Bios: JOHN F. PITTS, 20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens
  
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      JOHN F. PITTS,
  
  [p. 729] president of the Board of County Commissioners of Lawrence
  County, is a successful agriculturist and one of the best known and most
  popular citizens. He is a native of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and
  was born in North Beaver Township, February 12, 1852. His parents were
  Daniel and Susan (Miller) Pitts.
  
  For several generations the ancestors of Mr. Pitts have been
  Pennsylvanians. His great-grandfather, Michael Pitts, was born in Berks
  County, lived for a time in Lancaster County, and came to North Beaver
  Township, Lawrence County, among the first settlers. He established his
  home in the western part of the township, a locality in which his
  descendants have ever since been large land owners. He secured 300 acres
  of land, built a primitive log cabin and resided in North Beaver
  Township until his death in old age. Four sons survived to perpetuate
  his good name, Michael, William, John and David.
  
  John Pitts, grandfather of John F., was born in Lancaster County
  Pennsylvania, but accompanied his father to Lawrence County. He was
  trained to agriculture and acquired first a farm near Zion Church, which
  he cleared from its wild condition. Following thrift and good
  management, he became the owner of more than 300 acres of land. He died
  at the age of seventy-eight years and was known all through the section
  in which he lived as a man of probity as well as of substance. He
  married Annie Painter and they reared children as follows: Adam, David,
  John, Annie, Catherine and Daniel.
  
  Daniel Pitts, father of John F., was born in North Beaver Township. For
  the greater part of his life he followed the blacksmith trade and he was
  also an expert butcher. In the days when each family provided its own
  meat, a capable butcher was in great demand all over the country, more
  especially in the fall of the year, when large provision was made for
  winter supplies. He was a worthy citizen and a good neighbor and many
  testified to the same when his death took place in 1865. He married
  Susan Miller, who still resides on the old homestead. They had the
  following children: John F., Emma, Samantha Jane, Alfred, Catherine,
  Lewis H. and Mary Eliza. Of these three are deceased: Samantha Jane,
  Catherine and Mary Eliza.
  
  John F. Pitts attended the Martin School, near his home, through
  boyhood. In 1870 he went to Canfield, Ohio, where he concluded his
  apprenticeship of three years to the trade of carriage building and
  wood-working. Returning home in 1873, he bought out the business of D.
  I. Hill, at Mt. Jackson, secured the old schoolhouse, which was earlier
  used as a church, raised it and placed a basement underneath and thus
  provided excellent quarters for carrying on his business of
  manufacturing lumber and heavy wagons, trucks, drays and carriages, in
  which he embarked on a large scale. He successfully conducted this
  business alone until 1887, when his brother, Lewis H. Pitts became
  associated with him and together they developed it into large
  proportions. In 1890, O. L. Miller was admitted to the firm and the
  style of Pitts Brothers & Miller was adopted. In addition to their
  extensive manufacturing and repair business, the firm handled a full
  line of farming implements.
  
  Mr. Pitts owns a large amount of valuable property, his fine residence
  standing on the site where Mr. Henry built the first house erected at
  Mt. Jackson. He married Louise Mollenkopf, who is a daughter of Daniel
  Mollenkopf, a well-known citizen of North Beaver Township.
  
  Their family consists of seven children, namely: Rena, Hattie, Laura,
  Warren, Harrison, William and Elmira.
  
  A stanch Republican in politics, Mr. Pitts has held many local offices
  in the gift of his party, including that of postmaster at Mt. Jackson.
  In the office of county commissioner he has made a creditable record and
  has demonstrated that he is possessed of good business foresight, sound
  judgment and fidelity to the interests of the public. He has been
  nominated for a second term and this nomination is equivalent to
  election. He is an active member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he
  is a past chancellor. In religious faith he is in accord with the tenets
  of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
  
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  20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and
  Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing
  Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
  
  Updated: 10 Dec 2001