Capt. Thomas Pitman, of Surry County

brief biography and family

THOMAS1 PITMAN was born probably in England about 1614, based on the age he gave in a Surry County court appearance. Thomas Pitman died in Surry County sometime after 7 Jan 1686 when he testified in court.

He was not the husband of Lydia (Gray) Judkins. That was his son Thomas Pitman II.

This Thomas' 3 wives were:

1) Frances (maiden name unknown)

2) Unknown widow Wall (NOT Frances Wall as those names seem to have been merged in error) based on a step-son of Thomas' named Joseph Wall

3) Martha who was widow of both Thomas Atkinson and Thomas Gwaltney.

Biography

Extracted from "Descendants of Thomas Pitman (1614-abt 1686) of Surry County, Virginia" (document attached)

Generation 1

1. THOMAS1 PITMAN was born probably in England about 1614, based on the age he gave in a Surry County court appearance. Thomas Pitman died in Surry County sometime after 7 Jan 1686 when he testified in court.

Prior to 1635 probably in England, he married (1) FRANCES (---), who appears only on one deed. There is no record of her birth or death, but she was most likely deceased in Surry County by 1666.

Thomas married (2) UNKNOWN, the relict of Mr. Wall in Surry County. This unknown spouse had one child, Joseph Wall, by her prior marriage to Mr. Wall.

Thomas married (3) MARTHA (---), the relict of Thomas Atkinson and Thomas Gwaltney, in Surry County before 7 Nov 1667. Martha was born about 1618 and had children by her marriage to Thomas Atkinson but none by her marriage to Thomas Gwaltney. There is no record of Martha’s death.

Thomas1 Pitman died shortly after 7 Jan 1686 when he testified in court. There are no more references to a Capt. Pitman in the Surry County tithables after 1683. He did not leave a will or an estate record.

Child of Thomas Pitman and his first wife Frances (---) was:

• 2. i. THOMAS2 PITMAN, b. probably in England about 1636, m. (1) UNKNOWN in Surry County, and (2) LYDIA (---)in Surry County before 10 Sep 1672, and d. in Surry County by 1692.

Stepchild of Thomas Pitman, born of his second wife, unknown, by her first husband Mr. Wall was:

• 3. JOSEPH1 WALL, b. about 1649, m. (1) SUSANNAH KILPATRICK in Surry County by 1676 and (2) ALICE (---) in Surry County by 14 Jul 1718, and d. in Surry County after 19 Apr 1727.

Stepchildren of Thomas Pitman, born of his third wife, Martha (---), by her first husband Thomas Atkinson were:

• 4. THOMAS1 ATKINSON, b. about 1648, m. SUSANNAH (---) in Surry County, and d. in Isle of Wight County after 19 Jan 1687/8.
• 5. JOHN ATKINSON, b. about 1652, m. ANN HOLLEMAN in Surry County, and d. in Isle of Wight County after 17 Apr 1717.
• 6. JAMES ATKINSON, b. about 1656, m. MARY HOLLEMAN in Surry County, and d. in Isle of Wight County after 28 Jul 1723..

  ---

Notes

Parents seen as Jane West and Thomas Pitman without supporting evidence.

Date of death might specifically be November 7, 1683.

Comments

Date and place of birth have also been (erroneously?) reported to be May 29, 1614 at Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales (unattested).

2 Sources Biography Captain Thomas Pittman was b 1614 Monmouthshire England, and immigrated to Jamestown, VA between 1642-1649 with his wife Frances and several children.

Extant records establish the fact that Thomas Pitman was a carpenter (sued for not finishing a house on time), a farmer (tobacco was grown by most of the settlers), and a partial owner of a grinder mill; he and Francis Pitman sold their half of the mill in 1661, and Thomas Pitman agreed to do the repairs in the future. Early in his career in Virginia he was listed as a Captain in the Virginia Militia as early as 1651. That he had been a Cavalier under King Charles, probably an officer, and had fled to save his head is pure speculation, but he was referred to consistently until his last decade as "Captain."

Surry Co. Court Records 1671-1691 shows that Thomas Pitman had contracted to build a house for Wm. Browne, but that Browne stopped the work.[1] The court was instructed to see how much payment Pitman deserved for the amount of work and 3 men were appointed to study the situation and report back to the court in 7 days. [2]

Thomas Sr. must have been an honorable man, called as witness and to represent friends in court on several occasions.[3]

Capt. Thomas Pittman is listed a total of 36 times in these two books of county records.

Marriages With his first wife Frances (Unknown), he had at least 5 children. Legend says that Thomas and Frances were married and had several children before immigrating to the colony, but no record of their marriage has been found.

Thomas married Martha (Unknown) Atkinson Gwaltney, a widow, in 1666, and acquired the care of a young step-son, William Gwaltney (bc 1655).

After Martha's death in 1672, Thomas married a 3rd time, to Lydia Grey Judkins. She had three sons, Samuel, Robert, and Charles, and at the time of her marriage to Thomas at least Charles was a minor; Thomas was put in charge of Charles' inheritance, a responsibility he gave up a few years later to the eldest brother Samuel.

Involvement in Bacon's Rebellion Along with several other residents of Southwark and Lawnes Creek Parishes, Thomas was involved in Bacon's rebellion with two of his Judkins stepsons. In a deposition of John Price, aged about 27, on 3 July 1677, he recounted Thomas Pittman's part in the rebellion:

"That aboute ye 23d of September last ye Depont. being a prisoner at the house of Mr. Arthur Allen, did heare Arthur Long ordr. & Command Tho. Gibbons to take his Gun & shoote some one of the sd. Mr. Allen's Cattle, & if he could not find any of the old Steeres to kill the first he could meete with upon which the sd Gibbons went out & killed a beast wheather Steere or Cow the Depont. knows not but that night (to ye best of yr. Deponts remembrance) the said Long with Capt. Pitman gave him Leave to goe home Conditionally that he should bring his dogs with him in the morning to Catch Mr Allen's Cattle if any of them should be shott & not killed, but the depont. returning according to time (but wthout his dogs) mett the sd. Long in ye old field neare his owne house."[4] Thomas Pittman and his step-sons Robert and Samuel Judkins were pardoned by the King 6 February 1676/7,[5] and was placed under peace bond by Gov. Berkeley on 26 March 1677.[6]

Will In his will, Thomas lists Joseph Wall as a son-in-law, and William Pitman as a grandson (son of Thomas 2). Some think that his son William Pitman must have died without children. William is listed in Tithables in Surry County consistently from 1679[7] until 1703, the last year I have available.[8]

Age Thomas gave a lengthy deposition in 1677 in a property suit between Thomas Warren and Thomas Rolfe, stating that he was 63 years old, and had been born in England.[9]

Evidence of his age can be found in the Tithables for Surry County, where he appears consistently in the Lawnes Creek parish record from 1667 onward. In 1682, Thomas, due to age, infirmity, or poverty, is put on "parish only" tax roll.[10] This means he had to pay the parish tithe but was no longer liable for Crown taxes.

The last record of him is an entry in the Surry County Tithables recorded 8 June 1691, where he is noted as "Tho: Pittman at Tho: Pittman junr."[11] He must have died shortly thereafter at age 77.

There is a spreadsheet attached to this record with the Tithables listings[12] for Thomas 1, his sons, William 2 and Thomas 2, and Thomas 2's sons Thomas 3, William 3, and Edward 3.

I can add some about the Pittman in James City, Virginia in 1635. His name was Captain Thomas Pittman. He was born in 1614 at Monmouth (Monmouthshire County aka Gwent), Wales. He was a Cavalier under King Charles and fled to America. He arrived between 1640-1642. His oldest child, William, was born in 1640, but the location of this his birth is given as Wales and Virginia. His daughter, Susannah Pittman was born in 1642 in Virginia. Their mother was Frances. Thomas was very active in Virginia. Plug his name into your web browser! I have gotten a lot of information about him from the web. I am a direct descendant of him through his daughter, Susannah. She married Joseph Wall at Virginia. Their granddaughter, Judith Wall, married William DeLoach at Virginia in 1725. William and Judith DeLoach's 2great granddaughter, Georgiana Victoria DeLoach married Malachi Stabler in 1869 at Alabama. Malachi and Georgiana's grandson, Gerald Wayne Stabler was my grandfather. My mother is a Stabler by birth and she married a Daniels - thus me. Barbara Daniels[13]

Thomas was born about 1614. He passed away after 1684.

Thomas Pittman Sr. was a captain in the Virginia militia by 1650 and is listed 36 times in the original Surry County Court Records 1651 to 1682.

Newer Study

“Descendants of Thomas Pitman (1614 – about 1686) of Surry County, Virginia”
link

A study of the records shows that all Pitmans living in the Surry County area before 1750 are descendants of Thomas1 Pitman.

Research: Surry County Records, Virginia, 1651 to 1684. This volume was writte n by Eliza Timberlake Davis and published in 1980. These pages establish the facts that Thomas Pitman was a carpenter (sued f or not finishing a house on time), a farmer (tobacco was grown by most of the settlers), a grinder mill operator which he and Francis Pitman sold their half in 1661 and Thomas Pitman agreed to do the repairs in the future. Early in his career in Virginia he was listed as a Captain in the Virginia Militia. This occurred as early as 1651, and on e has to anticipate from this that he had been a Cavallier under King Charles, probably an officer, and had fled to save his head. He lists Joseph Wall as a son-in-law, and William Pitman as a grandson. We think that William Pitman must have died before he married and had children. He as listed once on the tax roll and no more. Thomas Sr. must have been an honorable man, called as witness and to represent friends in court on several occasions. He married Mary Gwaltney, a widow, in 1666, and another widow, Lidia Judkins in 1672. He was involved in Bacon's rebellion wit h his two Judkins stepsons, was pardoned by the king in 1677, and was placed under peace bond by Gov. Berkeley about a month later. He gave a lengthly deposition in 1677, stating that he was 63 years old, and born in England. He is listed a total of 36 times in these two books of county records. There is no record of him after 1687 and he must have died shortly thereafter at age 74.

There Must Be A Record Here Regarding The Warren House, Built By Thomas Warren About 1652. This House Is Known Now As The Smith Fort Plantation. The Land Was Given To John Rolfe By Powhatan, The Indian Chief In About 1635. This Apparently Was A Gift Or Dowry Since He Married The Daughter, Pokihuntas. In 1652, His Son, Thomas Rolfe, Sold The Plantation To Thomas Warring (Warren), Who Then Proceeded To Build A Brick House On It.

Thomas Pitman, Sr. , Gave A Court Deposition In Surry County March 5, 1677. In That Deposition He Declared That He Wa s 63 Years Old, And Was Present As A Witness When Rolfe Took The Money From Warren And Was Told That It Was Enough For The Land. Mr. Warren Was Said To Have Lived There 28 Years And Had Begun To Build A Brick House There 25 Years Before The Deposition. Mr. Rolfe Had Visited There Many Times A nd Lived Nearby During The 25 Years, And Thomas Pitman Had Never Heard Him Dispute The Ownership Of The Land To The Time Of The Deposition.

The Pittman origins are Scandinavian. They went to Saxony, then to Britian. It is believed that he was an officer in the Cavaliers under King Charles who fled to America to save his head.

He was a Captain in the Virginia Militia, a carpenter, farmer, grinder and a mill owner.

The Pittmans were of Scandinavian origin ,and first went into Saxony,and there went into Britton an d settled in Momouthshire.One the Welsh border where they w ere living in the seventeenth century,and fought for thei r ill fated King.The coat of arms was granted to Sir Georg e Pittman,once governor general of India,and a deccendant o f the famous Captain John Pittman of Oliver Cromwell's army . When Charles was beheaded,three Pittman brothers joine d a Cavalier emigration to America and landed at James City ,Virginia.There in the course of time ,they seperated;one b rother going to the northern Colony, One remaining in Virgi nia, And one to the far south.

Also about the cavalier possibility.... it's stated from many sources that Thomas fled England and came here. King Charles I was defeated in 1648. As a cavalier, Tom wouldn't be safe in England.

the date of Tom II's birth in 1655 with Virginia as the birthplace gives a tentative date for arrival in US.

I am trying to try ship manafests that will show him immigrating to Virginia. If any of ya'll have heard of anything that might be helpful, let me know.

definition and adittion information- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalier

comments

Surname has also been reported to be Pittman.

Date and place of birth have also been (erroneously?) reported to be 1614 in Virginia.

References

1. "Descendants of Thomas Pitman (1614-abt 1686) of Surry County, Virginia" (document attached)
2. Surry County Records, Surry County, Virginia, 1652-1684 By Eliza Timberlake Davis. Page 61. < GoogleBooks >
3. WikiTree contributors, "Thomas Pittman I (abt.1614-aft.1686)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pittman-602 : accessed 27 January 2025).
4. https://sites.rootsweb.com/~vaschsm/PitmanT.rtf
5. https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~morganandrelatedfamilies/genealogy/...
6. https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/pitman/1617/
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125511035/thomas-pittman
8. https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/pittman-dna/about/results