Thanks to comments on an earlier post about Joel Pruitt, Jr. and wife Elizabeth Durham, more information has been located on five of the nine daughters of this couple.
Known daughters in this family were:
Phebe, born about 1838
Alice, born about 1839
Mary, born about 1843
Sarah, born between 1845-1849
Martha, born about 1852
Julia Ann, born about 1854
Charlotte, born about 1856
Almeda, born about 1862
Frances, born about 1866 [1], [2]
No additional information has been located about Phebe, Alice, Sarah or Julia Ann.
Mary (or Polly) Pruitt, born about 1843, married Peter Welch in 1885 and died in Ashe County, NC, in March 1922. According to her death certificate, her parents were Joel Pruitt and Betsy Durem. The handwriting of Mary's name on the death certificate appears to say Audrey, at first glance, but careful examination reveals that it does, or could, say "Mary".
Martha Pruitt - The 1880 census household of Joel and Elizabeth Pruitt included Martha Pruitt, single and born about 1852, and two grandsons, Freland Pruitt, age four, and Esquire Pruitt, age two.
Three Alleghany County, NC, marriage licenses for Freel. R. Pruitt, for "Squair" L. Pruitt, and for Rhoda Pruitt, all list their father as Unknown and their mother as Martha Pruitt.
In 1929, Roda Pruitt Mabe's Virginia death certificate listed her father as Joel Pruitt and her mother as Not Known. It seems likely that Rhoda grew up in her grandfather Joel's household, and her husband, who was the informant on her death certificate, provided the grandfather's name by mistake. Multiple online trees list Rhoda Pruitt as the child of Joel Pruitt and wife Elizabeth Durham - Elizabeth would have been about 63 years old when Rhoda was born, so could NOT have been the mother of Rhoda. Information provided by Rhoda herself, on her marriage license, identifies her mother as Martha and her father as unknown.
Martha Pruitt, single, died in November 1926 in Grayson County, Virginia. Her parents were listed as Joel Pruitt and Betsy Derom.
Charlotte Pruitt, born about 1856, married Allen Taylor around 1875 and died May 31, 1939. Lottie Taylor's death certificate listed her parents as Joe Pruitt and Elizabeth Durham. Charlotte Taylor is buried in the Taylor Cemetery on Longbottom Road in McGrady, NC.
Almeda A. or Median Pruitt, born about 1862, was enumerated in 1870 as Malinda Pruitt. Other records created throughout her lifetime suggest that she was called Meda or Median. [3] Median Pruitt married first to Troy Stamper, a widower with whom she had at least one child. She married second to C.F. Ashley in Ashe County; and a third time to Edward F. Roe. Meda A. Roe died in October 1949 in Damascus, Virginia. Her death certificate listed her father was listed as Joel B. Pruitt, her mother's maiden name was Durham.
Frances Pruitt, born about 1866, was the youngest known daughter of Joel and Elizabeth Pruitt. A comment on an earlier post provides the information that Frances Jane Pruitt was born June 7, 1866 and died October 11, 1950. She married Troy Osborne and had nine children. She is buried in the Taylor Cemetery on Longbottom Road in McGrady, Wilkes County, North Carolina.
Troy and Frances married around 1888, per the 1900 census. Five of their children have North Carolina death certificates that list Frances Pruitt as their mother. No death certificate has been located for Frances Pruitt Osborne; a short obituary in the Wilkes Journal Patriot reported her death but did not name her parents. Troy and Frances Osborne have Findagrave memorials but no tombstones in the Taylor Cemetery, which was completely photographed in 2012. The 1928 death certificate of Troy Osborne indicated his burial at "Rock Springs" but there is no tombstone for Troy at Rock Springs Baptist Church in McGrady, North Carolina, which is about two and-a-half miles from the Taylor Cemetery. Their daughter, Isabelle Osborne, is buried in the Taylor Cemetery.
Any corrections or additional information about any of these women would be very welcome! Please contact me at pruittdebbie@gmail.com.
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[1] 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.
[2] 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.
[3] I suspect that her middle initial A. indicated her middle name as Ann and her name was pronounced "Meedie Ann" - but that's just an opinion!
