I recieved this info from friend called Mr. Gordon Bold, whom has provided me
with allot of information on our family history. Mr. Bold is
President/Chairman of the Abbey Museum Of Art And Archeology Board, a
world renowned museum, associated with institutions such as Oxford
University etc, it holds the largest Medieval Festival in the Southern
Hemisphere and one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world.
He is also the chairman of the Museum Association and on the Board of
the St. Michael's College Association. He has over 30 years of research
on the Bold and Pitout family, and has contributed and amazing amount
of information that would help me on my quest to make a proper Family
Tree, and learn more about our history.
Now
regarding the Pitout family, much of what I know has been passed on to
me by the likes of aunts, uncles, my mother, my father, my grandfather
Benjamin Henry Pitout (son of Cornelius Ignatius Pitout) specifically
and other family members (e.g. Bertha Pitout, a lecturer at the Durban
University of Technology, who has also done a tremendous amount of
research). I have also been lucky enough to have met one of my Pitout
great uncles (my grandfather's younger brother Daniel Joseph Pitout).
My Bold family in fact had a very strong association with the Pitout
family, as a Bold brother and sister married a Pitout sister and
brother. I am probably also one of the very few family members privy to
the Pitout story, regarding the little boy that smiled at his assassin
and the associated adoption story. I am also privy to many other issues
and facts associated with my grandfather and other family members. It
is fair to say what was told was just enough information to protect
those that require protecting and just enough to keep one guessing.
There
is a lot of intrigue surrounding the Pitout family and there are many
versions of the same story with a twist. Unfortunately, they do not
always stand up to historic fact and were probably fabricated to
protect the real truth. One also needs to consider the fact that Pitout
as such is generally only really associated with South Africa.
I
have also researched and analysed the Pitout family in quite some
detail too, especially in consideration of the information I have been
privy to, stopping short of going past my great-grandfather Cornelius
Ignatius Pitout. I have even covered the Pitout family in some detail
in one of my books stopping short at Cornelius Ignatius Pitout,
allowing the reader to come to their own conclusion. One needs to
understand the Pitout family were relatively new to South Africa and
that there were two opposing factions, so much so that at one time one
actually thought there were two completely separate families.
As
for the tree it is built up with information I previously had plus some
of the hand written and printed information passed on to me as a means
of reconciling to ensure accuracy as far as possible, as well as a
means to filling some of the gaps. I have also extensively updated the
web-page, as information has been provided by researchers and family
members over time. The tree is pretty comprehensive from Cornelius
Ignatius Pitout down, including many living family members.
Now
to answer your question regarding the heraldry, stuff coats of arms and
crests on the Bold web-site. The coats of arms and associated crests
displays are those of the Bold family and associated families of
importance. too. On the Pitout page one can see the de Potion coat of
arms the Compte de Poitou and the Comte de Artois coat of arms. The
only coat of arms with a crest is the Bold Coat of arms (note - my Bold
Crest above as the letterhead). The background on the Pitout web-page
are two coats of arms displayed one being that of the Comte de Poitou
and the other de Poitou. One needs to remeber, not all families have an
associated coat of arms and even less have an associated crest.
Generally speaking a coat of arms and/or crest is normally granted to a
particular person, based on pedigree, by the likes of the Royal College
of Arms, etc. I have included the Poitou and Compte de Poitou arms for
a reason, there is method in my madness.
So the answer to your
question is basically yes and no. All depends on which family we are
talking about. You see the Pitout arms were once described to me as -
blazon gules, five roses or, barbed proper seeded argent. Which
basically means a red shield with five yellow roses, with white/silver
centres. This is similar to the Compte de Poitou which is - blazon
gules five castles or, gated and windowed argent, which basically means
a red shield with five yellow castles with white/silver windows and
gates). This basically supports Pitout intrigue.
Heraldry in
itself is a very interesting subject and can be very complex. Very
often coats of arms are generally the same within a family with slight
variations between incumbents.
Now regarding what you referred
to as a 'Proper Family Tree' and your wish to find as many Pitouts as
possible, the web-page I have, covers those after Cornelius Ignatius
Pitout comprehensively - the 'Pit-Too' family so to speak. The other
Pitouts generally known as 'Pee-Toe' are not covered at all. Just to
confuse the issue, over time some of the Cornelius Ignatius Pitout
branch have also been known to be referred to as 'Pee-Toe'. If I am not
mistaken there should be about another two branches something like the
Cornelius Ignatius Pitout branch. One side was very English and the
other became very Afrikaans...
A little trivia for you that will provide a liittle more perspective:-
Charles
Joseph Pitout was the first Pitout in the Cape, apparently a book
written by Ben Cilliers mentiones Charles Joseph Pitout. Pama (C. Pama,
considred South Africa's foremost genealogical authority) records that
the first Pitout arrived in 1819, married in George and had 10 children.
Up
until very recently, Cornelius Ignatius Pitout was considered, by most,
a totally separate Pitout entity. However, in September 2006 Bertha
Pitout visited Grahamstown and went to the Albany museum where she met
the museum genealogist (William Jervis). He showed her the recently
updated version of 'Afrikaans familienames' by Heese. There were now 12
children and Cornelius Ignatius is the 11th child! As far as the
Genealogists and all were concerned they had found the missing and that
all Pitouts in South Africa can link to the same ancestor. Whilst this
may all be true to a point and considering all, there is still a
tremendous amount of intrigue that still surrounds the Pitout family.
Prior to Charles Joseph Pitout is what is really intriguing, as the
Pitout family are very much associated with the Twyford family...
One
needs to remember the Twyford family were not one of the families that
came out with the 1820 Settlers, but the name Twyford is often
mentioned in the family with some affection and great respect. So much
so there are a few Pitouts running around with the name Twyford, for
example:
• Cornelius Twyford Pitout (1912)
• Jeffrey Twyford Pitout (1941)
• Daniel Twyford Pitout (1984)
Part
of the Pitout story is the name change from Twyford and the adoption of
a girl and boy by their uncle a count of France. The big question - is
Pitout the anglicised version of Poitou? One needs to recognise the
French way of pronouncing Poitou 'Pwa-Too' and the English way of
pronouncing Pitout 'Pit-Too', in fact very little difference other than
phonetic subtle idiosyncrasies associated with language. Whereas
'Pee-Toe' is very different and very Afrikaans.
Another big
question - who was the little boy that smiled at his assassin and where
was he taken (exiled) because the dreaded deed could not be carried
out? England with the Twyfords? This begs the question who were his
parents? What a strange name Charles Joseph Pitout.
Unfortunately,
these are question that may conjure up all sorts of answers but the
real truth will most likely never be known and if it is will most
likely never be accepted or even proved.
I have considered
writing a book regarding the Pitout family prior to Cornelius Ignatius
Pitout. If I ever get down and actually put pen to paper, It will not
be written as a history book, but rather a novel with names and places
changed for obvious reasons. However, I am still in two minds about
authoring it.
I trust this all helps, in trying to come to
grips with what is what. The whole Pitout story is a very complex one,
hence the reason I only went as far back as my great-grandfather
Cornelius Ignatius Pitout in print. That is as far back as I was
prepared to reveal and make available. That is why I asked you the
following questions:
• What do you know and where do you fit into the scheme of things?
• Are you a 'Pit-Too' or a 'Pee-Toe'?
• What do you know about the Pitout story?
As
mentioned above some genealogists have put a few more pieces together
regarding the family in South Africa, but what they don't know and
probably will never know is the associated history. To conclude, even
Pitout family members know very little about their Pitout family and
the associated history and stories associated with the family. This by
the way is no accident, I am of the firm belief it was carefully
planned as such, by those in the know.
