Gideon enjoyed the support of his family in serving the abolitionist's cause. He married Jane Wells who died just a few years after her husband (March 22, 1892). To this union five children were born, a son also named Gideon, and four daughters (Helen, Lorinda, Jennie and Eva). In the death notice published for Jane Wells Pitts the only mention of her family is that "her mother, four sisters and two brothers all died in the month of March" (The Naples Record 30 March 1892).
Fortunately family records are available for the family of Jane Wells Pitts. We know that she was the daughter of Paoli Pascal and Anna Wells. Of special interest to our family, though, is the fact that Anna Wells maiden name was Munson. Jane Wells Pitts' Great-great-great Grandparents were Samuel and Martha Munson who also happened to be 6th Great Grandparents of our Grandmother Bragg.
What makes the family of Gideon and Jane Pitts of interest? They were not greatly unlike other northern families committed to the anti-slavery movement and for the cause of freedom and rights of former slaves following the close of the Civil War. But the Pitts family was unique in their close personal relationship with the former slave and Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass. The Pitts family hosted meetings for Douglass in their New York home and worked closely with him through his Washington DC area home. In fact, when their oldest daughter, Helen (described as "an able, accomplished woman"), moved to Washington she became a next door neighbor to Mr. Douglass who hired her to work for him as "a clerk in the office of the Recorder of Deeds in Washington, to which he had just been assigned" (Wikipedia). She worked closely with Douglass in his speaking engagements and in the writing of his autobiography.
Helen provided a source of strength to Frederick Douglass when, in 1882, the famous civil rights leader's wife, Anna Murray Douglass, passed away. Prejudice would soon rear its ugly head in the Pitts family when just two years later the 66-year-old former slave and the 46-year-old clerk were married. "Despite the fact that her family were ardent abolitionists and colleagues of Douglass, they were outraged at the marriage and refused to speak to Helen" (www.findagrave.com). Following their wedding Gideon and Jane Pitts "broke contact with her and Douglas" (Matthew Conheady, Pitts Mansion, nyhistoric.com). They were not the only ones who disapproved of the couple's decision to marry. Frederick Douglass' children were also said to have "scorned the marriage." It is encouraging, however, to read the obituaries of her parents in which we can infer that relations were eventually restored. This is especially clear in the death notice of Helen's mother, Jane, whose final days were spent in the Douglass' Washington DC household. Helen Pitts Douglass would remain the happy wife of her beloved husband until his death in 1895 and would become her husband's most ardent defender and the founder of the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association.
So how specifically is our family related to the second wife of Frederick Douglass? The chart below illustrates this connection of our Grandmother Bragg and her 5th cousins (2 times removed) Helen Pitts Douglass.
| Samuel and Martha Munson | |
| Joseph Munson (1677 - 1725) | Samuel Munson (1669 - 1741) |
| Ephraim Munson (1714 - 1770) | Solomon Munson (1689 - 1773) |
| Jerod Munson (1742) | Samuel Munson (1717 - 1790) |
| Anna Munson Pascal (1777 - 1836) | Samuel Munson (1763 - 1832) |
| Jane Wells, wife of Gideon Pitts (1811 - 1892) | Isaac Munson (1802 - 1864) |
| Helen Pitts (1838 - 1903), 2nd wife of Frederick Douglass | Joel Munson (1846 - 1921) |
| Elvira Belle Munson (1871 - 1939), wife of Cicero Gilbreath | |
| Gladys (Gilbreath) Bragg (1898 - 1977) | |
Joel Munson, our Great-great Grandfather and Helen Wells Douglass were 5th cousins.
