No image available
John Robbins Pitt
Other Name:
J.R.W. Pitt
Gender:
Male
Born:
March 28, 1794
Died:
December 6, 1828
Home Town:
Great Choptank Parish, MD
Biographical Notes:
John Robins Pitt was the son of Samuel Willson and Mary Pitt. He returned to Maryland after attending the Law School and entered political office.
Quotes:
In June 1816, Pitt played a joke on Litchfield Female Academy students Susan Rockwell, Caroline Chester, and Miss Sanford who had hired a carriage for an afternoon drive. While passing Tapping Reeve's house on South Street, Chester realized they had another passenger:
"In turning around saw sitting on the back of the carriage Mr. Pitt, I was astonished that a person whom I imagined possessed so much dignity would condescend to be seen in such a degraded situation, but what was my surprise when he cried out in a voice resembling some low bred country clown -- 'Don't whip behind.' Miss R______ immediately stopped the carriage & he jumped off..."
"In turning around saw sitting on the back of the carriage Mr. Pitt, I was astonished that a person whom I imagined possessed so much dignity would condescend to be seen in such a degraded situation, but what was my surprise when he cried out in a voice resembling some low bred country clown -- 'Don't whip behind.' Miss R______ immediately stopped the carriage & he jumped off..."
Additional Notes:
His name is listed as "Jso. R.W. Pitt" on William Samuel Johnson's handwritten list at the Connecticut Historical Society.
Education
Years at LLS:
1816-1817
Profession / Service
Profession:
Political Office
Admitted To Bar:
1825
State Posts:
Assistant Clerk of the House of Delegates (MD) 1818-1820
State Delegate (MD) 1823-1826
State Delegate (MD) 1823-1826
Immediate Family (Why only immediate family?)
- Mary Pitt Wilson
Mother - Samuel Wilson
Father
Related Objects and Documents
Other:
The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation. Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Handwritten list by William Samuel Johnson, Catalogue of the Students at Law in the school at Litchfield Conn. at & after Aug. 15th 1817, Connecticut Historical Society, Johnson Family Papers, 1722-1863, Box - Johnson Papers
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School (Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849), 14.
"Litchfield, September 2 1816 Tribute of Respect," Connecticut Herald, vol XIII, iss. 49, 3, September 17, 1816.
Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School (Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849), 14.
"Litchfield, September 2 1816 Tribute of Respect," Connecticut Herald, vol XIII, iss. 49, 3, September 17, 1816.
Contact Us
Do you have more information for the Ledger?
If you have family papers, objects, or any other details you would like to share, or if you would like to obtain a copy of an image for publication, please contact us at curator@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.