Hester Pitt

Her Married Life

In the 1600s, wealthy people ordered wine in bottles with a glass seal to identify their ownership of that bottle.  Hester’s seal shows her initials “HPB” with the “P” sharing a part of the “B.”  No other 17th-century woman in Virginia is known to have had her own wine seal.

Her Records

Two of Hester’s records stand out from the others:

1688:  The first record was a patent for 243 acres (Reference 21) that she, as Mrs. Hester Bridger, and Mr. James Tullah received in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, on 20 October 1688. The property was bounded by the land of Thomas Poole, “neer” the gr. Freshett, along Mr. Thomas Jordan’s line, and to the land of Jeremiah Rutter. The patent was due for the transport of five persons: Eliza Maycock, Mary Young, Mary Butler, Samll. Canadee, and Will a Negro. It was rather unusual for a woman, in her own right, to apparently apply for and receive a patent at this time, which makes Hester stand out.

1692:  The second record was the undated deposition of Ann Keebell, a midwife aged about 50 years old, sworn to after 23 or 24 October 1692, the date mentioned in the deposition, and so the date of the deposition might have been late 1692 or 1693 (References 4, 11).  Ann said that about 23 or 24 October 1692, she cared for a servant wench named Martha Tall who was ready to deliver her baby. Martha Tall was the servant to Madame Hester Bridger. The delivery was very difficult on both the mother and the child. Hester paid Ann Keebell 400 pounds of tobacco to “dress and cure” the child and care for the mother for a considerable time “to the greate trouble and charge of Madm. Bridger for she provided everything for her as was convenient either for the woman and child in the condition they were and wanted for nothing.” Martha Tall told Ann Keebell that the baby’s father was a Mr. Williamson, the mate of Capt. Tibbott’s ship. 

This second record, showing Hester’s care and support of a poor woman and her child, is reminiscent of the first bequests in the will of Hester’s father Robert Pitt, in which he left a parcel of land and three cows as a gift from his deceased wife Martha on which should be built a house for the relief of poor women. His next bequest was a gift from his daughter Martha of two cows and two female calves and their increase, half to support poor women and half to support female orphans. Hester seemed to have been following the examples of her parents and her sister Martha about the need to care for vulnerable women and children when she stepped up to give shelter to and to pay for the care of Martha Tall and her child.

1698:  Finally, on 09 December 1698, when she was about 62 years old, Hester retired from “public” life and appointed her oldest son Joseph Bridger to be her attorney (References 4, 11). Hester died before January 1711/ 1712, as shown in a deed dated 18 January 1711/ 1712. In this deed, Joseph Bridger, son and heir of Hester Bridger, deceased, sold 120 acres to James Jordan. The land was part of a patent for 243 acres granted to the said Hester Bridger and James Tullach on 20 October 1688 and was bounded by the land of James Jordan, which was lately Robert Pitt’s, and the land late of James Rutter. (Reference 4) 

Her Siblings

Hester’s brother John was born before 07 October 1630, the date of his baptism at All Saints Church, Bristol, England (pr Image 36/ 90). Her brother Robert, Jr., was born before 09 December 1631, the date of his baptism at St. Thomas Church, Bristol, England (pr Image 75/ 258).  No baptismal record has been found for her brother William; he is mentioned in the will of his grandmother Mary Gibbs Pitt dated 08 June 1634.  Hester had two sisters named Mary (termed Mary I and Mary II).  Her sister Mary I was born before 12 May 1638, the date of her baptism, as Mary, daughter of Mr. Robert Pitt, merchant, and his wife Martha Pitt, at St. John the Baptist Church, Bristol, England (pr Image 30/ 137). Mary I died before 04 August 1639, the date of her burial, as Mary Pitt, daughter of Mr. Robert Pitt, merchant, St. John the Baptist Church, Bristol, England (pr Image 85/ 137).  Birth records for Elizabeth, Martha, and Mary II have not yet been found.  Martha is mentioned in her father’s will dated 06 June 1672.  William’s mention in his grandmother’s will is his only mention in any record found to date in England or Virginia.  William is not mentioned in his father’s will.  For more information about Hester’s siblings, see Brayton (Reference 14) and Boddie (Reference 2). 

Her Ancestors

Hester Pitt pedigree chart.

Pitt

The Pitt surname is found in records from the 1400s and 1500s in Bristol, including the will of a Nicholas Pitt, Clerk of St. Mary Redcliffe Church dated 13 June 1494 (Reference 14).  The Pitt name is also found about 35 miles southeast of Bristol in Somerset, and about 70 miles southeast of Bristol in Blanford Forum and Wimborne Minster, Dorset, including a Nicholas Pitt who lived there in 1545.  Hester Pitt’s relation to these Pitts is hypothetical at best.

The earliest documented ancestor of Hester Pitt is her 2nd great-grandfather William Pitt. He was likely born before 1500 and lived on the Isle of Guernsey, where his wife Helena Haviland was raised.  Helena was the daughter of James de Haviland and Helena de Beauvoir.  James was a Justice of the Royal Court of the Isle of Guernsey from 1517 until his death on 14 Oct 1540.  Helena was the daughter of Richard de Beauvoir of Guernsey.  William Pitt and his wife later moved from the Isle of Guernsey to Blandford.

William Pitt and his wife Helena had five children:

1. John Pitt was a Clerk of the Exchequer and the ancestor of the Earls of Chatham and the Prime Ministers of England William Pitt, the elder and William Pitt, the younger.  His wife was Joan Swayne.  He left a will dated 28 Sep 1599.  (Reference 23).

2. Thomas Pitt was a draper and merchant of Bristol.  He was born about 1545 in perhaps Blandford Forum, Dorset, England and died 04 May 1613 in Bristol. He was the Chamberlain (essentially the Treasurer) of Bristol from 8 May 1603 until his death. His will was dated 01 May 1613 (Reference 25).  He married twice. His first wife was Ann (surname not yet identified; buried 04 March 1573/1574, St. Nicholas Church, Bristol).  They had at least five children, all of whom were baptized in St. Thomas Parish, Bristol, England:

• An Pitt (baptized 28 May 1567; died before her father’s death as she was not in his will);
• Edward Pitt (born and died 1568);
• Thomas Pitt (baptized 2 Oct 1569; died after 1 May 1613, when his father signed his will);
• John Pitt (baptized 16 Nov 1570; died before 1 May 1613, when his father signed his will); and
• Alice Pitt (baptized 28 Mar 1572; died after 1 May 1613, when her father signed his will).

Thomas’s second wife was Maude Pykes (baptized 19 May 1549, St. Nicholas Church, Bristol; buried 02 May 1610, St. Thomas Parish, Bristol). They had seven children, all of whom were baptized in St. Thomas Parish, Bristol, England:

• William Pitt (see below);
• Anne Pitt (baptized 28 Jul 1577; died after 1 May 1613, when her father signed his will; married first to Thomas Waters and second to John Merrick);
• Marie/Mary Pitt (baptized 9 Dec 1579; died after 1 May 1613, when her father signed his will; married first to Robert Owen and second to Rice Davis);
• Mathew Pitt (born and died 1582);
• Alice/Ales Pitt (1585-1586);
• Joane Pitt (born and died 1588); and
• Joane Pitt (born and died 1591)

3. William Pitt was of Stoborough, near Wareham, Dorset.  His wife is unknown.  (Listed as a son of William Pitt in the tree for the Earls of Chatham.) (Reference 24).

4. Edward Pitt (d. 1583) was a merchant of Bristol.  His wife is unknown.  He did not leave a will but his inventory identified him as part owner of the ship Unicorn and father of three children, all of whom were baptized at St. Werburgh Church, Bristol, (where Edward was buried on 6 Jul 1583):

• William
• John, and
• Anne.
  Baptismal records identify two more children:
• Edward (who died when about 6 months old), and
• Mary/Marie (baptized 10 Feb 1583/84; buried 1 Mar 1634/35); married Edward Batten/Battin.

 5. Christopher Pitt was a merchant of Bristol and captain of the ship Handmaid, a British ship from Bristol that participated in the Armada Campaign of 1588.  The Handmaid was owned by John Satchfield.  In his will, he identified his brother Thomas and made him an overseer of his will.  He was married to Mary Yate, Margaret Cox, and Cecilie Oldfield.  He had five children, all of whom were baptized at St. Thomas Church, Bristol:

• by first wife Mary Yate: no children;
• by second wife Margret Cox:
  • Mary Pitt, who married Christopher Robinson;
• by third wife Cecilie Oldfield:
  • Christopher Pitt (baptized 23 Mar 1590/1),
  • Margaret Pitt (baptized 22 Dec 1591),
  • Thomas Pitt (baptized 4 Apr 1593), and
  • Susanna Pitt (born and died 1594).

Thomas Pitt’s son William Pitt was a merchant of Bristol.  He was born and died in Bristol (baptized 19 Mar 1574/1575; buried 14 Nov 1624). He married Mary Gibbs (daughter of William and Elizabeth Gibbs).  They had eight children, all of whom were baptized at St. Thomas Parish, Bristol:

• • William Pitt (baptized 22 May 1604, died before his will was probated 09 June 1631);
  • Robert Pitt (see below);
  • Mary Pitt (baptized 14 Apr 1607, Bristol; died 26 Sep 1684, Charlestown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts); married Andrew Newell;
  • Anne Pitt (baptized 06 Jan 1608/09; buried perhaps 11 Jun 1696); married Abraham Edwards, Jr.;
  • Henry (baptized 07 Oct 1613, Bristol; died before 19 Oct 1665, Isle of Wight County, Virginia); married first to Margaret (perhaps Margaret Dale) and second to Ann Fluellen, widow of Robert Watson;
  • Thomas Pitt (baptized 22 Mar 1614/1615, Bristol; buried 29 Jun 1625, Bristol);
  • Maude (baptized 26 Aug 1617, Bristol; died about 1652, Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts); married Richard Russell; and
  • Martha (baptized 17 Aug 1619, Bristol; buried 04 May 1626, Bristol).

Robert Pitt, son of Thomas and Mary, was a merchant of Bristol and of Isle of Wight County, Virginia.  He was baptized 16 Mar 1605/6 at St. Thomas Church in Bristol.  He died before 9 Jan 1674 when his will was probated in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.  He married his first wife, Martha Tomlinson (daughter of John Tomlinson and Mary Langley), on 02 June 1629 at All Saints Church, Bristol.  They had seven children:

• John Pitt (baptized 7 Oct 1630, Bristol; died before 9 Jan 1702/3, Isle of Wight County, Virginia, when his will was probated); married first to perhaps Grace Marshalland and second to Olive Hardy;
• Robert Pitt (baptized 09 Dec 1631, Bristol; died before 6 Jun 1672, the date of his father’s will); married but wife’s name is not known;
• William Pitt (born late 1632 to 8 Jun 1634, the date of his sole mention in any record (the will of his grandmother Mary Gibbs Pitt); died before 6 Jun 1672 Virginia, as he was not in his father’s will, which was dated 6 Jun 1672.);
• Elizabeth Pitt (born after 1634, as she was not mentioned in the will of her grandmother Mary Gibbs Pitt; death unknown); married a Norsworthy, Isle of Wight County, Virginia;
• Hester Pitt (baptized 6 Apr 1636; died 1698-1711, Isle of Wight County, Virginia);  married Joseph Bridger;
• Mary Pitt I (1638-1639), Bristol; and
• Martha Pitt (died before 6 Jun 1672, Virginia, as she is mentioned as deceased in her father’s will).

Robert Pitt had one child by his second wife Elizabeth Stevens:

• Mary Pitt II (born after 1650, Isle of Wight County, Virginia); married John Brasseur.

Robert Pitt‘s first patent in Virginia was dated 14 Feb 1637 in Isle of Wight County, indicating that he was in, or at least visiting Virginia, before that date. He was apparently going back and forth between Virginia and Bristol, England, before and after 1637, because his daughters Hester (in 1636) and Mary (in 1638) were baptized in Bristol. The last baptismal or burial record for a member of Robert and Martha Pitt’s family was the burial of Mary on 4 Aug 1639, St. John the Baptist Church, Bristol. Consequently, it is likely that Robert’s wife Martha and his children remained in Bristol in the late 1630s and perhaps into the early 1640s when the English Civil War came to Bristol.  Robert Pitt’s other patents in Virginia were dated 1643, 1648, and 1654.

Tomlinson

Hester Pitt’s mother was Martha Tomlinson, the daughter of John Tomlinson (a Bristol Alderman from 1633-1649), and granddaughter of Thomas Tomlinson (an innkeeper).  Martha married Robert Pitt in 1629 at All Saints Church in Bristol, England.  John Tomlinson and the Pitt family held property on Redcliff Street in St. Thomas Parish, Bristol in 1628.  It is possible that both Martha and Robert were living on the same street a year before they married and possibly for their entire lives.

Hester Pitt’s grandfather John Tomlinson married Mary Langley, and they had eight children: John, Martha, Marie, Elizabeth, Anne, Thomas, Joane, and Phillipe.  Martha was baptized on 23 Nov 1620 at All Saints Church, Bristol.  John apprenticed under John Fowens, a wealthy grocer, until 5 May 1607 and became a merchant.  He was a member of the Common Council of Bristol from 1614 to 1648, was the Sheriff of Bristol in 1615, and was the Mayor of Bristol in 1630.

Hester Pitt’s great-grandfather Thomas Tomlinson married Joan/Johan Palmer, and they had 11 children, all of whom were baptized at St. Thomas Church, Bristol.  Thomas was an innkeeper and member of the Common Council of Bristol from 1611 to 1622.

Langley

Mary Langley‘s father was Tobias Langley, the son of Philip Langley and Mary Pepwell.  Philip was a successful grocer and merchant in Bristol.  He was the Sheriff of Bristol in 1566, a Member of Parliament from 1571 to 1583, an Alderman for Bristol from 1581 to 1592, and the Mayor of Bristol in 1581.

Pepwell

Mary Pepwell’s parents were William Pepwell and Elizabeth Symth.  William was a wealthy grocer, who was Sheriff of Bristol in 1542 and Mayor of Bristol in 1557 and 1567.  Mary’s brother Michael Pepwell was the Sheriff of Bristol in 1575 and Mayor of Bristol in 1593.