William Malone Pruitt (1831 - 1908)

Born 1 Mar 1831 in Cross Keys, near Decatur, DeKalb Co. Georgia

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Died 5 Feb 1908 at age 76 in Pittsburg, Camp Co. Texas

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Biography

Taken from: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/a/y/Lyndall-J-Mayes/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0056.html

William Malone Pruitt (son of Tillman Dixon Pruitt and Diannah Hillsman Farrar) was born March 01, 1831 in Cross Keys, near Decatur, DeKalb Co. Georgia, and died February 05, 1908 in Pittsburg, Camp Co. Texas. He married (1) Martha Ann Daniel on July 12, 1854 in Mississippi, daughter of Thomas Daniel and Mary. He married (2) Melissia Cook on January 09, 1868 in Perryville, Upshur Co. Texas, daughter of John Ruben Cook, Jr. and Deborah L. Martin.

Notes for William Malone Pruitt: William Malone Pruitt is the fourth born and first son of Tillman Dixon Pruitt and Diannah Hillsman Farrar. He was born March 1, 1831 at his parents farm four miles from Cross Keys, near Decatur, in DeKalb Co. Georgia. "Red Bill", as he was called, had red hair like his mother and President Thomas Jefferson his first cousin three times removed. Well educated for the time by his parents who both taught school, William readily accepted responsibility in his life and became very sucessful. Sisters Catherine, Martha and Harriett were the eldest, and after him came Joseph, Thurza, Benjamin, Mary and Jesse. William was named after his mother Diannah's brother, William Malone Farrar, who had been named for their mother, Catherine Carter's half-brother, William Malone.

Tillman and Diannah Pruitt and their children were living in Paulding Co. Georgia by 1838 when William's eldest sister, Catherine married. Three more children were born and the family of T. D. Pruett are listed in the 1840 Paulding Co. Georgia census. Second sister Martha married in 1843. About 1844, when William was 13, the family moved to Talladega Co. Alabama. Third sister Harriett met Ransom Marion Pruett and they married there in 1846.

William was 16 years old, and the eldest child at home, in August 1847 when his father died and may have delayed marrying himself to help his mother Diannah, who eventually remarried twice. William, at age 19, is listed with his mother and siblings in the 1850 census in Paulding Co. Georgia. The family moved to Mississippi in the early 1850's. On July 12, 1854, at the age of 23, William married 17 year old Martha Ann Daniel, daughter of Thomas and Mary Daniel. Their first child, a son named James, died in infancy. William and Martha had two more children born in Choctaw Co. Mississippi. Daughter Frances Caroline born in 1856, and son Thomas Jefferson born in 1858. William and Martha farmed in Mississippi for three years, but William had a plan for new opportunies further west.

After William had gathered his crop in December 1857, he left his wife Martha, and only child at that time, Caroline 1 1/2, to get some land in Texas. He bought land about a half mile west of what later became Simpsonville, Texas. He built a log cabin, a barn, some animal sheds and cleared some timber land. He planted cotton, corn, and a garden, and had everything ready for his family to join him. Martha had been pregnant with their son Thomas Jefferson Pruitt, when William left Mississippi (It is not known if either of them knew about the pregnancy before he left) and she had to wait til after the birth to travel.

Some neighbors were also traveling to Texas and Martha, Caroline 2, and newborn Thomas joined their party for the early fall of 1858 trip to join William. Martha had one ox for a two-wheel cart in which she loaded all she could in needed household furnishings. There was no room in the two-wheel cart for Caroline and Thomas so they rode in other traveler's wagons, while Martha walked, to lead or drive the ox, most of the way to Texas.

William, Martha and the children settled into their new home and another daughter, Mary L., was born in April 1861. By this time all four of William's younger siblings had married; all married into the Catlege family of Mississippi. The Civil War had begun. At age 31, William enlisted for service in the Confederate States Army in Pittsburg, Texas on July 26, 1862. William served for a period of three years and made a very good soldier in Company F 14th Clark's Regiment, Texas Infantry (also designated as Capt. Rogers Company and Capt. Gassaway's Co). Martha was pregnant when he left and gave birth in his absence to a son she named William Malone Pruitt, Jr. on March 8, 1863. He would not see his new son til after the boy was over two years old. In the months of November, December 1862, January and February 1863, the records show William to be sick at the hospital in Austin, Arkansas. William related to his children that once when he was on the battlefield in Vicksburg, after he had just crossed the Mississippi River he was sick and hungry when he found a piece of cornbread all covered with mold. He took his pocket knife and scraped off the mold. William told his children he had never been so proud to find anything in his life and nothing had ever tasted so good. William's brothers Joseph, Benjamin and Jesse also served in the CSA. Joseph died in 1863, leaving a widow and young daughter. Sister Thurza Catledge's husband was killed leaving her with two children. Martha's father, Thomas Daniel, was also killed in the Civil War.

After the war ended William returned to his farm and family in east Texas. His mother Diannah, and all his siblings eventually settled in Texas also. William and Martha added one more child to their family, son Jesse Franklin Pruitt born in 1866. One year later, just after baby Jesse's first birthday, Martha Ann Pruitt died on March 15, 1867, leaving William with five children to raise. Martha was buried in a cemetery near Perryville, behind the Hester farm, which after more than one hundred years has grown up in huge tall pines with cattle roaming over the area. All that remains of the old grave yard are pieces of broken headstones.

William married a second time to Melissia Cook on January 9, 1868, at the home of her brother Alexander Cook in Perryville, Texas. Melissia was born in Wayne County, Tennessee in 1834, the daughter of John Ruben Cook and Deborah Martin. Melissia was the fifth child, and second daughter of twelve children. Her family moved from Tennessee to Iuka, Tishimingo Co. Mississippi, and lived there for some time before moving again to east Texas. Melissia was considered an "old maid" when she married William Malone Pruitt. She was 34 years old. William would laugh and tell people that he picked Melissia out at the burying ground. They loved to fish on the branch and she loved to quilt. Melissia had a dictionary she brought with her when she married, and she used it when she wrote letters. She kept it on a table by her chair at all times. Melissia became a beloved step-mother to William's children; Caroline, then 11, Tom 9, Mary 6, Bill Jr. 4, and Jesse almost 2, at the time of the marriage.

William and Melissia planted orchards and shipped peaches to markets served by the Katy Railroad from their community of Hepsibah. William was entered into all the activities of his settlement and especially loved to sing.

William and Melissia had one child together, a son named John Ruben Harrison Pruitt born in April 1869. The baby was so tiny when he was born, they thought he would surely die. William's mother Diannah, then 62, took it upon herself, to wrap the baby up and lay him on a pillow in a small box and carry him across the field to her youngest son (and William's brother) Jesse Carter Farrar Pruitt's farm so they could all see the tiny little baby.

William and Melissia raised their son, "Rube", as he was called, along with his older half-siblings on the farm near Pittsburg, Texas. Rube kept a little pair of britches, that his mother Melissia had made for him, in a trunk, and they later became a treasured family keepsake. The britches were so small that only one of Rube's children was small enough to wear them. Rube had worn them until he was two years old!

William's sister Martha and her husband George Wilson had lived in several Texas counties and moved to Montague Co. Texas arriving there on December 24, 1873. His mother, Diannah Hillsman Farrar Pruitt Thompson, also went to Montague County and, at age 68, married there for the third time on December 6, 1874 to James D. Whaley. Thereafter Diannah was always known as "Grandma Whaley."

In 1873 William's sister Harriett escaped the abuse of her alcoholic husband Ransom Pruett and went to live with her daughter-in-law. Harriett and Ransom's son Francis Marion Pruett, then 16, stayed with his father for awhile, but soon left Delta Co. Texas also and came to Upshur Co. to stay with his uncle William. Marion worked on the farm along with his Pruitt cousins and eventually he and William's eldest daughter, Caroline, who was eleven months older than Marion, fell in love and wanted to marry. Although William was bitterly opposed to them marrying he helped them get a farm of their own and gave Caroline money as a wedding present, with which she bought a lovely marble top bedroom suite after their marriage in September 1875. This beautiful furniture was moved to Reed, Greer Co. Oklahoma, after Caroline's death and eventually given to her daughter Pearl Pruett Moseley (1892-1987) who made her home in Pampa, Texas.

William was a community and Baptist Church leader. He was a member of the Piney Grove Baptist Church and Melissia was a Methodist. Once William was sitting with a very sick neighbor and lodge brother. This neighbor had a debt at the bank which worried him greatly, for he knew his death was near. He asked William to pay it for him so his wife and children would not be held liable. William promised to do so. After the funeral William forgot his promise until one night a voice awakened him calling, "Pruitt!, Pruitt!" He went to the door, but no one was there. The next night he was awakened by the voice calling again, "Pruitt, Pruitt, Mr. Pruitt!" He thought the voice sounded like his dead neighbor's voice, and it was then that he remembered his promise. William went to the bank the next day and paid the debt. He was never awakened by the voice again. "Stories like that were told and retold around the fireplaces of yesteryear. Death bed confessions were avidly heard and no person would deny a man the solace of a dying request, -ever." (Virginia Beckham Carroll)

William helped all his children get started financially. He had helped his eldest daughter Caroline when she married her cousin (William's nephew, Francis Marion Pruett) and when youngest son Rube was 21 years old, he said, "Pap gave me fifty dollars, a hoss and saddle and set me free."

William's widowed mother, Diannah Farrar-Pruitt-Thompson-Whaley sometimes lived with him and also with her other children nearby. Melissia's mother Deborah Cook, also lived with them after being widowed and both mothers are listed with the family in the 1880 census of Camp Co. Texas. Portraits taken of William later in life show that his red hair had thinned and turned white and he, as well as his brothers, Ben and Jesse, grew long white beards. In 1894 William's mother died while visiting her granddaughter in Fox, Oklahoma.

In 1897 William's daughter Caroline, who lived close by, died at age 40, and was survived by her husband, William's nephew Francis Marion Pruett, and her nine children, eight of whom were still living at home; the youngest, Jewell, just over one year old. By 1900, William and Melissia's children had all married and William's granddaughter, Dora Belle Pruett, age 19, was living with him and Melissia at the time of the census. Dora was listed as a "sewing woman" but was probably a great help to her grandparents. Dora was the daughter of William's oldest daughter Caroline and nephew Francis Marion Pruitt; who had just remarried to a woman, Lizzie Kimbell, whom he would divorce in 1902. Dora herself married later the same year.

In old age William and Melissia lived with Rube and his family. They were at his home when they died. William died first on February 5,1908, and Melissia in 1911. Both William and Melissia are buried in the Leesburg Cemetery where originally William had a headstone provided by his lodge. In 1972, two great-granddaughters (descended from son Rube), Virginia Beckham Carroll and Sheron Reid-Darnell, bought and placed a Confederate States Army marker on his grave. Melissia has a small headstone with just initials and no dates.

Grandma Diannah Whaley's red velvet photo album, and the original prints of her family pictures were in the possession of her son, William Malone Pruitt, after her death in 1894, and left to his son, John Ruben Harrison Pruitt. The photo album, with it's contents of family pictures and Tin Types, was stored in Ruben's trunk for many years until after his death in 1959, and is now in the posession of his granddaughter Virginia Beckham Carroll.

Sources: The Pruett Pruitt Family by Haskell Pruett Ph.D. Tillman Dixon Pruitt & Diannah Hillsman Farrar Their Ancestors and Descendants, by Donna Duckworth. Photos and Articles written by Virginia Beckham Carroll. County Marriage Records.

Census: 1840 Census Paulding Co. Georgia, page 108. There is a listing for "T.D. Pruet" but the ages of family members do not fit Tillman and Diannah's family. May be correct name, but census taker may have copied wrong line of family and ages. 1850 Paulding Co. Georgia, page 61, Family #119. Listed as "William M. Pruitt" 19, Farmer, born GA. 1860 Upshur Co. Texas, page 47, Family #271. Listed as "Wm Prewit" 28, Farmer, born AL. 1870 Upshur Co. Texas, page 139/269, Family #146. Listed as "W. M. Pruit" 39, Farmer, born GA. 1880 Census Camp Co. Texas E.D. 22, page 48/6, Family #45. Listed as "Wm. Pruitt" 49, Farmer, born GA SC GA. 1900 Camp Co. Texas, E.D. 16, house 221, sheet 13. Listed as "Wm. Pruett" 69, born Mar 1831 GA SC GA. Married 33 years, Farmer, owns farm.

More About William Malone Pruitt: Burial: Leesburg Cemetery, Leesburg, Camp Co. Texas. Civil War Veteran: Bet. 1862 - 1865, CSA Pvt. Co. F, 14th Reg. Texas Infantry. Nickname: "Red Bill".

More About William Malone Pruitt and Martha Ann Daniel: Marriage: July 12, 1854, Mississippi.

More About William Malone Pruitt and Melissia Cook: Marriage: January 09, 1868, Perryville, Upshur Co. Texas.

Children of William Malone Pruitt and Martha Ann Daniel are: James Pruitt, b. 1855, Choctaw Co. Mississippi, d. Abt. 1855, Choctaw Co. Mississippi. +Frances Caroline Pruitt, b. May 15, 1856, Choctaw Co. Mississippi, d. February 03, 1897, Pittsburg, Camp Co. Texas. Thomas Jefferson Pruitt, b. August 21, 1858, Choctaw Co. Mississippi, d. July 03, 1935. Mary L. Pruitt, b. April 11, 1861, Upshur Co. Texas, d. July 18, 1938. William Malone Pruitt, Jr., b. March 08, 1863, Upshur Co. Texas, d. July 1945, Winnsboro, Wood Co. Texas. Jesse Franklin Pruitt, b. March 12, 1866, Upshur Co. Texas, d. March 11, 1959, Gilmer, Upshur Co. Texas.

Children of William Malone Pruitt and Melissia Cook are: +John Ruben Harrison Pruitt, b. April 06, 1869, Upshur Co. Texas, d. April 20, 1959, Pittsburg, Camp Co. Texas. ^[1]

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Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Alisha Stanbery, Jun 6, 2012

• Alisha Stanbery, firsthand knowledge. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Alisha and others.
• Find-a-grave #25102978
• http://www.speightfamily.net/data/data/f_9c7.htm#7