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James Franklin Fitts Fitts was born in Lockport, New York, on September 11, 1839 and educated at home, by his father, Moses Hall Fitts, a teacher. (Some sources indicate 1840 as the year of Fitts's birth.) Fitts fought in the Civil War as a private with the 10th New York Cavalry, rose through the ranks to brevet major, saw action in the Shenandoah Valley at Winchester, Fisher's Hill, New Market, and Cedar Creek. Fitts was wounded at Winchester and in 1864 became Assistant Commissary and then Commissary of Musters for the 1st Division, 19th Corps. He went on to become Judge Advocate of the division in March 1865, leaving military service on June 8, 1865. Fitts returned to Lockport where he was born and engaged in the practice of law with the firm, Holmes and Fitts. He served as City Attorney and counsel for the Board of Supervisors. Fitts was active in politics, as an author of fiction, and as a journalist. The Fitts Papers contains poems written by Fitts. [Source: James Franklin Fitts Papers, Milne Special Collectins and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, New Hampshire] Writings James Franklin Fitts, The Young Pioneer: or, The Red and White Men of Virginia ; a Story of the Early Settlers (Boston: Elliott, Thomes & Talbot, 1863) _______________, Captain Kidd's Gold: The true Story of an Adventurous Sailor Boy (New York: A.L. Burt, 1888)(Mount Pleasant, Tennessee: White Horse Pub., 1999) _______________, A Sharp Night's Work: A Powerful Detective Story (Chicago: Laird & Lee, 1888) _______________, A Modern Miracle: A Dramatic Story (New York: A.L. Burt, 1889) _______________, The Parson's Secret: A Dramatic Story, in three parts (New York: Street & Smith, 1892) ________________, Plucky Burt, or, Bound to be a Soldier (New York: Union Library Co., 1890) _________________, A Modern Miracle; or, A Married Sinner (New York: Street & Smith, Pub., 1895) _________________, Burt the Hero, or, Adventures of a Plucky Boy (New York: Dike Book Company, 1896) ________________, Twenty-four Novelettes: complete in this number: illustrated (Augusta, Maine: John F. Hill & Co., 1896) ________________, A Bartered Birthright (Springfield, Ohio: Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick, 1899)(1890) ________________, The Wife's Secret, or, Struggles of the Heart: A Romance of Real Life (Boston: Elliott, Thomes & Talbot, 1880-1899?) |
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