Alice Simmons Pitts was born on July 25, 1866 in Boonville, Yadkin County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of former slaves named John Simmons and Matilda Dobson Jarvis Simmons, who were both of mixed African and European ancestry. When Alice was young, her father left the family. The 1880 census revealed that Alice's mother was the head of the house, even though she was still married to her husband. It is unclear if Alice's father returned to his birthplace in South Carolina before he passed away. Sometime between 1880 and 1890, Alice moved to Forsyth County, North Carolina with her mother and sister. It was there that she met a farmer named Columbus Christopher Pitts. Columbus was a former slave from Guilford County, North Carolina. The couple became the first to marry at the Goler Church in Winston, North Carolina on December 20, 1890. Alice and Columbus settled in Happy Hill, which was the first black community in the area. Their first children were twins named Freddie and Ora. However, these twins both passed away as infants. Alice later gave birth to three more children named Ollie Jane Pitts, Walter Elwood Pitts, and Harry Lee Pitts, Sr. Unfortunately, Alice was later stricken with an unknown illness. She passed away on September 1, 1907, at the age of 41.
Alice Simmons Pitts was born on July 25, 1866 in Boonville, Yadkin County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of former slaves named John Simmons and Matilda Dobson Jarvis Simmons, who were both of mixed African and European ancestry. When Alice was young, her father left the family. The 1880 census revealed that Alice's mother was the head of the house, even though she was still married to her husband. It is unclear if Alice's father returned to his birthplace in South Carolina before he passed away. Sometime between 1880 and 1890, Alice moved to Forsyth County, North Carolina with her mother and sister. It was there that she met a farmer named Columbus Christopher Pitts. Columbus was a former slave from Guilford County, North Carolina. The couple became the first to marry at the Goler Church in Winston, North Carolina on December 20, 1890. Alice and Columbus settled in Happy Hill, which was the first black community in the area. Their first children were twins named Freddie and Ora. However, these twins both passed away as infants. Alice later gave birth to three more children named Ollie Jane Pitts, Walter Elwood Pitts, and Harry Lee Pitts, Sr. Unfortunately, Alice was later stricken with an unknown illness. She passed away on September 1, 1907, at the age of 41.
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