Pitts was born in 1842 and died on December 27, 1910. Pitts was Berlin’s first mayor. During the Civil War, he served in Company K 1st Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate Amry under James E. B. Stuart. Pitts practiced medicine in Berlin for over forty years when the war ended. As mayor, he oversaw reconstruction after the Great Fire, improving streets, sidewalks, and sanitation. Pitts was a captain in the Maryland National Guard, President of the Wicomico and Pocomoke Railroad, a district deputy grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, an elder at Buckingham Presbyterian Church, and was vice president of the Calvin B. Taylor Banking Company (Dayhoff, 2003). He was married to Charlotte Pitts and had a daughter Marie. Possible owner of the Walker House left to him by his grandfather John J. Williams.
Dayhoff, K. E. (2003, June 29). Berlin mayor Dr. John William Pitts and Corbit’s charge. 20030629 Berlin Mayor Dr. John William Pitts and Corbit’s Charge. https://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2003/06/20030629-berlin-mayor-dr-john-william.html.
Steiner, B. C., Meekins, L. R., Carroll, D. H., & Boggs, T. G. (1912). Men of mark in Maryland: biographies of leading men of the state…illustrated with many full page engravings (Vol. 4). B.F. Johnson, p. 91. https://books.google.com/books?id=CVJKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=john+pitts+berlin+first+mayor&source=bl&ots=1jfGTeKYgj&sig=ACfU3U2C6r2_dcxGZcfrAcXC8jr-Z6qwEA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPkdPMwd_1AhUpqXIEHXrXAacQ6AF6BAgTEAM#v=onepage&q=john%20pitts%20berlin%20first%20mayor&f=false.
Taylor, S. (2007). Berlin. Arcadia Publishing, p. 85.
