Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina

1733   Fact: Eliz Anderson will: legatee Eliz Pitman and her son William Anderson

(note the possible conclusions of that statement)

1738   Hearsay: From the research of Donald Gordon (a Pittman descendant):

Thomas Pitman,of Monmouthshire, England, fled England during the Cromwell rebellion and landed in Virginia in 1649. He purchased land in Surry County, Virginia and had two sons Thomas and William. This grandson, the third Thomas moved about 1707 to Isle of Wight County. His daughter Elizabeth and son Robert, with Robert’s two sons, Samuel and Joseph moved to Edgecombe County North Carolina about 1738. Deeds in Edgecombe County show Robert, Samuel, Joseph and Elizabeth holding several hundred acres in the area North and West of Tarboro. Joseph who first appears on Edgecombe records as a bailiff of the court had a son Abner (b. 1758) and grandson born 1787. By this time the Pitmans became Pittmans and all spelled their name with two tees . The Pittmans held land North of Leggett stretching into southern Halifax County. Here Joseph and his wife Mary had a son Henry Elias born 1828. In 1850 Henry married Lucy Anderson who in 1852 gave birth to Biscoe Pittman who married Martha Alice Walston. To this marriage was born, as the last of eight children, Hobson Lafayette Pittman (1899) at Epworth.

note:

Marc,
I checked the Pittman file at the Blount Bridgers house – The item you had was an exact quote from the paper by Donald Gordon who was a nephew of the artist Hobson Pittman. There is no other information about Elizabeth and Donald’s research was not documented. He came down through Abner and Joseph’s lines which he worked on. (Monika Fleming, Tarboro, NC)

(note the veracity and plausibility of the above information in the following)

1740    Fact: one Eliz Pitman receives a survey for 300ac north of Tar River in Edgecombe.

(If this is the same woman, her son William Anderson would plausibly be a young teenager- in 1752 he gets a survey on adjoining property.)

1742     Fact :NCEDG-DE1, p. 177, from WILLIAM KINCHEN JR, 200 acres to ROBERT PITMAN, on the north side of Buck Swamp in the falling grounds of RAIFORD’S Creek (being part of a patent to PHILLIP RAYFORD dated 18 Feb 1737) dated 16 Nov 1742, W: THOMAS (X) PITMAN, ANN (X) PITMAN, and JOHN PITMAN

(Note the circumstantial evidence- Elizabeth, Robert and Thomas Pitman were all listed in the will of the elder Thomas Pitman of Meherin River…also note that Robert Pitman has a son Joseph who is apparently of the same age as William Anderson.  This Joseph is noted in the records as being the “son of Robert Pitman”)

This Joseph is explained in my mind-numbing fashion in the page “the Problem Pitman”.  Another player of note is Elias Fort who signed the will of Eliz. Anderson in 1733… he shows up to the south of Tar River

1742 reference:  John GOSNEY of Edgcombe Co to Daniel WOODARD of same. 17 Feb 1769. 5 pounds proclamation. 85 acres which was a patent to Elias FORT dated 1742, joining Farewell Branch, the river. Wit: Robart COLEMAN, John(x) BALEY. Aug Ct 1769 Jas HALL CC  • Edgecombe County, North Carolina Deeds Volume 2: 1768-1778, Abstracted by Dr. Stephen E. Bradley

(That is the gist of my theory… I welcome all comments pro or con… the Fort notes are explained under the page “George Fort”)

This is where I figure these folks were… Tarboro is shown for reference.  My name is Marc Anderson by the way, not sure who Carolyn is 🙂

I’m curious where the “Falling Run” is in Nash Co. that you refer to… I’m pretty sure that this is the correct local but will entertain your observations.  I have a link on the sidebar for Topoquest to zoom in to the area showing this “Falling Run” in Edgecombe.

Below is an enlarged pic showing the date of Elizabeth Pitman’s survey… I’ve pondered the date and am convinced it is 1740.

The original penman was no-nonsense and not prone to the Virginia-style flourishes…this appears to me to be a mere “pen drag” making the zero confusing.  With that said however, he did get pretty fancy with the “7” in the date… mayhaps he had a sip of cider and was tempted to throw caution to the wind.

If this Elizabeth was the wife of the adjoining property James Pitman I wish someone more knowledgeable than me can explain why and how this couple would pursue separate grants?  I know that women received grants but in the cases I’ve seen it was due to the death of a spouse or inheritance… neither appears to be the case here…ergo, my speculation that she was single.

Also the time-span from survey to patent is not unusual… note William Anderson: survey 1752- grant-1760. (But to the contrary- Daniel Ross seems to have zipped through the process in only one year)

The other deeds that you referenced seem to me to be in the area that you are focused on…if you can provide more specifics (survey boundaries) I can plot them (I have Metes and Bounds software and use Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop)

Update: James Pitman property….  this is how the survey plots lay out.  This is my arbitrary placement according to the later reference to Widow Pitman… the western boundary is Falling Run.  (Click the map to open in another window then use  Ctrl +- to zoom)