In a previous article two family Bible records were thoroughly examined. It was determined that the smaller of the two was a record written primarily by Joshua Pettit (1734) and included the list of some of his children. It was also revealed that the larger record was penned by Henry Pettit Sr and appeared to duplicate some of the records of his father and include his own children. These records were passed to the court in Gilmer County, GA in 1846 as part of the Revolutionary War pension application submitted on behalf of the children of Ann Pettit, the widow of Henry Pettit Sr. They are two loose pages which were torn from the original books.

They have survived handling by several government agencies for various purposes for many years. Originally the records were stored folded up in small envelopes and were unfolded when accessed by researchers which caused a great deal of wear and tear. In 1912 these records, along with most other veterans’ Revolutionary War pension files, were moved to special felt lined 10″x14″ folders. This allowed the papers to be stored gently in an unfolded state. In the 1960s the National Archives began microfilming these records in preparation for the bicentennial of the American Revolution. As a result, the well-known Revolutionary War Pension Application files called the m804 and m805 microfilm were produced and duplicated for numerous libraries around the country. For the first time, the entire record collection could be widely examined by the public. Though these black and white filmed images were state of the art at the time, the technology was still quite limited. Consequently, some pages were hard to read due to under/over exposure or improper focus while scanning. This was all we had for decades.

Then around 2014, a major effort was undertaken to produce new digital scans of the entire collection by Fold3. These higher resolution versions were released online through their site. Their product was much better than the old microfilm from the 1960s, but the images were still in gray scale and still sometimes blurry.

After the Fold3 project was completed the Revolutionary War pension folders were permanently stored in the vault at National Archives in Washington, DC where they remain today. Since they have been digitized, access to these records is generally only permitted by special permission usually only with authorization by a congressman.

Removal From the Vault at National Archives for The Pettit Research Project

Fortunately, in May of 2025, The Pettit Research Project was granted special access to the the Henry Pettit Sr. Revolutionary War Pension file at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The folder containing his records was removed from the vault and given to this researcher by the lead archivist. Examination of the contents was permitted under his supervision for safe handling and security reasons.

Below is a color image of the 10″x14″ felt lined folder that contained all the record for Henry Pettit Sr.’s Revolutionary War account.

Researchers familiar with the old microfilm series or the Fold3 digital records will recognize this and similarly styled images which usually mark the beginning of a pensioner’s file on record. What you are looking at when you see one of these is the outside of the folder in which the veteran’s documents are stored.

Upon receipt by The Pettit Research Project, all documents were carefully removed from this folder. The interior of the folder was examined for any tiny fragments, scraps of paper or other material that may have escaped the microfilming or digitizing processes. After a thorough search, no stray artifacts were found. This means that concerning the family Bible records, what you will see in the images below is all there is. There are no missing pieces in the National Archives folder.

All documents were examined. Special attention was focused on the Joshua Pettit family record page and the Henry Pettit family Bible page. Both pages appear to have been laminated by the National Archives in what appears to be cellulose acetate film. This method of preservation was common from the 1960s-1980s.

Full Color Photo of Front Page of Joshua Pettit Family Record

The family record of Joshua Pettit was the first to be photographed by The Pettit Research Project. It can be seen below.

Full Color Photo of Back Page of Joshua Pettit Family Record

About the Size of the Joshua Pettit Family Record

This paper was much smaller than expected. It was scarcely bigger than a large note card. For context, a picture was taken next to a US government issue passport card which is the size of a standard credit card. (See below.)

The Joshua Pettit family record was pulled from a small book of some sort and it was probably not a Bible. Printing a complete Bible in these tiny dimensions would result in a obscenely thick book too impractical to carry or use. This record matches what was stated by John Pettit in his deposition in 1846 in Gilmer County, GA.

…he herewith forwards to accompany his declaration an old leaf of a small book with a partial record of his grandfather’s family births in the handwriting of his grandfather and the marriage of his father and mother in the handwriting of his father the said Henry Pettit…”[1]

New Images of the Henry Pettit (b1763) Family Record

The Henry Pettit family Bible record is about the size you would expect from a large family Bible. Full color photos of this record can be seen below.

Full Color Photo of Front Page of Henry Pettit Family Bible Record

Some Observations and New Revelations

What’s at the Top of Henry Pettit’s Bible Record?

For years researchers have thought that the date “1701” could be seen at the top of page 1 of the Henry Pettit Bible record. In the microfilmed copy this does appear to be possible. However, after viewing this page in person this notion can probably be dispelled. Though not much else can be read in this line, what was thought to be 1701 is either 1763, 1765, 1783, or 1785.

The most likely possibility is 1763. Since 1763 was the birth year of Henry Pettit Sr., then it is very possible this line at the top of the page is where Henry’s birthday was recorded. This would leave room for one or two more records before the entry for Mary Pettit which is clearly visible. It is probable Henry’s siblings Hannah and Joshua Jr were written in this space and were born sometime between 1763 and 1767.

Big News Regarding Joshua Pettit’s (1734) Supposed First Wife Hannah!

The notion that Joshua was first married to a woman named Hannah and that they had a son prior to his marriage to Rachel was floated many years ago among researchers. It was based on attempts to decipher some lines at the top of the page in the somewhat illegible old black and white copies of the Joshua Pettit family record. An article by The Pettit Research Project published on February 2, 2019, also presented this theory based on the Fold3 scans available at the time. While the identity of the son mentioned remains a mystery, a new possibility has emerged regarding the supposed first wife, Hannah Pettit.

After seeing this record in person and analyzing the color photos it appears this record actually says:

Line 1: “…son of Joshua and Rachel”

Line 2: “Hannah Pettit Departed this life Aprial ye 15 : 17[??]”

Together this would read “son of Joshua and Rachel Hannah Pettit.” Researchers are therefore encouraged to consider the possibility that Joshua’s wife Rachel was his only wife and that her full name was Rachel Hannah Pettit. It is important to note that this hypothesis, as well as the original are merely unproven ideas at this point due to the poor condition of the record and lack of other evidence. A more thorough review of this issue will be posted in a future article and linked here.

About Joshua Pettit’s Handwriting

Joshua Pettit’s handwriting appears to be based on the Flourishing Alphabet. His capitol “P” is unique to that style of writing. His record was in a small book and the writing was proportionally tiny. It was also very neat indicating that he could not only write, but he could write quite well.

About the Ink

The ink used in the Joshua Pettit record appears to be iron gall ink. Most of it is still very visible but some complete entries are very faded. The fact that some entries are faded and other surrounding records are clear gives the impression that the births were recorded as they happened as opposed to the entire record being written at one time some time after the fact. There is also a small bit of water damage to the ink in some places.

Abraham Pettit’s Notation in Joshua Pettit Record

The family record penned by Joshua Pettit has an unusual notation above and after the name Abraham as can be seen below:

Spartanburg County records tell us that the son Abraham Pettit born in 1776 was a “poor foolish lad” who had to have someone care for him as and adult. This was most likely due a mental or physical handicap of some sort. Perhaps what is written here has something to do with this. Or perhaps not.

As it stands currently, there is no good theory as to what this word is. If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment below.

More Info to Come

The purpose of this article was to tell the story of how these color images came to be and to make them available for other researchers. There are a few items that will need to be covered in depth. That will be done in the near future. If you found any of this helpful, please leave a comment below!

Posted inDescendants of Joshua Pettit 1734 of Spartanburg Co SC

TagsHenry Pettit Sr 1763 Joshua and Rachel Pettit Joshua Pettit 1734 Pettit Family Bible Rachel Monroe Pettit Revolutionary War