Josephus S. (Joe) was the fifth child born to Ralph Pigott and Emeline Stewart. It is believed by some that Joe did not have a middle name and only adopted the initial "S" so folks would think he had a middle name like everyone else.
Josephus S. (Joe) was the fifth child born to Ralph Pigott and Emeline Stewart. It is believed by some that Joe did not have a middle name and only adopted the initial "S" so folks would think he had a middle name like everyone else.
Buried - Pigott Family Cemetery - Gloucester, NC
Married Eliza Whitehurst Chadwick 15 October 1896.
Children:
Lillian Webb - b. 08 June 1899; d: 15 October 1973; m. Monroe G. Willis ca. 1928 - ran the bookmobile for Careteret County. No children.
Daniel Shepard (Dan) - b. 07 June 1903; d. 26 January 1978; m. Cora Esta Lee - pharmacist - had drug store in Morehead City. No children.
James - b. 22 August 1904; d. 07 September 1924 - never married - killed in explosion aboard tug in N.Y. harbor
Murray Thomas - b. 22 March 1907; d. 17 September 1986; m. Myrtle Inez Watson 30 July 1938 - mariner - captain of private yacht belonging to president of Kimberly-Clark Co.
Florence - b. 13 June 1911; d. 13 March 1993 - never married - ran the store with Bill
Osborne Griffin (Bill) - b. 10 January 1914; d. 17 September 1986; m. Eloise Leecraft Nelson 29 March 1947 - ran store with Florence, did a little farming.
Willard - b. 10 January 1914; d. 10 January 1914 - Osborne's twin.
Joe had a house on the waterfront at one time. This house was destroyed by a waterspout. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Little Osborne was just a small child when this occured. He was picked up and desposited in the field a little distance from the house. Joe rebuilt out on the "main" road away from the water.
Joe had a sailing ship, the xx, with which he traded goods at ports up and down the East Coast from Massachusetts to South Carolina. There were no roads from Beaufort to Down East in those days.
Joe owned and operated the only general store in Gloucester from 19xx until his death. At which time two of his children, Florence and Osborne, took over the store and ran it until 19xx, when they retired and sold it. In the afternoons, the ladies of the community would gather at the store and exchange pleasantries until time to return home to prepare the evening meal for their husbands. In the evenings, it was the mens' turn to gather and swap tails. Back in those days, many folks didn't have electricity much less radios and televisions or automobiles to roam the countryside in.
The store had the traditional black pot-bellied stove with wooden benches around two sides for the folks to sit while they visited.
Out front of the store was an old-time gas pump. One had to first pump the required number of gallons up to the top of the pump. This was done with a pump handle on the side of the tank. You would then put the hose into the car's gas tank and let the gas drain from the top of the pump into the car's tank. Amount owed was manually calculated with pencil and paper.
Joe also had extensive farm land.