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<\/a>Documents\u00a0 Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey<\/em>, First Series –Vol XXXII, Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Administrations, etc. Volume III –1751-1760; New Jersey Historical Society; p83<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n Documents\u00a0 Relating to the Colonial Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey<\/em>, First Series –Vol XXXI, Calendar of New Jersey Wills 1781-1785; New Jersey Historical Society; p351-352<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n <\/p>\n For years, researchers have circulated these four records as evidence of a Joshua Pettit’s presence in Essex Co, NJ.\u00a0 These records, as shared by family researchers, are taken from some very old yet very helpful genealogy books.\u00a0 The two newspaper extracts from 1766 and 1767 appear to be complete transcriptions.\u00a0 The primary sources for these do not contain additional information.<\/p>\n However, upon examination of the primary sources for each of the wills, it was discovered that there is important additional information found in the complete will of John Shotwell that did not make the abstract.\u00a0 Researchers are advised that this will is not available online or on public microfilm.\u00a0 It can only be ordered from the New Jersey State Archives or viewed there in person –a process that is time consuming as well as somewhat costly.\u00a0 There are several pages to these records but we will just cover those germane to the goal of this paper.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The will is found in the New Jersey Archive in Volume M p133 for Essex Co. and with the same county probate papers in File 5511-5512G.\u00a0 The will appears to be an actual copy of the original will bearing the true signatures of the testator and witnesses as seen below:<\/p>\n John Shotwell<\/p><\/div>\n Abraham Coles, Henry Line, William Shotwell<\/p><\/div>\n It was John Shotwell’s desire that his land which was purchased from Joshua Pettit was to be divided into two parcels and given to two children. The first recipient was Hugh Shotwell.\u00a0 A copy of this item from the will is seen below:<\/p>\n John Shotwell’s Joshua Pettit lot. Portion given to Hugh Shotwell. (click to enlarge)<\/p><\/div>\n TRANSCRIPTION:<\/p>\n I give and bequeath to my son Hugh Shotwell the sum of four hundred and eighty pounds money and eight shillings moveable estate in money…\u00a0 and likewise all that loot [sic] of land that I purchased of Joshuay Pettit [sic, Joshua Pettit] that lies on the North West side of Green Brook to him his heirs and assigns forever and not any part that lays the south east of Green Brook\u00a0 the money and lands to remain in the hand of my executor till he arrives to a lawful age.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The second recipient was Susana (Shotwell) Townsend:<\/p>\n John Shotwell’s Joshua Pettit lot. Portion given to Susana Townsend. (click to enlarge)<\/p><\/div>\n TRANSCRIPTION: I give and bequeath to my daughter Susana Townsend the sum of one hundred and fifty three[?] ponds money at eight shillings per ounce to be paid to her out of my moveable estate in money or such\u00a0 pounds as I have and likewise all the remaining part of that land I purchased of Joshuay Pettit [sic, Joshua Pettit] that lays the east side of Green Brook binding south east from Abraham Shotwell northeast upon Green Brook to him his [sic, her her] heirs and assigns forever\u00a0 but the race that is cut through the place to fetch a stream of water out of green brook for the use of\u00a0 John Sm Shotwell, William Shotwell, Isaiah Shotwell and James Shotwell is to be no way stopt or damaged by the said Townsend nor any other person.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This will was written in 1776 but not proved until 1782.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the will we can make several statements of fact about the old Pettit land:<\/p>\n With this info we can roughly sketch out the lay of the lot.\u00a0 (For this illustration we will use a rectangular lot but it may very well have been an irregular shape.)<\/p>\n Where was his land on Green Brook? And for that matter, where is Green Brook?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The newspaper notices for the creditors of Joshua Pettit in 1766 and 1767 also yield some precious details.\u00a0 We will go over this information in detail in the next article but one important clue deserves our immediate attention.\u00a0 The last notice issued on August 6, 1767 states: <\/p>\n \u201cThis is to Notify the Creditors of Joshua PETTIT, an insolvent debtor, to meet at the House of Mr. Jonathan Osborne, at the Scotch-Plains, in the Borough of Elizabeth<\/strong>, East New- Jersey, on Thursday the 20th of August, Instant; when and where, the Assignees of said PETTIT, will attend to settle with said Creditors. Scotch-Plains, Borough of Elizabeth, East N. Jersey.\u201d – [Source: The New York Journal or General Advertiser, No. 1283, August 6, 1767.]<\/blockquote>\n From the newspaper notices we can state the following information with some degree of confidence:<\/p>\n It can be reasonably inferred that the meeting at the Osborn house was to accommodate creditors of Joshua Pettit who lived around an area known as the Scotch Plains.\u00a0 Joshua Pettit’s property was therefore likely in the area of Green Brook that flowed through the Scotch Plains.\u00a0 The loose boundaries of Scotch Plains in 1767 contrasted with the tight municipal fence lines of Scotch Plains today make the task of locating the land somewhat difficult.\u00a0 We need a historical anchor point –a way marker that geographically ties the story of hard times, debts, and land sales of the past to the present day.\u00a0 We have such a monument.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amazingly, the house of Jonathan Osborn in Scotch Plains is still standing.\u00a0 It is actually open to the public as a museum and is called the “Osborn Cannonball House.<\/a>”\u00a0 The odd nickname originates from the time of the American Revolution when a carelessly fired cannonball found its way into one of the walls of the house.\u00a0 The New Jersey Historical Society believes the house was built sometime in the 1760s.\u00a0 Today it can be found at 1840 Front Street, Scotch Plains, NJ and is seen below.<\/p>\n It was at this house that the creditors of Joshua Pettit met with his assignees to settle his debts.\u00a0\u00a0 A careful reading of the newspaper notice will reveal what at first may seem to be an inconsequential point.\u00a0 This meeting was to be held with the creditors and assignees only<\/em>.\u00a0 Joshua Pettit was not present.\u00a0 This begs the question, where was he?\u00a0 Was he deceased?\u00a0 Had he already migrated to Hampshire Co. in Virginia or 96 District in South Carolina?\u00a0 The answer to these questions lies in an unexpected place –the text of the “Act for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors”.\u00a0 And even more unexpected is the answer itself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Those are the first set of hints to ponder as we attempt to pin down the location of the Joshua Pettit’s New Jersey land.\u00a0 In the next article we will add some more interesting historical details about the insolvent debtor laws and identify some other important characters who may have lived nearby.<\/p>\n Next in this series: Joshua Pettit of Essex Co., NJ: The Insolvent Debtor.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>The Will of John Shotwell of Essex Co., NJ<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Analyzing the Info in the John Shotwell Will<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nClues from the Newspapers<\/h2>\n
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The Johnathan Osborn House<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nConclusion<\/h2>\n
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