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William PITT (1788-1873) to Sherman Grant PITT (1864-1928) William PITT (1788-1873) Birth: 1788 - Scotland or England Death: February 17, 1873 - Canton, New York Interment: Brick Chapel Cemetery - Canton, New York Father: ???? Mother: ???? Not Directly Descended from William Pitt the Elder or Younger who were Earls of Chatham, Prime Ministers of England, etc. Distantly related further back, undoubtedly, but not directly descended from them. Spouse: Jane PITT (1797-1878) b. 1797 in Vermont d. March 22, 1878 - Canton, New York Interment: Brick Chapel Cemetery - Canton, New York Married: Approx. 1818, probably in Alburg, Vermont Resided In: Vermont, then moved to Crary Mills near Canton, New York Children: * Samuel W. PITT (1819-1880) Mary A. PITT (1822-1842) b. 1822 (?) - Canton, New York d. September 20, 1842 Interment: Brick Chapel Cemetery - Canton, New York Other Probable Children of William and Jane PITT: Nancy PITT (1834-1874) b. 1834 (?) d. February 17, 1874 - Canton, New York Interment: Brick Chapel Cemetery - Canton, New York Married to Melville RICHARDSON Additional Male Son: Details Unknown Had Son Henry PITT who moved to MinnesotaDetailed Notes William Pitt was born in Scotland or England and enlisted in the British military, probably in the army. He served during the War of 1812 and is believed to have been one of the 1,000 or more British army and naval personnel who deserted at the Battle of Plattsburgh (Battle of Lake Champlain) on September 11, 1814. Research is on-going to verify this and, if possible, obtain more detailed records, but it appears to be far more than "family legend." The battle was a mess, to say the least. It lasted several hours and simply ended with the British giving up and both sides tending to each other's wounded. The British commanders offered their swords in surrounder, but the American commanders told them they worthy men entitled to keep them. Thousands of all ranks deserted from the British military units, including over 500 in one regiment when they failed to hear the order to retreat and found themselves surrounded. Some British sailors seized control of an American ship and then turned it on the British! The largest British ship, the HMS Confiance, defeated by the American flagship, the USS Saratoga under the command of Captain Thomas MacDonough, was still being built when the battle began and it sailed with carpenters and riggers still working. There were too few sailors so an infantry unit was enlisted to help sail it. The confusion as to whether William Pitt was in the army or the navy may indicate that he was one of the infantryman enlisted to help sail the Confiance, but that's speculation that needs to be verified. The unit involved was the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot which would be known in modern terms as the 39th Infantry Regiment. It's possible he was in that unit. Every indication is that William Pitt, undoubtedly with many others, made it to Grand Isle, an island in the middle of Lake Champlain, on the Vermont side but nevertheless very near Plattsburgh. He is believed to have settled there, or, more likely, in nearby Alburg, New York, where he married Jane and where they had their first child, Samuel, before moving to Canton, New York. Once in the Canton vicinity, William Pitt became a farmer. The family farm was in the village of Crary Mills just outside of Canton. Three generations of Pitts - the generations of William and Jane and those of their son Samuel and his wife and their children - are buried in a family plot in the Brick Chapel Cemetery in Canton, New York. Subsequent generations beginning with Sherman, the youngest grandson of William and Jane Pitt, are buried in Elmwood Cemetery in New Brunswick, New Jersey. -------------------------------------------------------------- Samuel W. PITT (1819-1880)Detailed Notes Samuel Pitt was a farmer and his oldest sons, Milan and Dillon, likewise took up farming. The youngest son, Sherman, worked as farm hand in his youth but eventually moved to New Jersey where he attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick and Drew Theological Seminary in Madison and became a Methodist minister. See Sherman Grant PITT (1864-1928). The Pitt family farm was in Crary Mills just outside of Canton, New York. Whether it was always the same farm, originally owned by William, or whether there were different farms owned by various family members is unknown. In any event, after Samuel's death in 1880, Elmina, his wife, lived on a farm with her son Dillon and his family until she died in 1884. -------------------------------------------------------------- Sherman Grant PITT (1864-1928) |
