Family Maps

One of the really cool things that my wife brought back from the genealogy library were these family maps of the various counties where my ancestors lived.  One in particular was from Tangipahoa parish that showed my family after Jacob had died or ran off or whatever he did.

 

It shows James Gill, Loama Pittman, and Nancy Pittman living in the same section, and surrounding area.   I highly suspect that Loama is the same Loami covered in an earlier blog post.  That would give further evidence to him being related, and possibly another son of Jacob and Nancy.

There is also an Isaac Brumfield in the mix too.  I'm not sure if his residence coincided with my relatives, because the land patent is a full forty six years after Nancy's was filed.

The Worst Marriage Certificate Ever

I have entertained the idea, for a long time, that Jacob did not die between 1845 and 1850.  Rather that he ran off for some reason or another.  On Ancestry.com I had seen a record where  a Jacob Pittman married a Martha Moore in Rankin County in 1846.  I always wondered what this record might contain (it was just an index on Ancestry).

Then, I got an opportunity to go to Snowbird Utah for work recently.  My wife tagged along with me so that she could go to the Family History Library there.  I asked her to search for this marriage record, and this is what she found:

Anyone who has spent a little time searching through historical records knows that a lot of them are inconsistent.  This record, however, might be the worst one that I have ever seen.  Let's look at who it says is getting married:

1. The certificate might be a marriage between Jacob Williams and Martha Levia Moore.  (Marthas first name is shoehorned in)
2. Jacob Pitman (Notice the 1 "t") first appears midway through the document by the "L.S." box
3. Then The document decides that it is a marriage certificate between Jacob Pittman and Martha Levia Moon
4. Finally, at the very bottom, it seems that this is a marriage between Jacob Pittman and Martha Levia Moore (or Moone, or something)

So I am not sure what this is.  I cannot find records of a Jacob Williams or a Jacob Pittman with a wife named Martha in Mississippi other than this record.

Unlike most of the marriage certificates that I've found over the years, this one doesn't list any birthdays or ages, or really anything that could be used to identify the couple other than their names.  

No Convergence

I've been going back over my Ancestry DNA matches lately.  I just can't help but think that there should be a clue there somewhere.

Below are some of my closest matches, and a bit about their ancestry, and where their trails go cold.

* R Bedford (MRCA 1: All Markers Match)  This one is an odd one.  I've been contacted by the owner of this test before.  There are no Pittmans in their tree.  So either an adoption or some funny business is going on.

* Everett Pittman (MRCA 1: All Markers Match)  Everett (1807 - 1879) is hypothesized to have been Jacob's brother.  But that's just a hypothesis (by the world's foremost experts on both Everett and Jacob)  Little is known about him other than he was probably born in NC and settled in LA.  He seems to have lived very near to my ancestors for most all of his life.

* L Pittman (MRCA 1: All Markers Match)  These guys end with Joseph Berry Pittman (1849 - 1934) who was born in TN.  he was born well after Jacob and even some of his children.  This simply isn't far enough back.  A cursory search shows that JB's father may have been Joel Pittman (1804 - ?) also born in TN.  They were living in Alabama in 1860 if so.  This is a lead to follow up.

* R Pittman (MRCA 7: 1 Differing Marker)  This tree ends with James M Pittman (1847 - ~1910) who was born in AL.  He also lived in Sumner MS which is a long way from Marion Co.  In the 1900 Census, his father's birthplace is listed as South Carolina

* J Pittman (MRCA 8: 1 Differing Marker)  This tree is quite a mess.  It starts with a group of Pittmans (Pittmen?) that settled in Kentucky, and goes through North Carolina all of the way to Thomas Pittman of Virginia.  I'm not sure that I trust the tree, but it does have the most leads (as well as red herrings) in it.

* J A Pittman (MRCA 15: 3 Differing markers)  At 15 generations back, it is now officially silly to be comparing these trees.  This group starts in Arkansas and goes back through Georga to Virginia.

Strange Names

Antique names in the South tend to be quite unique, even by today's standards.  The great thing about that is when you search for them, you tend to get exactly what you are looking for.

Here are a few people who I have run across in my search for Jacob that are possibly related, and may even hold some key to finding more information on my ancestor.

Loami Pittman

The State of Mississippi       }

iss           vs                            }

Job Rowley and                    }              Indictment for Assault & Battery

Loami Pittman                                     }                              This day came the District Attorney who prosecutes in behalf of said State and also the defendant Job Rowley in person, and also came Aaron Smith the prosecutor and injured party, and the said prosecutors was compromised by the said Job Rowley and the said Smith and the same dismissed, so far as the said Rowley is concerned, upon his paying the costs of said prosecution.  Whereupon it is considered by the Court that the said State of Mississippi do recover of and from the said Job Rowley the costs by said State about his prosecution in this behalf Expended, for which Execution may issue.

So here is a fellow connected to a known relative (Job Rowley).  with a very interesting name.  

On Ancestry.com, he is listed as William Loami Pittman, born 1828, and many folks list him as the son of Jacob.  That would make him my second great grand uncle.  Why he is listed as William Loami, I do not know, because all of the records attached to his name just show him as Loami.


He is on the 1860 census with his family, next to Nancy, Calvin, and the rest of their family.  He also lives next door to his own in-laws.

UPDATE:  This website ( http://www.happyhelen.com/slaughters.htm ) also says that Loami was the son of Jacob and Nancy... and it gives yet another name for him (William Loami "Saul" Pittman)  Crazy Southerners, and their crazy nicknames.


Theophilus Pittman

In my search for Loami, I ran across this:

3. THEOPHILUS2 PITTMAN (MALACHI1) was born 21 July 1816 in NC or SC, and died 14
August 1907 in Washington Par LA. He married (1) SAVILLA JAMES. She was born 11
September 1826 in Louisiana, and died 26 December 1879 in Washington Par LA. He
married (2) MELISSA STAFFORD Aft. 1880. She was born 22 October 1838, and died
17 July 1914 in Washington Par LA.

Notes for THEOPHILUS PITTMAN:
1850 Washington Parish, LA Census 176-176 (Next door to Malachi Pitman) Offa
Pitman 30 m Farmer 100 , b NC; Savilla 24 f, b LA; Malachi 4 m, b LA
1850 Washington Parish, LA Agricultural Census: #36 Offa Pitman 12 acres
improved, 124 unimproved; $100 cash value of farm; $50 value of farming
implements & machinery; 1 horse; 3 milk cows; 2 working oxen; 4 other cattle; 12
swine; $115 value of livestock; 50 bushels of Indian corn; 50 bushels of sweet
potatoes.
1860 Washington Parish, LA Census 91-91 Theophilus Pittman 45 m Farmer, b SC;
Savilla 33 f, b LA; Malachi 13 m, b LA; Malachi 70 m, b SC
Pitman Theophilus LA WASHINGTON PAR 1860 FRANKLINTON P.O. 777 1860
Pitman Nancy LA WASHINGTON PAR ROBERTS P.O. 798 1860
Pitman Loami LA WASHINGTON PAR ROBERTS P.O. 798 1860
Pitman Calvin LA WASHINGTON PAR BAILEYS MILLS P.O. 797 1860
10/30/1865 Theophelous Pittman & A.J. James and wife deed to Tyra J. Tynes, his
son accepting for him, land on Deep Creek bounded N. by Wm. Holton, E. by B.L.
Lea, S. by public land, & W. by S.W. Varnado, 280 acres as transfered to vendors
by J.C. Fisher, for $700. Savilla James wife of Theopelous Pittman, & Rebecca
Fussell wife of A.J. James relinquished dower. Wits: T.C. Brumfield & Wiley
Strahan. Recd. 12/2/1865.
Pittman Malakie LA WASHINGTON PAR4 W FRANKLINTON 241 1870
Pittman Theophilus LA WASHINGTON PAR 18704 W FRANKLINTON 242 1870
Pittman Cemetery, Washington Par LA

Sure enough, here is another odd named fellow right next to my relatives.

Theophilus being a Latin name, I find it pertinent here to mention other Latin names in my family. 

• William Loami had a daughter named Theodosia
• Jacob also appears to have had a son named Augustus

More to come.... 

More About DNA

I was recently put in touch with Dan from the Pittman Family DNA site, and he was a tremendous help in understanding some of the things that can be interpolated from my DNA results.

Below are selections from the things that he said in the course of several emails.

In comparing your results (Ancestry) with those in the Pittman DNA Project (through Family Tree DNA),
we can only compare on 34 markers out of the 46.  You match exactly on 32 markers with 18 different men who have submitted saliva samples.  Three of these men have good records (and the family was in the right place at the right time / family  traditions are strong) that lead conclusively back to (Capt.) Thomas Pitman (bc 1614) of Surrey / Isle of Wight Co. VA.

One marker - DYS442 - had a value of 5 lower thatn what is posted in our Project.  Another marker - Y-GATA-H4 - you is a value of one lower.  The other markers are apples and oranges.  (I have some experience checking with FTDNA when someone wants to compare Ancestry or Relative Genetics results with a group of people in my Project.

All in all - with an exact match of 32 markers - plus knowing that direct blood line descendants of (Capt.) Thomas did move to Robeson Co., it is a safe bet that both of you [sic. a cousin and myself] are descended from Thomas.  I am also related, but like you, have not discovered the missing link or 2 that would time me directly into his line.

Also:

Both Ancestry and FTDNA test many similar markers but they also test markers
that are unique to their own program.  Also, FTDNA has a person's saliva sample tested by the
Univ. of Arizona and Ancestry, I'm sure, uses some other group.  I have found in some instances,
even when testing the same marker, such as DYS442, they interpret the results differently.

And finally:

There are people in the Project who are connected to Thomas' line by a genetic distance of '1' and '2'.  I can go back far enough in there lines to know they probably are related but somewhere in England and perhaps descend from an uncle or great uncle of Thomas.  But that is really stretching my limits of understanding this DNA stuff.

As an example we have a family with a strong tradition that they came from Lancashire, England and migrated to the American colonies in 1765-1766.  Yet they are a perfect match with Thomas' descendants.

The tradition / common story  in my line is that I probably descend from Samuel Pitman Sr. who shows up in 1766 Granville Co. NC and the 1790 SC Federal Census.  My proven ancestors were living in the same
area of SC in 1805 (Tygerville Baptist Church Minutes).  But the common thought is that Samuel was born in England about 1740.

Thomas came over about 1650 as a bonded person to Robert Hutcinson.  Approximately that same time, a
Joseph Pitman came over and settled in Accomac Co. VA.  I have proven descendants of both in the Project.  Descendants of both migrated to NC about the same time.  But there is no indication that they knew each other.  Yet, at the Y-37 level, all markers match exactly.  That's enough to know that they relate by blood very, very closely.  Brothers? Cousins?  We don't know.
One of the things that makes it hard is that in England - before about 1837 - you almost have to know the parish / church that the family attended in order to get earlier information.  that's the problem I'm having researching UK records.

So thanks so much for the edification Dan.  Surely, one day we'll find what we are looking for.

The End of the Trail

What We Know


Several events have conspired against us in our search for Jacob Pittman's ancestry.  Below, you will find everything that I know about him, gathered together in this one place.  It isn't very much data, but hopefully it is enough to connect him to the rest of the family tree some day.

• He lived in Mississippi by 1830.  From the federal census, we have this image.  It doesn't directly tell us much.  There were six people in his household, and he was the head. Males: 1 < 5.  1 >5 < 10. 1 > 20 < 30. Females: the same as the males, actually.  It is also noteworthy, that this census tells us who his neighbors were.  Two in particular are noteworthy.  One was John S Pittman, who by DNA is shown to be at least a cousin, potentially closer.  The other, is James Gill, who might be either his father-in-law, or brother-in-law.
• Still in Marion County MS at 1840.  By 1840, the federal census shows his household at eleven members.  There is not much else to glean from this census.  He no longer shares a page with John S Pittman and James Gill.  John is two pages back.  James seems to be gone, and may have already moved to Louisiana at this point.  Neither of the household members over twenty years of age could read or write.  Five of the household were employed in agriculture.
• He was in Marion County MS until at least 1845.  I have only abstracts from the Mississippi state census, but he is listed in both 1841 and 1845.  This is the last that I've seen of him on any official record.
• His family is in Louisiana without him by 1850.  As we said in previous posts, his wife went to live with the Gill families in Louisiana sometime between 1846 and 1850.  That is where they show up on the census records.
• His Y-Chromosome: Through DNA testing, we know that if he was indeed my ancestor, he was a descendant of Thomas Pittman.

HAPLOGROUP	DYS19a	DYS385a	DYS385b	DYS388	DYS389I	DYS389II	DYS390	DYS391
R1b	14	12	14	12	13	29	23	11
	DYS392	DYS393	DYS426	DYS437	DYS438	DYS439	DYS441	DYS442
	13	12	12	15	12	12	14	17
	DYS444	DYS445	DYS446	DYS447	DYS448	DYS449	DYS452	DYS454
	12	12	13	21	19	30	30	11
	DYS455	DYS456	DYS458	DYS459a	DYS459b	DYS460	DYS461	DYS462
	11	15	17	9	10	11	12	11
	DYS463	DYS464a	DYS464b	DYS464c	DYS464d	DYS635	GGAAT1B07	YCAIIa
	24	15	15	15	17	23	10	19
	YCAIIb	Y-GATA-A10	Y-GATA-H4
	23	15	12

 

Two Calvins

What follows represents the work of a lot of people. To get to the point where we are today took a great deal of careful work.  I haven't really done any of it.  This is just what I know through the gracious counsel of many others to whom I am eternally thankful.

The Starting Point

Hardy Hiram Pittman

The safest place to start this discussion is with my great grandfather, Hardy Hiram Pittman (1869 - 1934). We know that his father's name was Calvin from the Census record, and that his mother's name was Caroline.

Finding the parentage of Calvin Pittman from Marion County MS is tricky.  You see, through a twist of luck, there were two men named Calvin Pittman born in Marion Co, at roughly the same time.  One of them is easily traceable back to Thomas Pittman, and for a long time, I thought that he was my 2nd great grandfather.

Unfortunately, things are rarely that easy, and I have trouble beating 50/50 odds sometimes.  It seems almost certain that the Calvin Pittman who Married Caroline Rowley and had, among others, Hardy Hiram Pittman, was the son of Jacob Pittman and Nancy Gill.

The Trail of Evidence

One of the most daunting things about using US Census records is that before the 1850 census, only the head of household was named.  Everyone else in the household is just a number by the box for the appropriate age, race, and gender group.

In 1850, we find one Calvin Pittman, aged 12, born in Mississippi, living in Louisiana, with the following:

• Nancy Pittman, 42, born in Mississippi
• Alfred Pittman, 10, born in Mississippi
• A Pittman, 8, born in Mississippi
• Hardy Pittman, 6, born in Mississippi
• Hiram Pittman, 4, born in Mississippi

 In 1860, we can also find a 23 year old Calvin Pittman living in a Gill Household with:

• James Gill, 50
• Nancy Gill, 45 (Not to be confused with the above Nancy, who as we shall see, was once a Gill)
• Benjamin Gill, 23
• Emily Gill, 18
• Amanda Gill, 16
• James M Gill, 15

Lastly, we know from marriage records that Jacob Pittman married Nancy Gill in 1825.

All of this loosely connected information paints a rather compelling picture that the Calvin Pittman, who married Caroline Rowley, and had a son named Hardy Hiram, was himself, the son of Jacob and Nancy.  It is quite likely that he named his first son after two of his brothers.

Jacob is not seen on record after the 1846 state census in Mississippi.  This is unfortunate, because just four years later, he would have been cataloged along with the rest of his family in the 1850 census.