Gittings family

The Gittings family was a wealthy and influential Baltimore family whose prominence extended from the late eighteenth century into the early twentieth century. The family’s history was rooted in Maryland landholding, agriculture, finance, public office, and urban real estate. By the late nineteenth century, members of the family were described as among Baltimore’s largest property holders and, at one point, its largest individual taxpayer. Their wealth was concentrated in rural estates and Baltimore properties, including the Ashburton farm in West Baltimore, land in and around Fells Point, the St. James Hotel, and row houses associated with the Riverside Historic District. The family’s earlier history is connected to English origins and colonial Maryland. John Gittings, who probably came from Godstone in Surrey, England, was transported to Maryland in 1658 to serve as a court clerk. He later became the first person known to have been appointed specifically as clerk of the Upper House of the Maryland General Assembly. Thomas Gittings, probably from Kent County, Maryland, leased a 450-acre tract called Gittins Choice in Long Green Valley before 1721 and subsequently expanded his landholdings. His son James Gittings inherited the estate and became a farmer, land speculator, militia officer, legislator, and substantial slaveholder. The family’s early prosperity was inseparable from slavery. James Gittings Sr. owned enslaved people and accumulated more than 2,000 acres by 1800. Records preserved with the family papers document the births and deaths of enslaved people held by the Gittings family between 1817 and 1859. This history places the family within Maryland’s slaveholding elite and is essential to understanding the foundations of its wealth. During the nineteenth century, John Sterett Gittings became the family’s most prominent banker and civic figure. He founded the banking house John S. Gittings & Son in 1832, served for more than four decades as president of Chesapeake Bank, and held leadership or administrative positions connected with the Northern Central Railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Maryland public works, and Baltimore government. He was also active in real estate and religious life. Although a Maryland banker and civic leader, he sympathized with the Southern cause during the Civil War. During the 1861 Baltimore Plot, he sheltered Abraham Lincoln’s wife and children from a hostile crowd. In 1864, Lincoln reportedly granted Gittings’s request to suspend the execution of three Confederate spies. Later family members continued to combine finance and public service. John Sterett Gittings, born in 1848, worked at the family bank for more than forty years, led it after his grandfather’s death, served in the Maryland House of Delegates, chaired its Ways and Means Committee, and served as Maryland state treasurer. He later sold the Ashburton estate to developers; the former farm became the Baltimore neighborhood of Ashburton. Another descendant, John Sterett Gittings Jr., became a United States diplomat, serving in Riga and Vienna among other postings. The family’s twentieth-century legacy also included Barbara Gittings, the daughter of the diplomat John Sterett Gittings Jr. Barbara Gittings became an important activist for LGBT equality, creating a notable contrast with the family’s earlier reputation for conservative banking and public life. The Gittings family is therefore best understood not as a commercial brand but as a historically prominent Baltimore lineage whose legacy includes substantial economic and civic influence, slavery and Confederate sympathies, urban development, diplomacy, and LGBT-rights activism.

The Gittings family probably originated in England. John Gittings, born around 1641, was transported to Maryland in 1658 by Phillip Calvert to work as a court clerk. He served in clerical roles for the Maryland colonial government and became the first person known to hold a dedicated clerkship for the Upper House of the Maryland General Assembly. He owned a farm called Causein near St. Mary’s City. Thomas Gittings, probably connected to Maryland’s earlier Gittings line, was established in Baltimore County by 1721. He leased 450 acres in Long Green Valley from Lord Baltimore and named the property Gittins Choice. Over the next three decades he acquired additional land and enslaved people. His son James Gittings inherited the estate and expanded the family’s land and political position. James Gittings Sr. was a farmer and real-estate speculator who signed Maryland’s 1775 Declaration of the Association of the Freemen. During the Revolutionary War he served in the Baltimore County militia, eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also served in the Maryland General Assembly and opposed ratification of the United States Constitution at Maryland’s 1788 convention. Through marriage, he was connected to the Buchanan family, associated with the founding of Baltimore and the Druid Hill estate. By 1800 he controlled more than 2,000 acres and approximately 50 enslaved people, making him the largest slaveholder in Long Green Valley according to the cited family history. At his death in 1823, he still owned enslaved people and substantial land. His descendants developed the family’s nineteenth-century influence in medicine, banking, transportation, politics, and real estate. David Sterett Gittings became a respected physician in Baltimore County. His papers and those of his father are preserved by the Maryland Historical Society and include records concerning enslaved people owned by the family. John Sterett Gittings, born in 1798, studied banking in the office of James A. Buchanan and founded John S. Gittings & Son in 1832. He served as president of Chesapeake Bank for more than forty years and held positions connected to the Northern Central Railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, state lending administration, Baltimore’s city government, and Maryland public works. He also accumulated extensive real estate, including the Ashburton farm and Baltimore commercial and residential properties. He was a devout Christian and founded a church. His political sympathies during the Civil War favored the South, although he assisted Lincoln’s family during the 1861 Baltimore crisis and later petitioned Lincoln regarding Confederate prisoners condemned to death. John Sterett Gittings, born in 1848, joined the family banking business in 1870 and became its head in 1880. His public career included service as paymaster general of the Maryland militia, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Maryland state treasurer. He sold Ashburton to developers, leading to the transformation of the former family estate into a Baltimore neighborhood. John Sterett Gittings Jr. pursued a diplomatic career after graduating from Harvard in 1910. He served with the United States Foreign Service in Riga, Latvia, and Vienna, Austria, among other assignments. His daughter Barbara Gittings later became a leading LGBT-rights activist. Her public work broadened the historical significance of the family beyond its earlier associations with finance, property, conservative politics, and Maryland’s established elite.

• 1932

  Barbara Gittings is born

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  Barbara Gittings was born in Vienna while her father was serving as a United States diplomat.

• 1910

  John Sterett Gittings Jr. graduates from Harvard

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  He graduated from Harvard and later entered the United States Foreign Service.

• 1885

  John Sterett Gittings becomes Maryland treasurer

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Sterett Gittings, born in 1848, served as Maryland state treasurer from 1885 to 1886.

• 1879

  Death of John Sterett Gittings

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  The prominent banker and property holder died in Baltimore after decades of leadership in finance, transportation, government, and civic affairs.

• 1861

  Gittings shelters Lincoln’s family

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  During the Baltimore Plot, John Sterett Gittings sheltered Abraham Lincoln’s wife and children inside his Baltimore home.

• 1832

  John S. Gittings & Son is founded

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Sterett Gittings established the family banking house that became a central institution in the family’s nineteenth-century influence.

• 1788

  James Gittings opposes constitutional ratification

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  He was one of four Baltimore County opponents at Maryland’s convention to ratify the United States Constitution.

• 1775

  James Gittings signs Maryland association declaration

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  James Gittings signed the Declaration of the Association of the Freemen of Maryland during the revolutionary political mobilization before American independence.

• 1721

  Thomas Gittings leases Gittins Choice

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas Gittings leased a 450-acre tract in Long Green Valley and began the family’s documented expansion in Baltimore County.

• 1658

  John Gittings arrives in colonial Maryland

  [1]Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Gittings was transported to Maryland to work as a court clerk and subsequently held important clerical offices in the colonial government.

Historically prominent Baltimore family associated with landownership, banking, public administration, transportation, diplomacy, and civic influence; not a contemporary commercial brand.

1. 1Gittings familyen.wikipedia.org