Joel Pruitt, Jr.

Joel Pruitt, Jr. married Elizabeth Durham on November 9, 1835 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. [1]

1835 Marriage Bond for Joel Pruitt and Elizabeth Durham  (Click to enlarge)

The 1840 census identifies only the head of household. Other members of the household were identified only with "tic marks." Joel Pruitt's household included Joel, 20-30 years old; a female, also 20-30 years old; and three children under age five, one male and two females.  The three children should be Augustus, Phebe and Alice, based upon their ages.  [2]

Joel Pruitt, Jr. household in 1840

In the 1850 census, Joel and Elizabeth were both 35 years old.  Their family included Augustus, 14; Phebe, 12; Alice, 11; Hampton, 10; King, 9; Robert, 8; Mary, 7; Sarah 5; and Joel, 2.  [3]

Joel Pruitt, Jr. household in 1850  (Click to enlarge)

By 1860, the household included Joel, 45; Elizabeth, 40; Oliver K., 16; Mary, 14; Sarah, 11; Joel B., 9; Martha, 7; Julia Ann, 6; Charlotte, 3; and John, 1. Joel had aged ten years, Elizabeth aged five years, and the other members of the household seem to have aged seven years in a decade.  [4]

Joel Pruitt, Jr. household in 1860  (Click to enlarge)

In 1870, Joel, 55; Elizabeth, 50; Mary, 23; Martha, 18; Julia, 16; Charlotte, 14; and John, 12, were joined by Solomon, 10; Malinda, 8; and Frances, 4.  [5]

Joel Pruitt, Jr. household in 1870, on two pages  (Click to enlarge)

By 1880, Joel, 65, and wife Elizabeth, 60,  and daughters Martha, 26 (and single), Almeda, 18; and Franky 14; were joined by grandsons, Freland Pruitt, 4, and Esquire Pruitt, 3. This was the first census that identified the relationship of household member to the head of the household.  [6]

Joel Pruit, Jr. household in 1880  (Click to enlarge)

No 1890 census survives.

Joel Pruitt's age in the various censuses seems to be consistent with a birth date of about 1815.

Elizabeth Durham Pruitt's age in 1850 suggested a birth date of about 1815. In the following three census years, her age suggests a birth date of about 1820. If she was indeed born in 1820, she was about 15 years old when she married. Her father, John Durham, married Keziah Ryon in January 1819. Unless he had been married previously, Elizabeth's earliest birth date would have been 1819.

In the absence of other information, children of Joel and Elizabeth Pruitt must be identified from the census data, and can be identified as (probably) the following family of seven sons and nine daughters:

1)  The oldest identified son, Augustus Pruitt, born about 1836, married Matilda Gentry in 1866 and lived next door to his parents, Joel and Elizabeth, during the 1870 census.  By 1880, he and his wife were living in Piney Creek in Ashe County, NC, with five children. In 1900, they were in Horse Creek township in Ashe County with two single adult children and a widowed daughter and two grandchildren.  In 1910, Augustus was the father-in-law in a Kimball household in Merrick County, Nebraska. By 1920, Augustus was living with his son, Hardin, in McDowell County, West Virginia, where he died in 1923.

2) & 3)  No further information has been identified about Phebe Pruitt, born about 1838, or Alice Pruitt, born about 1839. Since Phebe was 12 and Alice was 11 in the 1850 census, they may have been married and no longer living in their parent's household by the 1860 census.

4)  Hampton Pruitt, born about 1840, married Mary Wagoner in 1862, and died while serving as a Confederate soldier, leaving behind one son, Adam Hampton "Hamp" Pruitt.

5)  Oliver King Pruitt, born about 1841, is believed to have been killed by the Home Guard during the Bell Mountain Massacre on December 2, 1864.

6)  Nothing more is known about Robert Pruitt, born about 1842, who would have been about 18 years old at the time of the 1860 census. He might have been living elsewhere, or could have died between the census dates.

7)  Mary Pruitt, born about 1843, was living with her parents in 1870 with a stated age of 23, but not in their household by 1880. She may have married or she might have died.

8) Sarah Pruitt, born between 1845 and 1849, was enumerated as a 5- year old in 1860 and as an 11- year old at the time of the 1860 census. She was no longer in her parents household by the 1870 census. (A large gap between the birth of Sarah and the next child, Joel, may indicate that another child was born and died.)

9)  Joel B. Pruitt was born about 1850, married in 1869, and by 1880, he was living with his wife, Sarah Caudill, in Piney Creek in Ashe County, NC, with four children. In 1900, Joel B. and Sarah were in Clifton Township, Ashe County, where Sarah reported that she was the mother of seven children, with six children living.  Joel was still in Clifton Township in 1910, a widower, and he died in 1916 while living in Piney Creek Township in Ashe County.

10)  Martha Pruitt was born about 1852, based upon her ages in the 1860 and 1870 censuses.  She was identified as 26 years old and living with her parents in 1880. Nothing more is known about her.

11) & 12)  Julia Ann Pruitt, born about 1854, and Charlotte Pruitt, born about 1856, were in their parents' household in 1870 as 16- and 14-year olds, respectively. Nothing more is known about either of them.

13)  John Pruitt was born around 1858 and was living with his parents in 1870 as a 12-year old. By 1880, he was living with his older brother, Joel, in Ashe County, NC. Nothing more is known about John after 1880.

14)  Solomon L. Pruitt was born about 1860. He married Phoebe Jane Wagner by 1880, when he was enumerated (under the name Dock Pruitt) with his young wife in her mother's household in Mulberry, NC. In 1910, in Mulberry Township, Phoebe reported that she was the mother of seven children, with six children living. In 1920 and 1930, Solomon and Phoebe remained in Mulberry, NC. Solomon died December 21, 1930.

15)  Identified in 1870 as 8-year old Malinda Pruitt and in 1880 as 18-year old Almeda Pruitt, this appears to be the same person. Nothing more is known about her.

16)  Frances Pruitt was 14 years old when enumerated in her parent's household in 1880. Nothing more is known about her.


Dates of death are not known for Joel Pruitt, Jr. or for his wife, Elizabeth Durham. Burial locations are also unknown.  An online tree at Ancestry.com provides a death year for Joel of 1885, and a death date of February 26, 1887 for Elizabeth. No sources were provided for this information, however.  [7]

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Of the seven sons of Joel and Elizabeth Pruitt, five can be accounted for (Hampton and King, who died during the Civil War, and Augustus, Joel and Solomon). Robert cannot be found after age 18, and John cannot be found after age 22. They may have moved away, they may have died, or they might have begun using a middle name and just can't be recognized.

Of the nine daughters in this family, after they leave the household of their parents, not any of them can be accounted for (at this point).  Along with the possibilities that exist with their brothers (moving away, dying, or using a middle name) the obvious possibility is that marrying and taking their husband's surname makes them nearly impossible to locate in the census.  Marriage records were checked, but are incomplete for this time frame in North Carolina.

UPDATE: Additional information about some of the daughters in this family has been posted here. More is now known about five of the nine daughters!

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[1]  "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979" FamilySearch, Joel Prewitt and Elisabeath Durham, 9 Nov 1835. FHL microfilm 546,480

[2]  1840 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, p. 30 (written), Joel Pruitt; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M704, roll 373.

[3]  1850 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, population schedule, p. 310, Image 123, dwelling 906, family 906, Joel Pruett; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M432, roll M432_649.

[4]  1860 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, population schedule, Lower Division, p. 1, Image 4, dwelling 12, family 12, Joel Prewett; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll M653_918.

[5]  1870 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, population schedule, Union Township, p. 408, Image 817, dwelling 80, family 80, Joel Pruet; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll M593-1165.

[6]  1880 U.S. census, Wilkes County, North Carolina, population schedule, Mulberry Township, enumeration district (ED) 208, p. 63.4, dwelling 41, family 44, Joel Pruitt; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll T9_987.

[7]  Wyatt/ Church Family Tree, Ancestry.com