yarn they separated, cleaned, oiled, carded, combed and rolled the fleeces in preparation for spinning.  Bleached in the sun and dyed with a mixture of herbs and berries, yarn was knit into coarse stockings, caps and woolen fabrics for coats, hats and blankets.

Colonial Pittman Daughter~My 4x Great Aunt 

Lucy Pittman...Born June 4, 1750 in Amelia County, Virginia, second child of John and Mary, brother Buckner was two.  Lucy did not get to be the baby for long as another brother, John Ichabod was born in 1752, and by the time she was four a sister, Mary Ann was born.  As the oldest daughter Lucy was big sister and care taker of her eight younger siblings.

Lucy was a young woman in the pre-Revolution days, and no doubt was influenced by her father and brothers' political views as Sons of Liberty.   Colonial women supported their husbands views and disdain of England by boycotting British goods and forming sewing and knitting groups like the Daughters of Liberty.  It was possibly her involvement in support of the Revolution and her impending marriage that led to her early demise...which is undocumented and therefore purely speculation.

However, it is known that in April 1774, a military uprising in Williamsburg, Virginia called the Gunpowder Alarm became a concern for the Pittman men as members of the Sons of Liberty.  This incident along with the British Crowns Proclamation of 1763, the Currency Act and the Sugar Act set in motion the plans for the First Continental Congress.  The Sugar Act most directly inflamed the sensibilities of colonial women with the heavy taxes on imported household staples as well as textiles and indigo.

At the time, Lucy was engaged to a man whose family was close friends and immigrant travelers on the same ship from England with her grandparents John and Elizabeth Pittman.   Her fiance' was an outspoken and passionate patriot in support of the First Continental Congress which was set to meet in September of 1774.  The couple planned to marry in August and then travel to Pennsylvania arriving in time for her new husband to speak on behalf of the Virginia Sons of Liberty before the Continental Congress.

Although, the couple had known each other all of their lives and were compatible, the marriage uniting the two families would solidify their merging estates and religious beliefs for generations to come.  On the day of the wedding, Lucy sat beside her groom as he drove the team of horses down the rutted road to the frontier church. 

They arrived to a large crowd of happy family and friends who were preparing for the day of celebration when a contingent of British Militia emerged from the surrounding wooded area firing their muskets at the wedding party with intent to kill the Patriot Groom.  He was wounded.  His bride to be fell into his arms and with her last breath declared her love for him.

Lucy died on August 11, 1774...she was 24. 

 
A historically based creative writing...bride and groom story based on family history research.

Photos:  Spinner...Decoupage Wood Plaque  Colonial Woman...Painted Metal Etching

From the collection of CollectInTexas Gal