James A. Pitts was born on February 13, 1869 in Polk County, Missouri. He and his brother William (Bill) spent their boyhood in Missouri, Texas, and New Mexico, during which time the family picked cotton, herded sheep, farmed, ranched, and worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. In 1887, the Pitts moved to Flagstaff. While in school, young James met-and become lifelong friends with - Henry Fountain Ashurst, the future "Silver Tongued Orator" who represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate for decades.
In 1889, James Pitts began working for the railroad depot; he also worked as a deputy sheriff and tax collector. He became an active member of the Flagstaff community, participating in Methodist-Episcopal Church activities and literary clubs. Pitts married Eva Ashurst, Henry's sister in September, 1890. It appears the couple had two children, Harvey and Albert. The family moved to Needles, California in 1883, where James had work with the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Late in 1894, Pitts moved to Williams, where he was employed as a bookkeeper by shop owner Max Salzman.
The sequence of events in the Pitts' lives is unclear over the next fifteen tears. Eva Pitts passed away around 1905, according to information written on the back of one of the photographs, but, James married Ella Foley on April 6, 1904, indicated another source. It is unlikely that these dates are both correct, as Pitts remained in close terms with Henry Fountain Ashurst the rest of his life. Thomas J. Pitts, whose mother was probably Ella, was born by 1906; the family owned a ranch near Ash Fork. In 1912, the Pitts moved to the Salt River Valley; the Phoenix City Directory lists James' occupation as stockman. Two years later, they purchased a mercantile in Seligman and settled there. "J.A. Pitts Merchant" read the sign on the shop, which added a post office a few years later.
In September, 1918, James received a telegram from Senator Ashurst informing him that Albert Pitts was killed in action in France. Harvey became co-owner of a mercantile in Ash Fork. Thomas Pitts ultimately became an attorney in Sans Francisco. James's brother William, who had remained in Arizona and was working as manager of the Howard Sheep Company, died in November, 1927 near Congress Junction. In 1929, James and Ella moved to Upland, California. Ella died there in January of 1938 and was buried in Ash Fork. James passed away in August, 1960.
From the guide to the James A. Pitts Collection, 1905-1960., (Cline Library. Special Collections and Archives Department.)
