Pettit Family Genealogy and History

1839 Letter from George Pettit in Fabius, NY to William Corbin Logansport, IN As mentioned in another article, in January of 2025, The Pettit Research Project acquired a letter written on April 5, 1839, by George Pettit in Fabius, NY to John R. Pettit in Lima, OH.  Now a second letter also written that year…

On April 5, 1839, George Pettit (1780-1866) of Fabius, NY wrote this letter to his brother John Riddell Pettit (1793-1855) in Lima, OH. In it George discusses his fluctuating health and his plans to sell the farm and move to the northwest. He mentions their brother David Pettit and David’s son Jonathan Pettit.

Expect to walk away from this read with a deeper understanding of not only Richard Pearis and Jacob Hite, but also the entire misunderstood and oft forgotten world in which they lived. If you are interested in Virginia or South Carolina colonial or Revolutionary period history, the fine details of Indian trade and traders, the dark and dirty deeds of Loyalists and Patriots in the struggle for independence, and the ultimate fate of those who were exiled from the United States, I strongly recommend these books.

Did Joshua Pettit (b1734) of Spartanburg County, SC speculate land in Effingham County, GA in the year 1784?

Joshua Pettit traveled the South Branch, VA area and stopped in at the Steenbergen Ordinary at various times in 1767, 1768 and 1770. This Joshua Pettit was there in 1768 at the same time as Richard Pearis.

We will attempt to list all the known children of Joshua and Rachel Pettit and their birth date and birth place.

Tracing the Rachel Monroe/Pettit legend down through the years and finding it's surprising origin. What did the earliest Pettit genealogists think of this and why does it matter?

Many people believe Joshua Pettit of Spartanburg Co died on September 15, 1786. In this paper we will look at where this date originated and why it is not likely the day he died. We will examine the documents that surround the final years of old Joshua Pettit.

Did Joshua Pettit (b1734) of Spartanburg County, SC speculate land in Effingham County, GA in the year 1784?

On the 13th day of June in 1846 in Gilmer County, Georgia, John Pettit stood before his brother Henry Pettit Jr. (b. 1790), the Justice of the Inferior Court. His deposition that day was in regards to the settlement of the Revolutionary War pension account of his father Henry Sr. (b. 1763). John’s mother, Anna (Poole) Pettit, who had been in his care since the death of his father, had recently passed on as well.

Though the will had been discovered many years ago, the estate papers of Henry Pettit Sr. (1763-1838) seemed to be missing. The record book, which was presumed to be lost, has been found in the state archives. It had somehow missed being microfilmed. The full estate papers of Henry Pettit Sr of Rutherford Co., NC are now available.

The story of how copies of the Benjamin Pettit (1769) family bible records have come down to us through the ages is one of intrigue. There are actually two distinct bible records in circulation among researchers which contain similar lists of the births of Benjamin and Elizabeth Pettit's children.

This Bible record was received from Jeff D. Hendricks of Independence, MO. He is the great great grandson of Missourie Pettit. I originally corresponded with Mr. Hendricks in 1998 via email. At the time he had reviewed the Bible but did not own it. I contacted him again in August of 2018 and he informed me that he was now in possession of the Bible

John Pettit, grandson of Joshua and Judith Poole Pettit was born in 1820 in Spartanburg Co., SC. He married three times and had 20 children. His descendants are numerous and spread out to AL, MS and beyond.  Some of them still own portions of the land that once belonged to his grandparents in SC.  John is buried in the Thompson Chapel cemetery not far from the old Pettit land and near the Pettit family cemetery in SC.

This Bible record appears to have been the work of multiple generations of Gilmer County, GA Pettits.  The handwriting of three different people can be easily distinguished. The note that accompanied these pages said that it was the record of William Henry Pettit and "John Waitsel Pettit, father of Morris Pettit".  It is possible the information was taken down by William Henry Pettit, John Waitsel Pettit and Morris Pettit.

Many genealogist who descend from Nathaniel H. Pettit innocently but erroneously claim Joshua Pettit Jr. and his wife Judith Poole as their ancestor.  If you are a descendant of Nathaniel H. Pettit of South Carolina relax but please read carefully.  You're still connected to the SC Pettits, but probably not how you think!

“John But Not Forgotten” John Pettit Born 1771, Son of Joshua and Rachel Pettit of Spartanburg Co, SC This article will broadly cover the life of John Pettit the son of Joshua and Rachel Pettit of Spartanburg Co., SC who was born on September 2, 1771.  Sadly, his existence has somehow gone unnoticed for many…

The First Pettits in America Series. In this installment we look at the documents surrounding the immigration of Richard Pettit to Virginia in 1636 by Alexander Stomer.

Thomas Pettit and Katherine his wife were in the Rappahannock River settlement in Virginia as early as 1656. They had one son, Thomas Pettit Jr and one daughter, Dorothy. It is likely that this Thomas is the ancestor of many of the Pettits in America today including those who trace their line back to Surry Co., NC.

NOTE: There is every reason to believe this man’s name was Pettus and not Pettit. Unfortunately there are a number of genealogists who erroneously mix Thomas Pettus with Thomas Pettit and his wife Katherine who lived in a different area of Virginia. The information in this article is provided in order to help researchers keep the two men and their lives separated.

John Pettit/Petit came to Virginia from France as early as 1638.  He settled in the Charles River County area which would become York County.  He was a surgeon.  He petitioned the House of Burgese to become a ditizen in 1666.  His will was written in 1669 and it revealed John Petit married a woman named Rebecca and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret.

Joshua Pettit (Josue Petit) a French Waldensian or Huguenot, arrived in Virginia in September of 1700 as a colonist bound for Manakintown.

It is said that a William Pettit (born around 1697) migrated to Louisa Co., VA around 1720.  Some researchers claim William Pettit's land of nativity was Ireland while others state that he came from France.  Though vastly different countries, these two origins need not be mutually exclusive.  It is very possible he (or his parents) came to Ireland after leaving France in the protestant migration.

A Francis Pettit was born around 1612 and was living in Northampton County, VA as early as 1636.  He owned a plantation near Cherrystone Creek on the Eastern Shore.  He was married to a woman named Ann and had at least one son named Francis.  He was also related in some manner to Obedience Robins.

Thomas Petite and his wife came to the Province of Maryland in the year 1639.  In 1645 Thomas imported a child named Catherine Petite who is presumed to be his daughter though the record never explicitly declares this.  By 1649 he had acquired the right and title to 450 acres of land near the lower Cedar Point on the north side of the Potomac River in western St. Mary County.  His plantation was near what was once called Petite's Creek.

Wedding bells rang out on December 28, 1718, as Henry Pettit and Sarah Gibbs were married before the Reverend Sam Miles in Boston, MA.  The Presbyterian marriage was just 3 days after Christmas Sunday. Sarah Gibbs was the daughter of John and Mary Gibbs of Boston.  John Gibbs was a painter by trade, specializing in decorative staining and funeral escutcheons.

At least 6 Pettit Immigrants came to Virginia and Maryland in the early to mid 1600s.

Benjamin Pettit of Essex Co., NJ owned lot #45 on Stony Hill. This land is shown on an 1845 map produced by historian John Littell. Neighbors that can be identified on this map include the Badgley, Frazee, Valentine, and Willcox families.

The precise location of Joshua Pettit’s land in Essex County, New Jersey has long been a mystery. In this article we will attempt to determine where his land was relative to the geography of the 1700’s and where it can be found today.

The reason Joshua Pettit's petition cannot be found in the record books of the Court of Common Pleas is because he was not a free man. He was in one of the jails in Essex County for the "crime" of being an insolvent debtor. 

The Valentine family was decimated by smallpox in the late winter of 1766. Two minor Pettit grandchildren were named as heirs. The Valentine, Baker, Osborn and Pettit families lived very near each other in the Stony Hill and Scotch Plains area near the Green Brook.

Now it is time to take this data and plot it out on a map.  In doing so we will identify the most likely location of Joshua Pettit's land in Scotch Plains, NJ and see where it would be located today.

This folder contained a well preserved letter dated November 29, 1861, addressed to Mr. L. P. Nostrand in New York from a G. W. Pettit.  It begins with a man named Joshua Pettit who was from Springfield, Long Island, NY.  According to the letter, Joshua Pettit married a "rich English lady" and was the father of an Increase Pettit. In this paper we will compare this newly discovered letter to a deed found in Bristol England from the Ashton Court estate which may explain the source of some of these forgotten legends.

A James Pettit and Martha McCune Family Record Book was recently discovered which gives the names and birth dates of their children.

"In my possession is a record given by my grandfather Johnathan Pettit, taken from his lips by my brother William, about the year 1825, of which the above is a copy also that his ancestry were farmers, persons of information, and respectability..."

James Pettet was born in the town of Westfield County of Saraotga Washington N.Y. on the 20th day of April AD 1798. Eleanor Bennett was born in the town of Halfmoon on the 17th day of April AD 1803.

On April 5, 1839, George Pettit (1780-1866) of Fabius, NY wrote this letter to his brother John Riddell Pettit (1793-1855) in Lima, OH. In it George discusses his fluctuating health and his plans to sell the farm and move to the northwest. He mentions their brother David Pettit and David’s son Jonathan Pettit.

1839 Letter from George Pettit in Fabius, NY to William Corbin Logansport, IN As mentioned in another article, in January of 2025, The Pettit Research Project acquired a letter written on April 5, 1839, by George Pettit in Fabius, NY to John R. Pettit in Lima, OH.  Now a second letter also written that year…

Expect to walk away from this read with a deeper understanding of not only Richard Pearis and Jacob Hite, but also the entire misunderstood and oft forgotten world in which they lived. If you are interested in Virginia or South Carolina colonial or Revolutionary period history, the fine details of Indian trade and traders, the dark and dirty deeds of Loyalists and Patriots in the struggle for independence, and the ultimate fate of those who were exiled from the United States, I strongly recommend these books.

At the end of this document you will find the full text of the South Carolina General Assembly's official instructions for the State's Deputy Surveyors in place by 1785. Studying these brief instructions will help researchers properly interpret and understand the land warrant and survey process in South Carolina and contextualize early grants of vacant land.

The origin of the Pettit family name. Who were the first Pettits and where did they come from?

This pages provides a link to name indexes for the Pettit family tree so our cousins can easily find which Pettit clan they belong to.

It was Christmas, 1776. Evening had just swept in. General George Washington looked out over the Delaware River as the first snowflakes began their gentle but ominous swirling descent into the darkening water below. He, like so many of the men under his command, had given up the warmth and comfort of his home to fight for a cause that now seemed desperately out of reach.

“Unbuckle your gun belt carefully and drop your gun,” Pettit told him. Lewis unbuckled his gun and handed the whole outfit to me. Pettit reached for this handcuffs and just then the whole window burst out on him with shotgun shells. I covered Lewis and started for the door and at the same time Pettit went in through the window.

This page contains links to freely downloadable records, books, and other publications. WARNING!  Several of these older books on this page contain archaic information that has been proven to be incredibly inaccurate.  They are listed for historical reasons for anyone studying the development and progress of Pettit genealogy theories through the years.  Please understand that…