Family history book dedicated to SWU library
Sarah Pitts-Holmes, left, along with her sister, Mary Pitts-Brown, right, presents a copy of the Pitts and Harbin Family History to Bob Sears, director of the Rickman Library at SWU and Anne Sheriff, director of the Clayton Family Research Center, located at the library on the Central campus. Pictured in the foreground is Vada Pitts-Henderson, Sarah and Mary’s aunt.
Thirty years after graduating from Southern Wesleyan University, Sarah Pitts-Holmes returned to the Central campus July 29, along with her sister Mary Pitts-Brown and many family members, to present a copy of their family’s history to the Clayton Family Research Center, located in Rickman Library.
“This is our family and our history. We’re very proud to have it here and to have you want it to be here. That means a lot to us,” said Mary, who authored and published the history of their families and tells of their life in Oconee and Pickens counties. The book provides a comprehensive history of the Pitts and Harbin families, based on years of extensive research and DNA testing.
Along with the book, Sarah and Mary presented a DVD filled with genealogical data to Anne Sheriff, who curates the Clayton Family Research Center at SWU. Mary previously authored a family history in 2011, and the book was revised in honor of their aunt, Vada Pitts-Henderson, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday.
“Receiving a book on an African-American Upcountry family is a first for the Clayton Room,” Sheriff said. “The Pitts family from Pickens County and the Harbin family from Oconee County and their related history adds information about local interactions in the late 1800s and early 1900s.”
Sarah and Mary’s great-grandfather was Seaborne Pitts, a white man who fought in the Civil War and died of an illness he sustained while in Virginia.
“What a wonder to know that my great-grandfather was of total Caucasian descent and fought in the Civil War for the right to protect slavery, and yet my African-American family is proudly thriving, standing strong and free today,” Sarah wrote in the book’s dedication page. Tracing the genealogy of the Pitts family, who were white, and the Harbin family, who were African-American, reminded Sarah of the importance of promoting the understanding of mankind’s origins.
“It is my hope and prayer that this book will inspire other African-American families to accept the challenge of searching their heritage. I also hope that it will educate all races just how entwined the human race has become since the beginning of creation,” Sarah said.
The family recently gathered in Oconee County for a week-long celebration of Vada’s birthday. They gathered at a family home in Oconee County, coming not only from the Upstate, but from as far away as Texas, Indiana, Michigan and New Jersey. Holmes is currently executive administrator for Soapstone Center for Clinical Research in Decatur, Ga., and is the mother of current student Kenneth Holmes, a member of the Warriors Men’s Basketball Team. Brown resides in Detroit.
Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ. For details about degree programs, go online to swu.edu.
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