This Old Marley Mare Is Goin' Home

The Marley Mare and Mert Carroll's Story

'Don't pick up this 'Old Mare'. She is goin' home'

October 1908
Dear Mama,
I am fine. Don't worry. I am workin' at the Cotton Mill in Post City. Stayin' with Aunt Annie and Uncle Oscar. Don't know when I will be home.
Your son,
Mert
PS...Tell Grandpa, I am sorry bout taken' Delsey. I knew she'd find her way home.

Merritt Douglas Carroll was but a boy of ten years old when he hung the cardboard sign around Delsey's neck with the note to his Mama, Martha Jane Marley Carroll. The year before, Mert, got all the way to Snyder, Texas, before he was picked up by Sheriff Frank Christopher.

The Sheriff knew exactly who the boy was, and that the horse he was riding was stolen. Delsey belonged to Elisha Marley over in Borden County. Sheriff Christopher knew the Marley's pretty well since his brother Oscar had married Anna Etta Marley in October, 1901.

The story goes...Mert was pickin' cotton in his Grandpa's cotton field on a clear day with blue skies above when he dumped out his half full sack, threw it over Delsey's bare back and took off. He made his way as far as Scurry County by pickin' cotton along the way for 50 cents per hundred pounds. When Sheriff Christopher picked him up he had $2 in his pocket.

When asked why he took off with his Grandpa's horse and cotton pickin' sack, he said, "We need the money."

Mert was a man of few words with a work ethic that went back to his days as a 'Cotton Picker' on his Grandpa's Farm in Gail, Borden County, Texas. From Post City, Texas he worked his way to California and then on to Canada. His Mama didn't see him again until around 1915 when he returned home to help her move to West Texas.

Mert was the second child of Stephen Bennett and Martha Jane Marley Carroll.

Pictured here with his parents and siblings in 1900.

Mert is the first little boy...standing next to his older brother Othella.

Sister Estella in her mothers lap.

Their father, Stephen B. Carroll died in June 1903....three years after this photo was taken.

Mert was my Great Uncle.
I was fortunate to know him quite well in his Golden Years as he lived with my parents on their Farm in Grandfalls, Ward County, Texas.
Dad was Mert's nephew by his sister Estella Carroll Pittman.

Mert was stricken with Glaucoma in his fifties and by his seventies was only able to see light and dark shadows. His blindness slowed him down, but didn't keep him from working everyday of his life. He spent many hours in the fields of the 'Pittman Family Farm' grubbing mesquite with a pick axe. He found his way from the house to the field by following a 'Line of Chimes' he created from 'Hub Caps and Tin Cans'.

He Rests In Peace, but probably still 'Grubbing Mesquite',
in Tamarisk Cemetery, Grandfalls, Ward County, Texas
He was true to his Epitaph to the end of his life.
Merritt Douglas Carroll was a great story teller and I was a good listener.
Thanks Uncle Mert for sharing your Life Stories,

Sue

Photo Credits

T J Brown's Cotton Gin...Photo from Martha Jane Marley's Photo Album

Othella and Mert Carroll about 1918...Mert (standing)

Carroll Family Portrait...from Martha Jane Marley's Photo Album

Mert Carroll's Headstone...from my Collection...taken 2011

Trimming The Family Tree

Where did all these folks come from?   Who knew there would be so many people to acknowledge on a persons Family Tree?   Where does one start picking off leaves or chopping off brances?

And to think, when I first started growing My Family Tree, I never ever would have thought I'd find so many ancestors that I'd have to 'Trim The Tree'.

 I've always thought of 'My Tree' as a Mesquite Tree.  It's a hardy and prolific plant found in West Texas with deep tap roots and what can be anywhere from two feet scrubby shrubs to thirty foot trees.   I've often referred to myself as the 'First Bean' of my Dad's Branch/Twig and my Siblings as Beans Two, Three, Four and Five.

About those Mesquite Beans...they have been known as a food source.  Dried and ground beans have been made into flour which adds a sweet, nutty taste to breads or used in jelly or wine.  It is unwise to eat these beans raw unless you are a heifer or steer.  Yep, they love those green beans and snap them right off the tree.  Now you know how they got to be the most prolific plant in Texas. 

Now don't misunderstand my 'Prolific Bean Theory' as a comparison to my 'Prolific Production of Ancestors'.  It wasn't until the 1890's that they were exposed to the Texas Mesquite Tree, and as you can see from the 'Grandparent Chart', just about any Tree can handle that number of Branches, Twigs and Beans.  It's the Great Great's To Infinity that are cluttering up my Tree...not to mention my BeanBrain!  Why, there are so many 'GG's2InFin' that I have invented 'TAGS' that say Profile Done....afterall you only need to DigEm Up Once.

So where do I draw the Family Tree Pruning Line?

How many 'Great Great's 2 Infinity' Ancestors do I need to know?

I think 5X Great Grandparents John Ichabod and Mary Polly Rowe Pittman ought to do it!

Afterall, diggin' around in Colonial America has turned up some really neat stuff!

NOTABLE ANCESTORS

Although, finding Mary Polly Rowe's 5XGreat Grandparents in Scotland is tempting!

Just think Sue...10X Great Grandparents...WOW!!!

NEVER MIND!!!!!

Click HERE for More

Family Tree Stories/Posts

Golden Moments In The Stream of Life

The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. ~George Elliot

I liken this quote to the time I've spent in the last few months researching and documenting my Family Tree. I invite you to view my collection of Vintage Photos and read the 'Stories' I've posted here on CollectInTexas Gal and on My Family Heritage Blog...Tracks of My Texas Ancestors.

From my Collection of Vintage Photos, I've been drawn to the portraits of children. Studying them in detail reveals much about their place in the family like this big sister with the big bows tied kind of cockeyed around her braids.

I imagine her Mama fixed them all straight and spiffy before the picture was taken, but back then getting your picture taken was like going to church...puttin' on your Sunday Best and Sittin' Still through lots of 'Hellfire's and Damnations' when you didn't know what that meant except that it was Hottern'Hell in all those SundayBestin's!

And then there's the 'Camera Contraption'! Can you just imagine what Big Sister was thinkin' about the Camera Creature who spoke from under the Three Legged OneEyed Smoke Belchin' Contraption? No wonder she's reaching for baby's hand! "It's all right baby. I'm your Guardian Angel."

Just look at this 'Sweet Angel' in the 'PinTuck Ruffled and Laced' Dress.

Now, one of the things I've discovered in studying 19th Century photos is that just because the child is wearing a dress doesn't necessarily mean it's a Girl Child!

For instance...in this Family Portrait of my Great Grandparents taken about 1899...

you'll notice that four of the five family members are wearing dresses.

I'll start on the left with names:

Great Uncle Meritt Douglas, Great Uncle Othello Elisha, Great Granddaddy Steven Bennett, my Grandmother Effie Estella and Great Grandmother Martha Jane.

(Boy Howdy, did I come from a bunch of 'Off The Wall Named' folks wearin' dresses)

Several years later...beginning of the 20th Century...there's one more child in the Great's Family Portrait.

And Yep, it's a Girl Child named Mary Ella wearin' a dress.

Standing next to her is my Grandmother Effie Estella wearin' a dress.

And those guys in Knickers?

Yep, it's Merritt Douglas and Othello Elisha!

Don't you know from the look on their faces they are thinkin'...

"Our Mama MADE us wear these 'SissyShirts'!!!

So here we are in the middle of the 20th Century where parents sat their kids down on the ground on an old blanket from the trunk of their '1950 Pink Nash Rambler' and said 'Say Cheese'!

So I did with my whole face.

My brother Tommy thought he said, 'Freeze', and baby sister Sonja, well, her first word was...Cheese'!

Rene Marion Pittman - Notable Ancestor

Rene Marion Pittman

Born - January 28, 1812 in Columbia County, Georgia

Died - October 24, 1873 in Queen Mills, Cobb County, Georgia

Son of

Ichabod Byrd and Frances Jackson Stone Pittman

1780-1827       1783-1857

Siblings

Thomas Agustus Pittman

1808-1872

Selina Ann Pittman

1815-1853

Joseph Marshall Pittman

1823-1890

Wife

Mary Anne Howell Pittman

January 28, 1822 - August 22, 1890

Married - December 20, 1840 

Rene Marion and Mary Ann Howell Pittman and the Howell Family lived in the Southern part of Cobb County in the vicinity of the Chattahoochie River. The Howell property, near Garrett's Bridge is now (1850's) owned by Mrs. Hampton Howell, the daughter of R.N. Pittman (? if N is meant as M). The adjoining Pittman property is owned by Mrs. Hattie Pittman Parish, daughter of Allison Pittman. (Allison son of Rene and Mary Ann)

Mary Ann's father, Isaac Howell, was a pioneer settler of Cobb County, and the brother of Evan P. Howell of Gwinnett County, then Atlanta County. Her brothers married Sewell sisters, and another brother married Elizabeth Redwine whose family was also associated with the Word Family in neighboring Coweta County.

Many Fulton and Cobb County landmarks are named for the Howell and Sewell families including: Howell Mill Road, Sewell Mill Road, Sewell Farms Subdivisions.

Mary Ann's Uncle Captain Evan P. Howell acquired the Atlanta Constitution Newspaper when it was struggling in it's infancy, and was the Editor-in-Chief for many years.
(From: The First Hundred Years, A Short History of Cobb County Georgia)

Children of Rene Marion and Mary Anne Howell Pittman

William Howell Pittman

1812-1909

George Washington Pittman

1843-1938

Albert Singleton Pittman

1845-1921

James Allison Pittman

1848-1928

Mary Eugenia Pittman Howell

1850-1934

Fannie Margaret Pittman

1850-1934

Emma Pittman

1854-1979

Elizabeth Lizzy Pittman

1857-1921

Isaac Marion Pittman

1859-1919

Savannah Bartow Pittman Brown

1862-1937

Rene Marion Pittman served in the 7th State Guard Volunteer Infantry Regiment of Georgia, and enlisted as a Sargent in Company K at the age of 49 years on May 31, 1861. (documented in US Civil War Records and Profiles). 

The 7th Georgia along with the 8th, 9th, 11th, and 59th made up Gen. 'Tige' Anderson's Brigade in Hood's Division of Longstreet's Corps. The GA 7th Infantry Regiment was formed in May, 1861, at Atlanta, Georgia, and in June moved to Harpers Ferry,Virginia. Assigned to Colonel F. S. Bartows Brigade, Army of the Shenandoah, it was active in the fight at First Manassas. In April 1861, the regiment had 611 effectives and served under the command of General G. T. Anderson until the end of the war. It participated in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days Battles to Cold Harbor, except when it was detached with Longstreet at Suffolk, in Georgia, and at Knoxville. The 7th was not involved in the Battle of Chickamauga. It was active in the long Petersburg siege south and north of the James River and later the Appomattox Campaign. (From:  The War for Southern Independence In Georgia)



Rene Marion and Mary Anne Howell Pittman lived most of their lives in Cobb County, Georgia, and were documented in the following US Census:
~US Census of 1840 - R.M. Pittman, age 28, head of house with 4 free white males and 1 free white female in household.  4 Slaves...2 males and 2 females with ages that indicate a young couple with two young children.  Agriculture.
~US Census of 1850 - R.M. Pittman, age 38, head of house with wife Mary Ann age 28.  Children:  William, George, Albert, James and Mary Eugenia.  Occupation Farmer.
~US Census of 1870 - R.M. Pittman, age 58, head of house with wife Mary Ann (47) and children:  James (23) farmhand, Mary, Fannie, Emma, Elizabeth, Isaac Marion, and Savannah.  Occupation Farmer.  Listed Real Estate value at $2500 and Personal Estate $500.
~US Census of 1880 - Mary A. Pittman, age 54, widowed head of house with children:  Eugenia (30), Fannie (28), Lizzie (23), Savannah (19)...all keeping house...Isaac (2l) Farmer.  (This Census taken 7 years after Rene Marion's death shows his widow and children farming his land.  His older sons Albert, George and Loren as living on neighboring farms.  Is possible that older sons inherited their part of their fathers estate and continued to farm all of R.M. Pittmans land.
~US Census of 1890 - There is no 1890 Census.  It was destroyed in a fire.  By the next Census in 1900, Mary Ann Howell Pittman has died, her older sons left Georgia for Texas, and her daughters have married or have moved in with relatives.  It is not know what became of the R.M. Pittmans Land....still researching.



Rene Marion and Mary Anne Howell Pittman are buried in The Howell Family Cemetery.
The Howell Family Cemetery is located in Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia.
There are 99 Howell/Pittman and Relatives buried there .
A descendent of the Howell Family, Clark Howell Hogan discussed founding the Howell Family cemetery in one of the Volumes of Cobb County Georgia Cemeteries. He said, "the cemetery was established in 1860 with the death of *Isaac Howell who fell dead, according to family legend, while 'cussing' Abraham Lincoln. Having said he would rather die than see Abe elected President."  *Isaac Howell was Mary Anne's Father.


Find A Grave Memorial Links:
Rene Marion Pittman
Mary Anne Howell Pittman

Rene Marion and Mary Anne Howell Pittman
2X Great Grandparents of
Sandra Sue Pittman, Author
Tracks of My Texas Ancestors
through their son
George Washington Pittman

James Greene Pittman - Notable Ancestor

Son of John and Mary Polly Rowe Pittman

Brother of

Buckner Pittman

Phillip Pittman

Timothy Pittman

John Ichabod Pittman

(4x Great Grandfather of Author)

James Greene, his Father John and four Brothers were soliders in the Revolutionary War where James rose to the rank of Lieutenant.  When Georgia fell into the hands of the British, James Greene returned to Virginia the state of his birth. 

July 2, 1781 Marriage To

Martha Patsy Taylor

Daughter of James and Nancy Owens Taylor

Family Lineage of

President Zachary Taylor

In September 1788 James Greene, Martha and three children born in Virginia, returned to Georgia.  Documents of Letters and Land Grants show that he owned large tracts of land in Franklin County which in 1796 became a part of newly formed Jackson County, Georgia.  In 1812 a portion of the Pittman land was made part of another new county, Madison County.   He also owned a large tract of land in Wilkes County, Georgia where the Pittman Family home once stood, but was destroyed by fire.

After the war, James Greene took an active role in the affairs of Georgia.  In 1796 he represented Jackson County at the 1795 Convention.  He returned to the 1798 Convention, again as a Representative of Jackson County which has been referred to as *the largest and ablest that ever assembled in Georgia.  They formed the Constitution that was not materially changed until after the War between the States.  *Historian George Smith.

James Greene Pittman State of Georgia Appointments

Judge of the Inferior Court of Jackson County - June 21, 1796

by Gov. Jared Irwin

Captain in the Jackson County Militia - Oct. 13, 1798

House of Representatiaves 1797-1799

Commissioner of Jackson County Academy - Feb. 11, 1797

In 1812 Jackson County was divided and Madison County was formed. 
Commissioner of Madison County Academy - Nov. 6, 1812

Legislative Representative for Madison County

Militia District of Madison County Honoree

Dist. named for James G. Pittman

John Greene Pittman died on Christmas Day, December 25, 1850 at the age of 94 years. 
He is buried in the Pittman Cemetery in Madison County, Georgia.
John Greene Pittman Memorial - Find A Grave Website
PITTMAN CEMETERY
Donated By
LIEUTENANT JAMES PITTMAN
1845
FROM HIS ORIGINAL U.S. GOVERNMENT
LAND GRANT SIGNED BY
PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON FOR SERVICE
IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Erected In Memory of Lieut. Pittman
By His Descendants
1953
Find A Grave Memorial and Photos by Leigh Williams Kitchens
4X Great Granddaughter of John Greene Pittman

Martha Taylor Pittman, wife of James Greene died in May 1850, seven months before his death in December.  During the summer of 1850, he had his slaves build a rock wall enclosing her grave and that of his daughter Martha and her husband, Abner Wells.  James Greene's grave is marked with the Bronze Marker of the United States Daughters of 1812 and with the Government Marker of the Revolutionary War.  This was secured through the efforts of two of his great -granddaughters in 1912. 

James Greene and Martha Patsy Taylor Pittman Children

John Green Pittman  1782-1873

Pleasant Owen Pittman 1784-1849

Martin Hughes Pittman 1786-1836

Sir James Pittman 1788-1848

Elizabeth Alice Pittman 1790-1850

Nancy Sarah Pittman 1792-1830

Lucinda Pittman 1794-1864

Timothy Franklin Pittman 1797-1883

Sarah Ann Pittman 1798-1854

Martha Diana Pittman 1801-1890

Noah Washington Pittman 1803-1890

Teresa Pittman 1807-1888

Elizabeth Ann Pittman 1822-1888

Acknowledgements

Ancestry.com Public Document

Judges James Greene and John Greene Memorial Presentation

Find A Grave Memorial

Leigh Williams Kitchens

The Georgia Historical Society's

Index To US Census of Georgia for 1820

James Greene Pittman

4X Great Uncle

of

Sandra Sue Pittman, Author

Tracks of My Texas Ancestors

By The Lamp Light...A Sisters Letters from 1861

August 5, 1861
My Dear Brother Jessie,

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that our Dear Mother has joined her heavenly father in the promise land.  Praise be, she is free of the pain and suffering that has long been her burden to bear. 

In her final hours, Jessie, her thoughts and prayers were for you.  Tears of love and sorrow filled her eyes as she prayed to Our Lord and Savior to comfort you with his healing touch on your wounds and heart. 
'Sweet Jessie, we will be together in the Glory of Heaven." 
With those last words, she went peacefully to The Glory.

Your devoted sister,
Mary Amanda

Agnes Susan Castelberry Leatherwood departed this life August the 5th, 1861, aged 52 years, on month and 15 days.  The deceased was a native of South Carolina, then moved to Benton County (now Calhoun) Alabama where she remained until her death.  She had been affected for some time, and the latter part of her afflictions was very severe and yet she bore the same without murmur.

The deceased lived a member of the Baptist church and adorned her profession by a godly walk and close conversation;  but her seat is now vacant in the church house, and also in the family circle;  but in the language of Revelation, "blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from hence forth, yea saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works, do follow them." 

Her Christian walk will still live in the memory of those with whom she associated.  She was a warm and devoted friend, and generous and forgiving to her enemies - a good and generous neighbor - a kind and affectionate wife and mother.  She has left a husband, 10 or 11 children, and many relatives and friends to mourn her loss, but their loss is her eternal gain.  We sympathize with the family in their bereavement, and may the Lord give them grace to sustain them in their heavy bereavement.

Obituary - The Jacksonville Republican News, Jacksonville, Alabama - December 12, 1861

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name.  Give me strength and wisdom of thy words to convey with heartfelt sympathy the message I must write.  Amen.  Mary Amanda

August 20, 1861

My Dear Brothers George and John,

It is with a greater sadness than you will ever know that I write to you of the death of our beloved Mother. I do so at this later date than her passing to include the Obituary from the Jacksonville News.

As I write this letter and think of Mother's last days, I am reminded to tell you of her concerns for her three sons as you fight in this terrible war.  Her prayers were constant for her sons so far from home in Tennessee and Texas. 

Days before her passing, we recieved a letter from Jessie.  It was penned by another, but were his words of news that he was mortally wounded and lying in the hospital at Camp Bristow, Tennessee. 

With her dying breath, Mother's words, "Sweet Jessie, we will be together in the Glory of Heaven", gave witness to the news to come of Jessie's passing.  Mother and son are now in the loving arms of our Heavenly Father.  Jessie passed from this earth one day after Mother on August 6, 1861.  Her faith and close conversation with The Lord opened her heart and soul to a vision of the Glory of Heaven.  In my minds eye I see her inside the Golden Gates, her loving arms reaching out for Jessie as he walks the golden path to comfort and love of his Mother and the Lord they so love.

I pray, my Brothers, that Mothers vision and words are prophetic for the safety and well being of you both.  It has been many months since you left Alabama for Texas, and the lack of news from you gives us concern.  We continue to pray for you both and for news of your safety and well being. 

Your loving Sister,

Mary Amanda

Agnes Susan Castelberry Leatherwood

June 2, 1809 - August 5, 1861

Wife of

Zachariah Perry Leatherwood, Sr.

April 15, 1807 - April 24, 1869

Mother of  13 Children including:

John More Leatherwood

October 19, 1833 - October 11, 1914

(John More Leatherwood...Third Great Grandfather)

Epilogue

By The Lamp Light...A Sisters Letters from 1861 is a fictionalized account based on true facts, dates and names from my Leatherwood Family Tree.   Through Mary Amanda's letters, the hardships and heartbreak of one families life during the early years of the Civil War are told.  This is the first of what I hope will be the story of  the Leatherwood Family's migration to Texas.  The family members presented here are documented in my ancestry.com Family Tree, included in Tracks of My Texas Ancestors Genealogy Blog, and Memorialized in Find A Grave. 

Below are the Links to their Find A Grave Memorials:  

Agnes Susan Castelberry Leatherwood

Jessie Franklin Leatherwood

Mary Amanda Leatherwood

George Holland Leatherwood

John More Leatherwood

Photos by Sue Pittman McPeak

Photos not Representative of People or Places in this story.

Used for added interest and support of title.

Photos are Authentic Scenes of the 1860's - 1900 Period.

This Account/Writing/Post is published in

CollectInTexas Gal~Tracks of My Texas Ancestors