My Stitt Family Genealogy Page

Last Updated April 15, 2007

This page is dedicated to my Stitt ancestors.  Special thanks are extended to cousins Gerald Stitt of Tecumseh, Nebraska; Ramona (Potter) Mitchell of LeHigh Acres, Florida; Leanna (Stitt) Sackett of Cambridge, Nebraska; Jerry and Dixie Stitt of Morris, IL, Ralph Stitt of Danville, VA; and George Stitt of Overbrook, Oklahoma, for taking the time (and expending the effort) to gather and provide important elements of family data for inclusion into my database.

Our earliest known Stitt ancestor, James Stitt I (my 3rd great-grandfather),was believed to be descended from a Scottish Covenanter family that had fled to Ireland during the early 1700's.   Family records indicate that James I was probably born in Northern Ireland  in 1770.   He may have been a textile weaver since that was the occupation most prevalent among the Scotch-Irish community in Ulster Province at that time.   His wife  (Mary or Nancy?) NEWELL,  was also probably born in Ireland about 1770.    James and his wife were married about 1796 in County Down, and their subsequent children  were:  Nancy, James II (my 2nd great -grandfather), Archibald, Thomas, Alexander, and William.   (all but William were born in County Down)

James I and his family (said to have been accompanied by two brothers named Archibald and Robert. and their families as well)  sailed to America in 1808.  James I and Archibald settled in New Dublin Township, Alexandria, Huntingdon County, PA,  about June 1808.  Robert was reported to have gone "South" when they landed in America.  James died (cause unknown) during February 1809,  just months after the birth of his last child, William.

The eldest child, Nancy STITT, was born September 28th, 1798 in County Down, Ireland.  A family record says Nancy married a man named WEBB and reportedly had a large family who were farmers and lived in Kansas; however,  I can find no information concerning Nancy or her family beyond this simple statement.

James Stitt II was born December 22, 1799 in County Down, Ireland.  He married Margaret Marshall,  born 10 February 1806 in Pennsylvania. They had 9 children (7 of which have descendant links, below).  James was a landowner, farmer and carpenter.  He died August 28th 1873 in Verona, Illinois.  Margaret later moved to Pawnee, Nebraska to live with her son, David Clark Stitt I (my great-grandfather) about 1880, and died there April 29th, 1884.  

Archibald STITT was born in December 1801 in County Down, Ireland.  He eventually settled in Wabash County, Indiana, and became owner and manager of a popular hotel called the Indiana House.  He married Catherine SIMPSON and they had 5 children: Alexander, William, Archibald, James, and Jane.  Archibald died October 13th, 1867 and Catharine died November 19th, 1893.

Thomas Stitt was born in County Down, Ireland, on June 24th, 1804.  A successful shoemaker,  he lived in Columbus, Ohio.  He apparently never married.  Other than a statement that he had a very profitable contract making shoes for prisoners in the Ohio state penitentiary at Columbus, no further information is available.

Alexander Stitt was born during December 1806 in County Down, Ireland.   According to family files, Alexander ran away from home at an early age.  It is said he went West,  possibly to California.  His parents never heard from him again; however, there were inferences that he may have corresponded with some of his siblings, because his younger brother William's daughter (Margaret Ellen Stitt) possessed information that "Uncle Alexander never married" in a short 1931 bio she wrote about her father.

William Stitt was born in a log cabin in the southern rural district of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, on September 26th, 1808.   William was a tailor and a farmer during his adulthood.  He died April 30th, 1899 in Pulaski, Pennsylvania.  He married Elizabeth Lostetter of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on December 5, 1835. They settled in Pulaski, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and had 8 children:   James, Mary, Elizabeth, William J., Jerusha, Anna, Ellen, and John C. His wife, Elizabeth, died about 1845, shortly after the birth of their last child. Five years later, William married Jane Somerville Robinson.   They had 5 children: Thomas Newell, Archie Woodrow, Margaret Ellen, Theresa Jane, and Walter.  

While the actual country of origin for the Stitt surname is unknown, a family in Australia possessed a vague reference that the first Stitt families to appear in Scotland (perhaps as early as the 1100's) may have come from Denmark.   Many people from the Netherlands access this page regularly; unfortunately, none of them have contacted me (if you are from the Netherlands and you are reading this, I do wish you would comment on this possibility!).  There are many conjectures/theories regarding the derivation or meaning of the name Stitt; however, I have yet to see concrete evidence that it actually means anything at all.

The Stitt family crest at the top of this page is contained in a book of heraldry, "Burke's General Armory"  published 1842 by John Burke.   Having said that, I have no idea if the crest was issued to anyone in my specific Stitt line.  I placed it here simply because it looked good ... and because it seemed to need a good home.

CLICK ON NAMES SHOWN IN RED UNDERLINED TEXT FOR THEIR DIRECT DESCENDANTS: