Ellis County Texas Archives News.....Red Oak house home to 6 generations September 8, 2000
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Elaine Luce grannylu@karnesec.net September 6, 2006, 7:22 pm

Waxahachie Daily Light September 8, 2000
Red Oak house home to 6 generations

The following is a portion of a newspaper article, used by permission of Mr. 
Neal White, Waxahachie Daily Light. 
Excerpts from the article titled, “Red Oak house home to 6 generations” Friday 
September 8, 2000, written by Anna Marie Garcia, Daily Light Correspondent:

“…They bought a house that was nearly 30 years old, raised 10 children; five 
girls, and five boys.
     Little did George and Mary Pitts realize that descendents of their family 
would still be living in that same house more than 100 years and six 
generations later.
    When George and Mary Pitts owned the house, there were two stairways on 
either end of the house which led to the upper floor.
    All the girls’ bedrooms were on one end of the upstairs, and the boys’ 
bedrooms were on the other. The rooms were not connected upstairs; the only 
access to them was from the stairways.
    It has been passed down from generation to generation that the house was 
built that way so if travelers happened to pass by and needed a place to stay, 
the males’ and females’ sleeping quarters were separated….
    The Pitts’ home was totally remodeled in 1950, air-conditioning was added 
in the 60’s, then in the mid-90’s the house was completely re-wired, re-
plumbed, and the foundation had extra support added.
 …“My grandfather used to joke that the reason there was no heat in the dining 
room, is so people would get cold and quickly eat so they would leave, so not 
only did it save on heat, it saved on food,”….”I’m not so sure that it was 
really that much of a joke though…”




Additional Comments:
George and Mary Pitts moved from South Carolina to the Red Oak area in about 
1884.
The home was still owned by descendents of George and Mary Pitts at the time 
the article was written. The article further stated that the house is made of 
Bois D’ Arc and that the current owner, while doing some work under the house, 
found a beam with “1854” etched in it. That would make the house over 150 
years old.

Submitted by Elaine Luce, Great Granddaughter of, Thomas Lawrence Pitts b. 13 
Jan 1883 d. 24 Nov 1954 (one of the “10 children”), that grew up in George and 
Mary Pitts’ home in Red Oak.




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