Rachel Pettit the Wife of Joshua Pettit (1734) of Spartanburg Co
The Two Known Primary Sources
A family record written by Joshua Pettit of Spartanburg Co., SC notes that he was married to a woman named Rachel who was the mother of several children. A family Bible record written by his son Henry Pettit Sr notes basically the same information. These two records are the only known primary sources that mention Rachel Pettit. They have been covered in these articles by The Pettit Research Project:
- Examining the Henry Pettit Sr. Family Bible Record and the Record of his Father Joshua Pettit (as preserved in the National Archives)
- Latest Full Color Photos -Family Bibles of Joshua Pettit (1734) and Henry Pettit (1763)
No maiden name is given nor is a marriage date listed in these records.
The Rachel Pettit Theories
Rachel and Hannah or Rachel Hannah?
The notion that Joshua was first married to a woman named Hannah and that they had at least one 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 a page in the family record written by Joshua Pettit. Specifically this section:
From 1960s microfilm copy of Pettit family record.
This analysis was based on the best copies available at the time which were derived from old microfilm scans done in the 1960s. An article by The Pettit Research Project published on February 2, 2019, also presented this theory based on the best 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.
In 2025 The Pettit Research Project was allowed access to the Joshua Pettit family record page in the Henry Pettit Sr Revolutionary War account. Viewing it in person revealed details that were not visible in the circulated copies. Though the word “Rachel” is extremely faded it seems to be there when viewed up close. It also fits in the remaining space on the line. Below is an estimation of where the name Rachel appears on the faded record. (Note that this is a really rough guess as even this high megapixel copy failed to properly render the faded name.)
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[??]”
When these lines are taken together this entry would read “son of Joshua and Rachel Hannah Pettit.”
In other words, Rachel’s name may have been Rachel Hannah Pettit.
More evidence for the theory that Rachel also went by Hannah is found on the flip side of the page of the Joshua Pettit family record. Here we find an entry for Benjamin Pettit’s birth in 1769 in clear unfaded ink stating his mother was Rachel Pettit. After this we find a washed out and hard to read entry for what is presumed to be John Pettit’s birth. This is followed by a clear ink entry for Nathan Pettit’s birth rendered somewhat unreadable due to deterioration of the page. Nathan’s entry also lists Rachel Pettit as his mother. It would make sense that John, the child born between Benjamin and Nathan would also have Rachel as his mother. And indeed her name appears on this entry but it looks to have been added later and written above the rest of the line.
Click to enlarge.
Though hard to make out, the part of the John Pettit entry that can be read says “of Joshua”. This should be followed by “and Rachel Pettit”. There is indeed a name after Joshua’s but whatever it is, is not discernible. This brings us to the mystery of this entry. Written above the name that follows Joshua’s is the name “Rachel”.
What name was written here that caused Joshua to have to add Rachel’s name above? Maybe Joshua accidentally wrote “Pettit”, unintentionally omitting Rachel’s name and this was a correction. Or perhaps this says “Joshua and Hannah” like it does on the reverse side and the name “Rachel” was later added above to clarify.
This gets us nowhere in the quest for finding Rachel’s maiden name but it does open up some new research possibilities. Researchers should consider the possibility that Joshua’s wife Rachel was his only wife and that her full name was Rachel Hannah Pettit or that she went by Hannah. Therefore, when looking for Rachel in her birth family researchers would do well to also search for her under the name Hannah.
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 faded old record and lack of other evidence.
Having dealt thoroughly with the new theories involving Rachel’s given name, we now turn to the quest to find her maiden name.
Rachel Monroe
An article by The Pettit Research Project devoted entirely to this subject can be found here:
Though it is hard to say with any degree of certainty, the origins of this theory have not been traced back beyond the 1920s. In 1923 there was a Pettit family reunion at the Pettit family cemetery in Gilmer County, GA. Local newspaper editor and historian T.H. Tabor published an article describing the event. The story was picked up by the Harrison Times in Harrison, AR where some Georgia Pettits had migrated to as well. This newspaper article was the first known written record to float the idea that Rachel’s last name was Monroe and that she was a cousin to President James Monroe. After this article was published the idea firmly entrenched itself in the family lore.
That she was a Monroe may be true, but evidence is lacking. Additionally, it is very possible Mr. Tabor mixed up the story as to which Pettit’s grandmother was related to the Monroes. It is worth noting that Henry Pettit Jr’s wife was Anna Mooney and her mother was a woman named Eleanor Monroe. It is possible this was the Monroe connection and not Joshua’s wife Rachel. This fact does not automatically discount the idea that Rachel Pettit was a Monroe but it should give researchers reason to eye it carefully.
Rachel Valentine
A Joshua Pettit is found in the records of Essex County, NJ. At one time a Joshua Pettit owned land there on Green Brook in Scotch Plains which he sold to John Shotwell. In January of 1766 legal notices record that this Joshua Pettit became an insolvent debtor. That February and March the nearby Valentine family was stricken with deadly smallpox. Richard Valentine, his brother Ichabod Valentine, Ichabod’s wife Hannah and daughter Elizabeth all died within days of each other in 1766.
This is covered in a series of articles by The Pettit Research Project:
- Joshua Pettit of Essex Co., NJ: The Land (Part I)
- Joshua Pettit of Essex Co., NJ: The Insolvent Debtor (Part II)
- Joshua Pettit of Essex Co., NJ: Smallpox and Clinker Lots (Part III)
- Joshua Pettit of Essex Co., NJ: On the Map (Part IV)
In Hannah Valentine’s will, the grandchildren of Ichabod and Hannah Valentine are mentioned as Rhoda Valentine, Sarah Pettit, and Bartholomew Pettit (spelled “Petit”). They were declared to be minors in 1766 because the will said their share of the estate was not to be disbursed until they reached adulthood. The father of these two minor Pettit children is not named nor is the mother but it stands to reason that the mother was a Valentine daughter of Ichabod and Hannah Valentine who married a Pettit. (Though other obscure possibilities exist.)
Due to the above facts, it has been postulated that Joshua Pettit first married one of the daughters of Ichabod and Hannah Valentine. Some say her name was Hannah Valentine, named after her mother. (The theorized name of Hannah is probably based on the entry in the Joshua Pettit family record book which was previously thought to prove Joshua was married to a woman named Hannah before he married Rachel.)
As the theory goes, Joshua’s first Valentine wife (Hannah) died leaving Joshua with the two children mentioned which is why they were named as heirs in the Valentine will instead of the Valentine daughter. It is further speculated that Joshua then married the sister of the deceased Valentine, a woman named Rachel Valentine. This Joshua and Rachel, it is thought, were the couple who later moved to Virginia and then to Spartanburg County, SC.
This theory is within the realm of possibility but also has some problems.
First, there is no daughter named Rachel Valentine or Rachel Pettit mentioned in the Ichabod Valentine will. Ichabod’s will mentions his wife Hannah, son Ichabod Jr, and daughter Elizabeth. Hannah Valentine’s lists her daughter Elizabeth, son Ichabod Jr and grandchildren. Why would they all omit a living daughter/sister? Simply ignoring them was not the legal norm. If they excluded them intentionally the common practice would be to specifically state the heir was not due anything in the will. This was done to prevent someone who would otherwise be an heir from bringing a claim against the estate.
Another possibility often mentioned is that Joshua did not marry some unmentioned Rachel Valentine who was the daughter of Ichabod Valentine, but rather he married a Rachel Valentine who was the daughter of Ichabod’s brother Richard Valentine. There is evidence such a woman existed though it is not a primary source. However, in his 1851 book, Family records, or, Genealogies of the first settlers of Passaic Valley, John Littell stated that this Rachel Valentine married William Baker.
Excerpt from “Family records, or, Genealogies of the first settlers of Passaic Valley” by John Littell, 1851
This Rachel Valentine/Baker was later named in the will of her husband in 1787 while still in New Jersey.
From “New Jersey Wills”
If Littell is correct, this would undoubtedly rule her out as Joshua’s wife.
Other possibilities exist and there was definitely a Pettit connection of some sort to this Valentine family that still needs to be thoroughly explored.
Rachel Moody
A family record found in Georgia from the late 1800s lists Joshua and Rachel Pettit. This record was found preserved in the hands of descendants of Henry Pettit Jr’s son John Fulton Pettit and it is thought to have been written by him or his son George F. Pettit. An article by The Pettit Research project covering this record can be found here:
In the 1890’s, the original author drew a line in the location of Rachel’s maiden name indicating he did not know what it was. This bears repeating. It is important to note that her maiden name was unknown in the 1890s. In 1923, when the reunion took place in Gilmer County, GA, the newspaper stated her name was Monroe.
With all that as the contextual backdrop we then see that someone with different handwriting came back later and added the name “Moody” after the name Rachel to the 1890’s family record. This could possibly indicate the Monroe name was a more recent development and the local Pettits did not know her maiden name before the article was printed. Evidently someone believed it was Rachel Moody before they heard it was Rachel Monroe.
“Rachel Moody” Pettit. From the 1890’s Gilmer Co., GA Pettit family record.
As far as this researcher knows, this is the only record to suggestion her name was Rachel Moody and the notion has not been discussed among researchers until now.
The name Moody is not common in any of the places that Joshua Pettit was known or suspected to have lived. For example, there are no Moodys in the 1790 Spartanburg County census. There are no land records for Moodys in Hardy Co., VA. There are no burial records in the popular church yards in Essex Co., NJ. This by no means rules out the possibility that Rachel Pettit was from a Moody family but it does call the theory into question. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to explore this idea but not to take it as fact.
Rachel Pettit’s Birth
There is no known primary source that establishes Rachel’s birth date. We can estimate it based on the known facts.
The 1890’s Gilmer County, GA Pettit family record says Rachel was born “about 1740”.
A 1936 genealogy letter from William Henry Pettit in Harrison, AR to his cousin Stephen Fletcher Pettit in Gilmer Co., GA gives a birth range of 1735-1740 for both Joshua and Rachel.
Rachel’s first known child was Henry Pettit, born on January 22, 1763.
If Rachel was born in 1735 she would have been about 28 at the time Henry was born in New Jersey. If she was born in 1740 she would have been around 23.
Her last known child was Rachel, born April 9, 1779.
If Rachel was born in 1735 she would have been around 44 years old when her last known child was born -possible, but somewhat remarkable. If she was born in 1740 she would have been around 39.
Between her son Henry and her daughter Rachel there was 16 years of child bearing.
A list of all their known children can be found in this article:
Based on the known birth information of her children, the 1740 date for her birth seems a bit more reasonable than the 1735 date but of course this is pure speculation.
Rachel Pettit’s Life
Nothing is currently known about her childhood. She probably married Joshua Pettit sometime before 1763.
We can say with some certainty that Rachel was in New Jersey on January 22, 1763, where she gave birth to her son Henry Pettit. Assuming her residence followed the movements of her husband, by March of 1767 she may have set up her home in Virginia. Joshua Pettit had visited the Steenburgen Ordinary in Romney, VA on March 31 of that year. Not quite two months later, on May 20, Rachel gave birth to a daughter named Mary.
Back in New Jersey, on August 6, the creditors of a Joshua Pettit, an insolvent debtor, were meeting at the house of Jonathan Osborne in Scotch Plains. There is debate about whether this was the same Joshua Pettit as the Virginian. Regardless, it seems the family may have moved to Virginia by that time as Joshua made numerous visits to Romney in 1768. Sometime around October of 1768, Joshua and Rachel were together as man and wife as the birth date of a future child would indicate.
In February 8, 1769, Rachel’s young daughter Mary “departed this life”. The sad entry is noted in the Joshua Pettit family record. Rachel was pregnant at the time and her son Benjamin would be born on July 20 of that year. On October 19, 1769, the Pettits officially acquired land on the Deep Spring Run in Hardy Co., VA.
Rachel and Joshua were again together around December 10, 1770, based on the birth of their next child, John, who would be delivered on September 2, 1771.
The family may have relocated to South Carolina as early as December 21, 1773, where Joshua’s name is found on the infamous Cherokee land transaction of Indian trader Richard Pearis. Rachel and her husband were together again around December 30, 1774, as their next child, Nathan, would be born on September 12, of 1775. The situation with the Cherokee was becoming volatile west of the boundary line. Sometime in 1775 Joshua sold 500 acres of Cherokee land he had acquired form Pearis to John Armstrong of Fredrick County, VA.
Sometime after the birth of Nathan an unknown son of Joshua and possibly Rachel died in April. Though the record was obliterated the location on the family record suggest this was probably in April of 1776. Joshua and Rachel were together again as man and wife in February of 1776 as a son, Abraham, would be born on October 29, of that year. By the time the Revolutionary War hit the back country in July 1776, Rachel and her band of Pettits were living on Lawsons Fork of the Pacolet River in 96 District, SC. Rachel watched her son Henry ride off to war in the place of her husband in July of ’76. Joshua stayed behind to hastily construct a fort, known as Wofford’s Fort, for the protection of the family and the community. The fort was supplied and his family no-doubt took refuge there. At the time, Joshua and Rachel’s family consisted of Henry 13, Hannah, Benjamin 7, John 4, Joshua Jr., Nathan 10 mo and Rachel who was approx. 6 months pregnant with Abraham. Abraham was called “a poor foolish lad” in court records in subsequent years and required a caretaker. He may have had a birth defect of some sort or may have been injured or maimed during the turbulent times surrounding his infancy in 1776.
On April 9, 1779, Rachel gave birth to her last known child, a daughter named Rachel. Her birth is recorded in Joshua Pettit’s family record book by Joshua Pettit in his own handwriting according to an affidavit of his grandson John Pettit in Gilmer County, GA. The entry above is the last record that can be positively associated with Joshua Pettit and Rachel during their lifetimes.
In the Home of Joel Hembree?
Rachel’s husband Joshua is believed to have perished sometime prior to September 15, 1786. An article by The Pettit Research Project covering this topic can be found at the following link:
If Joshua Pettit did indeed die around 1786, presuming she outlived him, this would have left Rachel with several minor children to care for including one, Abraham, with special needs. Her oldest son, Henry, may have been able to take over the family farm. He would have been 23 years old.
Bu by the time the 1790 census was conducted there was no sign of Joshua, Rachel, or the minor children. The only Pettits who were named as heads of household were Henry Pettit and Joshua Pettit Jr. The ages of the males and females in their homes are consistent with what is known to be their own children. This means Rachel, if she was still living, was not living with them.
Some Hembree family researchers have suggested that Rachel may have been the mother-in-law of Joel Hembree of Spartanburg County, SC. His household on the 1790 census (listed as Joel Emry) shows 2 males age 16 and above, 1 male under 16 and 6 total females. It has been postulated that Rachel was one of the unnamed females. Though possible, there is nothing compelling in the record to draw such a conclusion.
Rachel Pettit’s Death
The last known record of Rachel Pettit is the birth of her daughter, Rachel, on April 9, 1779. How she met her end and the date on which it happened are not currently known.
Conclusion
Lamentably, much of what we have on Rachel Pettit is imprecise. We have a range of years in which she was likely born –about 1735-1740. We know she probably married Joshua Pettit sometime before January 22, 1763, when their son Henry was born. We know she likely lived in New Jersey, Virginia and Spartanburg County, South Carolina. We know the names of some or most of her children as well as their birthdays. We know she lived at least until 1779. Based on what is known about her husband and the places and times in which they lived it is not a stretch to say that Rachel Pettit saw a lifetime of joy, sorrow, struggles, and adventures. Perhaps one day we will be able to properly honor Rachel with a more complete story. Until that time the search must continue.