Richard Pitman (the elder and the younger)

 My earliest known Pittman ancestor in America is Richard Pitman (note the alternate spelling). He is my 8th great grandfather.

According to many online family trees (FTs) he was born in 1618 in Rye, East Sussex. He was baptized there on 9 Nov 1618. His father was Thomas, his mother (possibly) Frances. Thomas died in 1647 in England. 

When did Richard come to America? The short answer is, no one seems to know for sure. Most online FTs say that his son Richard (2) was born there in New Jersey in 1660. This places the family in the colony long before the the first Quaker settlements in Salem County (1675 and thereafter), where he would eventually come to settle. Later family evidence indicates that Richard may well have been a Quaker, but he is not on the ship's roster of the Griffin or the Kent, the two earliest ships to bring Quaker settlers.

All that we know is that both Richards, the father and the son, died in 1707. There is a probate record for Richard (2) showing an estate valued at just over  £145 ("incl. 9 books"). 

Richard Pitman the elder lived about 89 years, which would not be an unusual longevity among his many descendants. He crossed the ocean to establish a freehold in western New Jersey at a time when there were very few European settlers in the area. Richard the younger would live only 47 years. Did a contagion strike that area in 1707, causing death to both father and son? We can only wonder.

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