William Howell Pittman Family

 William Howell Pittman was the first born of Rene Marion and Mary Ann Howell Pittman of Cobb County Georgia.  He was the brother of my Great Great Grandfather George Washington Pittman, the second child of Rainey and Mary Ann. 

William Howell Pittman 

Born - February 2, 1842 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia

Died - August 30, 1909 in Rising Star, Eastland County, Texas

Lousia Emalissa Walker Pittman

Born - September 2, 1851 in Rankin County Arkansas

Died - October 16, 1930 in Cross Plains, Callahan County, Texas

William Howell Pittman married Louisa Emalissa Walker in Polk, Arkansas on November 10, 1867.

He is featured here in Tracks of My Texas Ancestors for several notable reasons:

 

He was a Veteran of the Civil War serving as a Lieutenant in the Georgia First Regiment Infantry.  Brothers, William Howell and George Washington were Volunteer Soliders in the Confederacy, and after the War the Veteran Brothers headed West.  Both found their way to West Texas.  George Washington settled in Ward County where the Sixth Generation of his decendents reside today.  William Howell settled in Eastland County where he and Louisa raised Six Daughters.

 The daughters of William Howell Pittman and Louisa Emalissa Walker Pittman.

Texanna, Sallie, Susanna, Fannie, Ann and Josephine.

The 'Tracking' of William Howell has been an interesting and rewarding trip with photos and history found on Ancestry.com, Pittman Family Scrapbooks and Internet Archives.

William Howell Pittman and Family are presented with 'At A Glance Profile' information, photos and links to Find A Grave Biographys, *Pittman/Carroll, Marley Family Tree on Ancestry.com and here on Tracks of My Texas Ancestors.

*(must be a subscriber to ancestry.com to view - contact collectintexas@gmail.com for invitation)

William Howell Pittman

Born - February 2, 1842 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia

Died - August 30, 1909 in Rising Star, Eastland County, Texas

Buried - Rising Star Cemetery

Find A Grave Memorial

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

Louisa Emalissa Walker Pittman

Born - September 2, 1851 in Rankin County Arkansas

Died - October 16, 1930 in *Cross Plains, Callahan County, Texas

Buried - Rising Star Cemetery

Find A Grave Memorial

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

*The April 1930 Census showed Louisa, age 78, living with daughter Fannie Marshall, seven months before her death.

Daughters of William Howell and Louisa Walker Pittman.

Texannah Pittman Fleming

Born - December 30, 1868 in Mena, Polk County, Arkansas

Died - November 18, 1951 Cross Plains, Callahan, Texas

Buried - Pioneer Cemetery in Eastland County Texas

Find A Grave Memorial

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

Married Samuel Alexander Fleming

September 23, 1894

Samuel and Texannah's Family about 1912

William Robert Fleming 1895 – 1966

Callie Alexander Fleming 1898 – 1959

Kate Fleming 1901 – 1996

 Samuel Frank Fleming 1903 – 1975

Leonard Ross Fleming 1906 – 1969

Joseph Alton Fleming 1909 – 1993

Mary Josephine Pittman Watkins

Born: October 1, 1872 in Arkansas

Died:  March 31, 1910 in Rising Star, Eastland County, Texas

Buried:  Rising Star Cemetery

Find A Grave Memorial

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

Married Julius Cisero Watkins in 1895

Children:

Henry Pittman Watkins - 1896-

Ralph Cicero Watkins - 1899-1947

Sallie Savannah Pittman Boone

Born:  June 9, 1895 in Arkansas

Died:  January 5, 1943 in San Angelo, Texas

Buried:  Fairmount Cemetery, San Angelo, Texas

Find A Grave Memorial

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

Married Daniel Green Boone in 1893

Children

Howell Crockett Boone  1894 – 1895

 Ethel L Boone  1896 – 1983

Mary J Boone  1900 – 1989

 Daniel S Boone  1905 –

 Margaret Audrey Boone  1909 – 1947

Savannah Jeanette Boone  1912 – 1997

Joseph Keyes Boone  1916 – 2001

Fannie Pittman Marshall

Born:  April 1, 1878   Mena, Polk County, Arkansas

Died:  May 13, 1967  Pioneer, Eastland County, Texas

Buried:  Pioneer Cemetery, Eastland, Texas

Find A Grave Memorial

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

Married Benjamin Ira Marshall  December 27, 1896

Children

Lura Dean Marshall  1898-1922

Lucy J. Marshall  1900-1991

Maud Marshall  1903

Willard Ross Marshall  1904-1986

Mabel Marshall  1908

Howell Marshall  1910-1984

Lessie Bell Marshall  1915-2000

Susanna 'Susie' Pittman Fore

Born:  October 8, 1880 in Ozark, Polk, Arkansas

Died:  October 18, 1961 in Pioneer, Easland County, Texas

Buried:  Pioneer Cemetery, Eastland, Texas

Find A Grave Memorial

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

Married Ambrose Calier Fore 

Children

Ada Estelle Fore  1902

Vera U Fore  1906

William Garland Fore  1909

Ann Charlie Pittman Fore

Born:  January 1882 in Ozark, Polk County, Arkansas

Died:  October 18, 1961 in Pioneer, Eastland County, Texas

(? as is the same date as sister Susannah)

Buried:  unconfirmed as Pioneer Cemetery, Eastland County, Texas

*Pittman/Carroll/Marley Family Tree

Married Marion Lee Fore  (unconfirmed relative of Susannah's husband Ambrose)

Children

Howell Green Fore

JC Fore

Zack L. Fore

Alva Fore

Alzie Floyd Fore

*must be a subscriber to ancestry.com to view - contact collectintexas@gmail.com for invitation

Geneaologist doing research on this Family Lineage please contact

collectintexas@gmail.com

I welcome the exchange of Family History information and photos!

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Pittman Place in Grandfalls, Texas

Willard and Thelma Pittman purchased 21 acres from longtime county commissiioner Slim Boroughts and wife Jewel in the early 1960's.  the Boroughs had moved a shotgun, four room house onto the acreage, and added a back entry room and a front bedroom, probably in the late 1940's.  A red barn stood to the back of the house and a 'Trap' area was fenced off to the right of the house which ran the length of the acreage from the road to the back fence.  Over the years, Willard built sucker rod, portable pens and a shed for Stacy's horses, and pens to the back of the barn for Stacy's FFA pigs.

 Hay and grass was grown with water coming down from Red Bluff and was irrigated from the ditch that ran the length of the back fence.  The ditch was cleared by Willard using a Maintainer Tractor.  The irrigation was a slow process of opening the ditch at intervals with a shovel and flooding the rows.  When the row was flooded the opening was covered and the next row opened.  It took all day and all night of opening and closing the ditch from the Brandenburg fence line to the Pittman fence line to complete the irrigation.

The Pittman Family lived on the place off and on from the 1960's through the later part of the 1980's.  Stacy was the only Pittman to graduate from Grandfalls-Royalty High School, as his older siblings all graduated from Monahans.  After Willards death in 1988, Thelma decided to stay in Midland, where they had been living.  Pittman Place was sold to Willard and Thelma's oldest daughter and her husband.  Pittman Place became a reunion spot for Thanksgiving Day, Easter Egg Hunts, and Pittman Family get-togethers.

In 1991 Wayne and Sue opened the pasture fence running along the entry road and moved in a house, built a big screened in porch, fenced off an area along side the barn for a garden, renovated the barn and added a shed and pens.  The 'Old House' was used as Pittman Place Pottery and Art Studio.

Willard Carroll Pittman ~ Pittman Place ~ Grandfalls, Texas 1982

~The Pittman Place land was Irrigated out of the same ditch that Willard's father had been 'The Ditch Rider' for Fifty years earlier. 

~In 1994-95 Pittman Place was sold to neighbors, the Brandenburgs. 

Willard Carroll Pittman Tribute

The Family of Willard and Thelma Pittman gathered for Christmas Day at the home of Tommy and Sharon Pittman in Monahans, Texas.  We had a wonderful dinner, presents exchanged and special time visiting and taking pictures.

This is one of the last photos taken of Willard.  He was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 1988.  We all gathered again in Odessa for his 61st Birthday on March 14, 1988.

Willard Carroll Pittman was a man of many facets.  He never met a stranger, and had friends from all walks of life.  He worked and played and lived his life to the fullest.  He loved and respected his wife and raised his children to love and respect her above all others.  His children were his pride and joy and he raised them with a firm, but loving and affectionate hand.  he was proud of and loved his grandchildren and would be pleased as each generation carries on the Pittman Family Traditions.

Willard Carroll Pittman Obituary - Monahans News April 1988

Graveside services for Willard Carroll Pittman, 61, were held Monday in Grandfalls Tamarisk Cemetery by Ferman Kurley.  Mr. Pittman was born March 14, 1927 in Deming, New Mexico to Columbus Chapel and Estella Carroll Pittman.  He died April 1, 1988 in Midland.  He was a Naval World War II Veteran, a Baptist and an oilfield night watchman.

He married Thelma Irene Klemish January 6, 1946 in Yuma, Arizona and she survives him.  He is also survived by five chldren, Mrs. Sue McPeak and Tommy Pittman, both of Monahans, Sonja Pittman, Connie Pittman and Stacy Pittman, all of Midland; a brother MD Pittman of Odessa; three sisters Mrs. Beatrice Sanders of Cartwright, Oklahoma, Mrs. Mae Hutchinson of Corpus Christi and Mrs. Irene Sinks of Tracey, California and eight grandchildren.

Card of Thanks - Monahans News April 1988

The family of Willard Carroll Pittman sincerely thanks and appreciates the love and support given by his many friends and relatives in Grandfalls and Monahans.  Willards unique personality touched many lives during his lifetime in West Texas, and the people of Ward County were very important to him and his family.  Special thanks to the first Baptist Church of Grandfalls, Rev. David Boggs of the Church of Christ in Monahans, Sam Trees of Odessa, to all who sent flowers and food, and to each of you who have called, sent cards and visited our home.  Your thoughtfulness has touched our hears and will be lovingly remembered as special tributes to our very special husband, father and brother.

Sincerely,

Thelma Pittman

Tommy and Sharon Pittman

Sonja, Connie and Stacy Pittman

Sue and Wayne McPeak

MD and Pearl Pittman

The Grandmother I Met Only Once

Effie Estella Carroll Pittman Jeffords
The Grandmother I wrote poems and letters to.
The Grandmother I met only once.
The Grandmother that lived in Alaska.
The Grandmother that came to Grandfalls, Texas in a covered wagon.
 The Grandmother who married my Granddad at the age of sixteen and the Mother my Dad hardly knew.

Her name was seldom if ever spoken in our house, as Daddy had only fleeting memories of her when he was a small boy. He only remembered being raised by his Dad and his older sisters Irene and Beatrice.

 As I search my memory for words and phrases that I heard as a child that would describe my Grandmother Stella, only ‘she left us, divorced Daddy, moved to Alaska, married another man, and had another son’ come to mind. Back then, all I understood was that she lived in Alaska, wherever that was, and my Grandad lived with us.

And now, I’d like to think I understand how a sixteen year old girl who married a man twice her age, gave birth to six children, struggled everyday to feed, clothe and get them to school, and whose own Mother was hundreds of miles away, could leave. The reasons for Stella’s leaving are unknown to me as it was not talked about in our home. Diviorce was unheard of in the 1930’s, and I can imagine how hard it must have been for her to face her family.

I can remember Daddy making a few trips to Anchorage, Alaska to see her when we were children. Stella came to Texas to visit her Mother, Martha Jane Carroll in 1952. I remember this one time that I met her only through the pictures that were taken.

My favorite memories of Stella Carroll are the memories and stories from her brother, my Great Uncle Mert. I’d like to share one I wrote based on Mert's story telling of his Sister Stella.

 Martha Jane Carroll Makes Homestead Tracks in Texas will give you some insight into my Grandmother Stella as a Girl Raised In Texas.

PS...I always thought it would be nice to be named after one of my Grandmothers. Can you just imagine going through school as Effie Sue Pittman or Minnie Sue Pittman. Whew! Thanks Mama!

Our Family Heritage...Texas Pioneer Martha Jane Marley Carroll

Martha Jane Marley Carroll was the oldest of the fourteen children of Elisha S. Marley and Mary Josephine Leatherwood.  She was a Texas Pioneer and my Great Grandmother.  This is Her Texas story...

My Daddy ran away from home when Grandpa Marley and Uncle John joined up with the Carolina's Militia to fight the Yankees. They wouldn't take Daddy. Said he was too young. He didn't start out for Texas, but ended up here, married my Mama, and started a family. Mama birthed fourteen children, and raised twelve of us to adulthood.

I was named after my Grandmothers, and everyone called me Janie.  My siblings had short names like John, Ann, Ben, Ida, Bill , and longer ones like Zachariah, Holbart, Wardie, and Samuel.

I married Mr. Stephen Bennett Carroll in Jack County, Cleburne, Texas.  He called me Mrs. Carroll right up to the day he died  on June 23, 1903. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bennett Carroll and their children. 

Othello Elisha Columbus born August 18, 1895

Merritt Douglas Carroll born November 3, 1896

Effie Estella born June 22, 1900

Mary Ella born July 14, 1902

Dear Family and Readers of CollectInTexas Gal,

As 'Keeper' of the Our Family Heritage and in Honor of Mother's Day,

I dedicate this Post and the Ones to Follow to the Mothers of Our Family.

Martha Jane Marley Carroll  was my Daddy's Grandmother.  His Mother, Effie Estella 'Stella', is the little girl standing in the portrait with her brothers, Othello and Merritt and sister, Mary Ella, taken in 1902.

The photographs are originals from the Family Album shown in the background.  It was passed to me as 'Keeper of Our Family Heritage' from Great Aunt Mary Ella's Son, Thomas.

Martha Jane Makes Homestead Tracks In Texas

Third and Fourth Generations Follow
by Sandra Sue Pittman

When the wind mixes with a driving sleet in West Texas, a cow, a calf and a young girl should be someplace out of the bitter cold. Preferably someplace warm.  Stella's thoughts about someplace warm kept her going in the driving sleet.  The cow was having a hard time of it, too.  Stella could tell by the tension on the rope that kept the mother as close to her newborn as she could get.  The calf, barely four hours old, was draped across her saddle sharing the slicker that was doing a passable job of keeping the rain and ice from soaking them both.

Stella looked up just before her horse crossed the road through the gate where the sign was covered in snow and dripping with ice sickles.  Just able to make out Wristen Ranch through the blowing sleet and snow, she peered beyond the sign to make out the house and barn  down the snow covered  wagon rutted tracks.  Holding back on the horse so the cow could keep up, she spoke softly to the shivering calf, "Hang on little one, we'll get you warm and fed real soon.  Dear god, let there be somebody here who will take us in for the night."

The answer to her prayer was standing beside the barn swinging a lantern.  As she neared the barn door, Stella allowed the cowboy to take the reins and lead them inside.  For the first time in what seemed like hours, she took a full breath of air without the wool scarf filtering the cold and ice. 

Numb and shivering, she handed the calf to the out stretched arms who quickly rubbed the calf down with a toesack, laid it beside it's mother and returned to the girl as she nearly fell from the saddle.

"I bet yore Stella Carroll," said the cowboy as he helped her to the pot bellied stove in the tack room of the barn.  "I'm Bob Offield.  I met yore Mother, brothers and sister today when they was stuck in a mudhole jesta mile or two down the road from here.  Can't say I'm surprised to see you.  Yore Mama said you were jest a few hours behind with a cow and a newborn calf.  Looks like you did a right fine job of getting all of you this far.  Now let's get you unfroze a bit before we git on up to the main house where Miz Wristen will fix you somethin' to warm you up".

With her chattering teeth, Stella was having a hard time saying her thanks, but managed to nod her head in agreement as Bob motioned her to the stool in front of the fire.  He threw in another log and stoked the embers as Stella pulled off her gloves and hat, and unwrapped the shawl she had covering her head and shoulders.  Bob noticed that she had the same color hair as her Mama, and the young girl seemed to have that same proud stance and determination that he had witnessed earlier in the day.

The following day dawned with the sun shining on the snow drifts that had piled on the window sill of the room Mrs. Wristen had insisted Stella take for the night.  Stella hadn't had the luxury and comfort of a real bed since leaving Grandpa and Grandma Marleys place.  It seemed like a long time ago, but it had been less than three weeks since she had left Borden County to travel to Grandfalls in the covered wagon she watched roll out of sight so many hours ago.  Now she would have to catch up with her Mama...oh how she wanted to stay under the warm scrap quilts, eat hot food and wait for warmer weather before venturing out again.

"My Daddy died nearly thirteen years ago.  Mama, my brothers and sister and I have been living with my Grandpa and Grandma Marley on their farm in Gail.  Mama heard that Ward County was offering homesteads to farmers who could make it for two years.  So we started off and when we got to Monahans, the storm hit and the cow decided to have her calf.  I'm very grateful to you, Miz Wristen, for your hospitality.  I couldn't have gone much further.  "Stella found herself telling Mrs. Wristen, who was busy making a pan of biscuits and stirring gravy for the ranch hands that would be sitting down to the long oak table for breakfast.

"Your Mother must be a determined woman to take on homesteading in this part of West Texas without a husband.  It's a tough life, and God knows, it takes a mighty strong will and strong back to make it work.  I wish you and your Mama well.  Stella, I can see that you are strong, young Texas woman.  You'll make it."

Pittman Place Cow and Calf ~ Grandfalls, TX ~ 1982 ~ by Sandra Sue Pittman

Around sixty-five years after Martha Jane Carroll and daughter Stella brought their first cow and calf to homestead in Grandfalls, Stella's youngest son, Willard Carroll Pittman, was raising a few head of  cattle and farming Bermuda Grass on twenty-one acres of land in Grandfalls, Texas.

The Pittman Place land was Irrigated out of the same ditch that Willard's father had been 'The Ditch Rider' for Fifty years earlier. 

Willard Carroll Pittman ~ Pittman Place ~ Grandfalls, Texas 1982

Cow Skull ~ by Sandra Sue Pittman

Grandma's Quilt and Shawl ~ Collection of Sandra Sue Pittman