Pettit Family Genealogy and History
Pettit Family History, Genealogy, Message Board, Research Papers and Blog
An entire branch of Spartanburg Pettits was missing. Below is the brief story of how they were recently discovered. If you are from this Austin Pettit line, this is the story of how your ancestor was rediscovered. After reading, please please contact The Pettit Research Project here! You have cousins who have been looking for you.
Download the complete book for free from The Pettit Research Project: Nathan Pettit 1775-1855 of Spartanburg SC and Hancock, IL, Book.PDF Currently Reading Part III Read Part I Here Read Part II Here FAMILY…
From his front porch, Nathan could survey his 80-acre spread and plan all the work that needed to be done tomorrow. Perhaps in these quiet moments his mind would take him back to his early years in the back country of South Carolina. His boyhood home was hundreds of miles away; over the rugged mountains he had once led his family through.
Our plan was to navigate down the Pacolet River and camp under the stars on the land that once belonged to Henry Pettit and William Poole. We set out to explore the old Poole Springs (Healing Springs), Pettit Mill Branch, Tumbling Shoals, Lawsons Fork, and various other sites. We planned to exit the river the next evening at Pacolet Mills.
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.
This old Pettit family record from Gilmer County, GA begins with the families of Joshua and Rachel Pettit and William and Elizabeth Poole of Spartanburg County, SC. Though we do not know for certain, the evidence suggests this record was written down by someone in the family of Rev. John Fulton Pettit sometime shortly after May 21, 1898.
In June of 2025 The Pettit Research Project acquired this 1833 Sheriff’s writ from an antique document dealer in New York. The dealer was unsure of the paper’s origins but believed she had purchased it about 25 years ago from the estate of Tim Green who was a lawyer in Southhold, NY. The document is a legal writ from the Court of Common Pleas in Suffolk County, NY on behalf of Benjamin Rushmore of Riverhead. Rushmore sued Benjamin Pettit of Jamaica, NY for $206.26 1/2.
In 1795 a survey was conducted for William Poole in Spartanburg County, 96 District, South Carolina. This plat was for 23 acres of land which included the “Healing Springs”. It was situated on the south side of the Pacolet River near Lawson’s Fork. Neighbors included Henry Pettit Sr, as well as Rutledge and Henderson.
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.
Pettit Cemetery Origins Three weeks before his 21st birthday William Decatur Pettit should have been a young man in his prime. Instead, he lay sick in bed. At his home on the Pettit farm near…
The date it was written is not given though it would have certainly been within the author’s lifetime of 1870-1940. The story opens with an account of the movement from North Carolina to Gilmer County, GA of Henry Pettit Jr (b.1790), his brother John Pettit, and son Elijah Pool Pettit and their families. The story covers several allied families as well, most notably the Griffiths, Ellingtons, and Kings.
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…