Mary Wagoner Pruitt

Mary Wagoner (or Waggoner) was born in 1840, the daughter of Adam and Sarah Waggoner. In 1850, ten-year old Polly (a very common nickname for Mary) was in the household of her parents, along with her sisters, Matilda, 16; Betsy, 13; Lucinda, 3; and Margaret, 1. They lived in Ashe County, North Carolina. [1]

In 1860, 20-year old Polly was in the household of her parents, along with her sisters, Lucy, 14; and Peggy, 11.  They lived in Alleghany County, North Carolina, which was formed from Ashe in 1859. The names of their neighbors seem to be very similar in 1850 and 1860, so they likely didn't move, but instead, the name of the county changed. [2]  

Mary married Hampton P. Pruitt on June 1, 1862. Hampton obtained a bond to marry in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on May 31, 1862, and signed the bond by making his mark. They married the following day, on June 1, 1862. [3]  Hampton and Mary were both around 22 years old at the time of their marriage.

1862 Marriage of Hampton Pruitt and Mary Wagoner (Click to enlarge)

Hampton and Mary had one son, Adam Hampton Pruitt, who was called "Hamp". Mary became a widow on December 15, 1863, when her husband died in Northern Virginia while serving the Confederacy. [4]  Mary would have been around 23 years old, with a child who was less than a year old.

Death of Hampton Pruitt in December 1863  (Click to enlarge)

By 1870, Mary Pruitt was again living with her parents and sister, Margaret, this time in Union Township, Wilkes County, North Carolina. Mary's son, Adam Hampton Pruitt, who was six years old, was mis-identified by the enumerator as "Andrew". Relationships were not stated in the 1870 census, but occupations were identified. Mary is listed as a "domestic servant" who cannot read or write.  [5]

Mary Pruitt and son Hamp in the 1870 census  (Click to enlarge)

The 1880 census was the first time that relationships were given between the head of the household and the people living in the household.  In 1880 in Walnut Grove Township, Wilkes County, North Carolina, Mary Pruitt, age 38, and Hampton Pruitt, age 16, were living in the household of John P. Adams and his wife, Lucinda. John's occupation was listed as farmer; however, he was "Unable to work for the previous twelve months of the census year". The 1880 census had a column titled "Maimed, Crippled, Bedridden, or otherwise disabled" and  John P. Adams had a mark in that column, indicating that this description applied to him. The condition that affected John was listed as "Scrofula". Also in the household were John's wife, Lucinda, and their four children, William M. Adams, age 9; Margaret, age 7; Ambrose C., age 5; and Sarah E. Adams, age 4.  Mary Pruitt is listed as "w-Sister", presumably meaning "wife's sister", and is identified as a widow. Hampton Pruitt is 16 years old, listed as a farm laborer.

John Adams was Mary Wagoner Pruitt's brother-in-law, husband of Lucinda Wagoner Adams, one of Mary's younger sisters.  He was suffering from scrofula, which was most likely tuberculosis of the lymph nodes in the neck. [6]

Thus, this household consisted of John, apparently unable to work and possibly bedridden; two women, sisters Lucy and Mary; Hamp; and four children under the age of ten. Hamp was almost certainly doing a man's job in providing for the household by working on the farm at age sixteen. [7]

Mary Pruitt and son Hamp in the 1880 census  (Click to enlarge)

Hamp married in December of 1885, and there is no surviving 1890 census. We have no information about whether Mary remained in her sister's household for a period of time after Hamp's marriage, or if she shared their home from the beginning of her son's marriage.

By 1900, Hamp and his wife, Samantha, were living in Walnut Grove Township with their oldest seven children, plus Hamp's mother Mary Pruitt. Mary's age is given as 63, and lists a birth month and year of July 1846. However, an age of 63 would indicate a birth year of 1837. So this information does not shed any light on her year of birth, although it does provide a probable month (July).  [8]

Mary Pruitt, living with her son Hamp Pruitt, in 1900  (Click to enlarge)

In 1901, Mary applied for a Widow's Pension from the state of North Carolina, based upon the service of her husband, Hampton, thirty-eight years following his death while serving in the Confederate Army.  She supplied information stating that Hampton "received a severe wound in the arm and was carried to Orange Court House and while there in the Horse pittle contracted pneumonia fever and died."  [9]  We have no record about whether Mary actually received a pension or not.

Mary Pruitt's Widow's Application for Pension  (Click to enlarge)

A handwritten list, presumably copied from Bible pages, provides a date of death for Mary Pruitt. This listing says that Mary died on April 10, 1904. [10]  My father-in-law remembers being told that Mary was buried at Walnut Grove Baptist Church, just past Hamp and Samantha's graves, but there is no marker for Mary in the cemetery.  There are a couple of cinder blocks that were placed on unnamed graves in the 1950's - perhaps one of these graves is where Mary was laid to rest. The following photograph shows the joint marker for Hamp and Samantha (in the lower left corner) and cinder blocks with the grass scraped away for visibility. [11]

Possible location of Mary Wagoner Pruitt's grave  (Click to enlarge)

As an interesting side note, the 1880 household that included Hamp and his mother, Mary, also included Hamp's Aunt Lucy and first cousin, Ambrose Adams.  Hamp married Samantha Blevins in 1885. Following Hamp's death in 1916, Hamp's widow, Samantha, eventually married Ambrose Adams in 1931. Samantha and Ambrose lived with "Aunt Lucy" - likely on the same property where Hamp lived and worked as a teenager, possibly even in the same house.


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(Please be aware that names were spelled various ways in the past. You will see Wagoner/Waggoner, Pruitt/Prewitt/Pruit/Pruitte, and Adams/Adamss in old documents. Spelling of surnames didn't become consistent until after Social Security was established in 1935.)

[1]  1850 U.S. census, Ashe County, North Carolina, population schedule, p. 252, Image 30, dwelling 204, family 204, Adam Waggoner; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll M432-620.

[2]  1860 U.S. census, Alleghany County, North Carolina, population schedule, p. 200, Image 400, dwelling 384, family 300, Adam Waggoner; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll M653_886.

[3]  Ancestry.com, North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868 (digital image by subscription), Bond # 168664.

[4]  Compiled service record, Hampton Pruitt, Pvt., Co. G, 30 North Carolina Infantry; Carded Records of Confederate Soldiers, Civil War; Record Group 109; digital images, "NARA Roll 0360".

[5]  1870 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, population schedule, Union Township, p. 409, Image 818, dwelling 85, family 85, Adam Wagoner; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll M593_1165.

[6]  http://genealogy-quest.com/glossary-terms/diseases/medical-terminology-beginning-letter-s/

[7]  1880 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, population schedule, Walnut Grove Township, enumeration district (ED) 207, p. 59.3, dwelling 170, family 170, John P. Adamss household; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll T9_987.

[8]  1900 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, population schedule, Walnut Grove, enumeration district (ED) 161, p. 12B, dwelling 233; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll T623_1224.

[9]  North Carolina, "Civil War Confederate Pensions," Hampton Pruitt; digital images, State Archives and State Library of NC, 1901 Confederate Pension Applications,"North Carolina Digital Collections".

[10]  This list includes the birth years for all the children of Adam Hampton Pruitt and his wife, Samantha Blevins Pruitt, and includes the 1886 birth and death dates of a daughter that is not recorded anywhere else. Included in this list are birth dates for Adam Hampton Pruitt and Samantha Blevins, and death dates for Mary Pruitt.

[11]  Photograph taken by Debbie Hendren Pruitt at Walnut Grove Baptist Church, 4650 Cabin Creek Road, Hays, NC.