Genealogy Data Page 244 (Notes Pages)

Matthew Pitts parents unproven but commonly believe that Matthew Pitts was his father and Mart ha was his mother by family tradition.

Perhaps?: Matthew Owen 'Doc' Pitts

Matthew Pitts is buried in the Rucker-Pitts Cemetery on Compton Road 1.5miles from the Vetera ns Hospital. There are several graves but severalhave been moved by local agriculture. The cemetery is named after James Rucker, Jr. 1788-1850, the son of James Rucker, Sr. who is buried on the grounds of the Hospital. Family tradition indicates that several graves are located in the plot, however, only parts of three gravemarkers remain. The cemetery has been ca refully examined and a total of 11 graves have been located. These are arranged in 4 groupings. Eight now marked with field stones. It is believe that some of these may belongto the Bair d family who purchased the farm from the Ruckers. Thedimensions have be established to be approximately 40 x 50 feet.

Next to grave site is the Rucker/Pitts home place. The home was built in1829 by the Ruckers. There were 4 Rucker brothers who were reported tobe of different faiths. After apparentl y James Rucker, Jr. , the owner of the property was John & Martha A. Baird. Martha became th e sole ownerafter her husband passed away. She sold the land to Matthew Pitts in1879. The l and was just across the road from Matthew's brother's John Pitts farm. The road at that time was called the Browns Mill Road. Now it is Compton Road. After Matthew died, he was buried in the cemetery which is about 100 yards east of the home place. His monument is probably 12 -14 feet high. In recent years it could not be seen from theroad became of vandalism and/or the farming over the past 100 years. It has been re-erected as result of several relative s of the Ruckers and Pitts joining together to restore the site (1999).

The home now belongs to Bill Burgess whose Grandfather purchased the home originally in 1914. Bill purchased the house and 80 Acres in 1974 when the property was put up for auction. None of the other family members wanted the house at that time. The house is thus the tradition al homeplace of James Rucker, Baird, Matthew Pitts and then 3 generations of Lufkins.

The house was being restored slowly in 1994 by Bill and his family. It has a half basement wh ich is about 5-1/2 feet high. The timbers as very large and long cut true and show no apparen t aging appa rently due to theatmosphere created in the basement which is has a brick floor . There are 3 main rooms in the basement. The floor of the main floor show theunderside of the lumber of which each board has been trimmed to make theupper floor level. The boards appear to be 6 to 8 inches wide. Thesupporting timbers appear to be about 3 inches thick and abo ut 10 incheswide space about a foot apart. The foundation which supports the fullbrick outs ide wall is made from cut limestone blocks probably from anearby area. There is a quarry cur rently within a mile of the property.The outside w alls have two basic patterns. The side ha s a layer laidendways about every forth layer. The front is laid in a pattern of a endlaid brick every forth brick. This is apparently to create the very thick walls of the house. Ther e are 4 major rooms on the main floor, a large hallway and back porch area. They are currently two bedrooms,living room and a kitchen. The original kitchen was about 20 to 30 feet outside the house in another building as was the custom of the era. Only traces of the foundation c urrently remains. Bill has enclosed a backporch and enlarged the back area to add a mod er n bath. All of the floors on the main level have been cleared to the beautiful wood floors exc eptfor the Kitchen area which is planned to be stripped next. There are 3rooms on the secon d level wh ich are bedrooms. The upper floor is dividedinto two areas which may only be acces sed by separate stairways. This wasthe custom of the area for boy and girls to have separate d livingquarters. The c eiling is very high on the main level and also higherthan normal o n the second level. The ceilings are beautiful exposed woodon the second level. The Lufkin s were the grandparents of Bill Burgess.

The home as two wells and a cistern. The well has some sulfur content.The slave quarters is believe to be in the back northwest part of theproperty. The home currently has a galvanizeds teel roof, i .e.traditionally called tin. This information was obtained from William L.Burge ss, Compton Road, on August 7, 1995.

See Fate Pitts notes for detail of census records and comparisons withAunt Lell's letter writ ten in 1973. The 1850 census shows Mathew, Martha,William, Anderson, Benjamin & Susan.

The will of Matthew Pitts includes 12 equal heirs &/or children for thedistribution of cash . Descendents of Matthew Pitts indicate that everything Matthew touched turned to money. He owned a cotton gin, a store, toll road and bridge over the Stones River. The area near the gin & store became known as Pittstown which was on highway 96. He gave each of his 12 children a farm. None of his chi ldren apparently inherited his Midas touch.
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The Rucker-Pitts Cemetery Notes:

The property was sold to John & Martha A. Baird and after John's death itwas sold to Matthe w Pitts.
The 1850 Census records taken in September 1850 of John & Martha A. Baird:
John Baird 44 Farmer Born in NC
Martha A. 33 Tenn
John L. 19 Tenn
Charles 15 Tenn
Wyley? M. 10 Tenn
Louisa A. 5 Tenn
Rosanna 2 Tenn

Nearby lived: (James died just a few days after the census (18th) onSept. 27th)
James Rucker 60 VA (Actually 62years old, b. 1788)
Mary 60 VA
Samuel R. 29 Tenn
unknown female 20

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Evergreen Cemetery
Murfreesboro
Rutherford County
Tennessee, USA

Pitts, Birdie b. 1901 d. 1997
Pitts, George M b. 1881 d. 1940
Pitts, Harry P b. May 17, 1894 d. Apr. 12, 1974
Pitts, Loula E b. Oct. 7, 1897 d. Nov. 4, 1986
Pitts, Dr Mattie E b. Jun. 15, 1891 d. Mar. 30, 1982

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Abel Gregory [Male] b. ABT. 1797 Chatham Co., NC - d. 1872

Change: 17 JAN 2013

8929
1850 Smith Co., TN Census

26 853 853 Gregory Abel 53 M Farmer 575NC
27 853 853 Gregory Polly 45 F Ten
28 853 853 Gregory Alethia R. 27 F Ten
29 853 853 Gregory Mary C. 22 F Ten
30 853 853 Gregory Levi P. 18 M Farmer Ten
31 853 853 Gregory Neil 17 M Farmer Ten
32 853 853 Gregory Martha J. 13 F Ten
33 853 853 Gregory Elizabeth B. 9 F Ten
34 853 853 Gregory Joel T. 8 M Ten
35 853 853 Gregory James H. 3/12 M Ten