Joshua Pettit II is considered to be the son of Joshua Pettit I of Springfield Gardens a neighbourhood of Queens three miles from Jamaica Town Long Island New York the dates of his birth and death are estimations.
Joshua Pettit II was a descendant of early Puritan settlers Thomas & Christian Pettit who came to New England during the Great Migration. (NOTE) It is clear in the records that Joshua Pettit came from Long Island to New Jersey then removed to the Shenandoah Valley because of his insolvent debt before removing to Spartanburg SC.
In the court of Elizabethtown in New Jersey Joshua Pettit's name appears on a 1759 inventory record with Thomas Baker who was named one of the executors of his Uncle's Will. In probate court the Judge normally assigns an attorney to do inventory - This would indicate that they both practiced law...
Source; Documents relating to the colonial, revolutionary and post-revolutionary history of the State of New Jersey page 83
1759 June 19, Cushman, Oliver a soldier. Int. Adm'r his father Thomas Cushman of Elizabeth yeoman Bondsman- Jacob Clarke of Elizabeth yeoman Lib G, p.83–1759 Aug 15 Inventory £42.16, by Joshua Pettit and Thomas Baker.
Thomas Baker m. Hannah Thompson their son William Baker married Rachel the daughter of Richard Valentine Esq. neighbour of Benjamin Pettit Esq. the uncle of Joshua Pettit II. Rachel's twin Sarah died 26th June 1786 age 26.
Benjamin Pettit, Esq. came from New Rochelle in the State of New York to Passaic Valley and by deed dated 31 December 1729 purchased 105 acres of land of Jona Carle. He also purchased in 1737 from the committee of the freeholders of Elizabethtown 100 acres adjoining and lying west of the other tract and between that and Nathaniel Smiths tract and both adjoining the River which are in the possession of his descendants to this day on which Major Jotham Potter now lives. Benjamin Pettit Esq. died the 30th of January 1771 aged 72 years and left children.
Last Will and Testament --1769 March 13 Pettit Benjamin of Borough of Elizabeth Essex County.
My movable estate to be sold, except as hereafter stated, and money to be put to interest for the use of wife Hannah and at her death or marriage, given to my daughters Mary Pettit and Abigail Broadwell, if they are alive, but if not then to the two eldest daughters Evangelia Broadwell and Elizabeth Potter. Grandson Benjamin Pettit, the apparel that once belonged to his father, Benjamin Pettit deceased, My plantation to be rented till my grandson Benjamin Pettit comes of age, the rent to be given to my granddaughters Elizabeth and Phebe Pettit , till it should amount to £20 for each, and, after this the rent of said plantation on which I live to be given to my grandson Benjamin Pettit Executors--my friends Capt. Jonathan J. Dayton, Jonathan Elmer Thomas Baker.-----1769 April 22 Codieil Witnesses John Winans, Daniel Smith Lib k. p. 287
NOTE --- Benjamin Pettit and Richard Valentine are called esquire in the records which simply means someone who practices law-- It is a fact that his brother Joshua Pettit I also practiced law as his name appears on several Jamaica court documents.
It was considered by researchers that Joshua Pettit I married Susanna Carpenter without a record because of the many of documents in the district court of Jamaica that include his name with Increase Carpenter and his sons who practiced law. He also named one of his sons "Increase Pettit"
A record was discovered of a Will, in which it names Martha (Greene) wife of Joshua Pettit I of Jamaica town a daughter of an English merchant who was a rope maker in Jamaica town NY. Richard Greene Sr. ropemaker died Aug 1710. It is believed that his widow Elizabeth and daughter Martha were neighbours of the Pettit's and the Carpenters.
Record Bristol Archives reference no. AC/WO/12/85
1) Elizabeth Greene of the town of Jamaica, Queens County, Island of Nassaw, New York, widow of Richard Greene of Barton Regis, ropemaker, and the sole heir of Jonathan Edwards of Bristol, haulier; Richard her son; Joshua Pettit of Jamaica town, yeoman and Martha his wife (n,e Greene) 2) Thomas Elbridge. One moiety of messuage and closes called Downend, Marshleaze, Townend, the Paddock, Great Oare and Little Oare, and common for 30 sheep, in the tithing of Shirehampton (Purchased by Jonathan Edwards from Walter Lord Aston, heir of Ralph Sadlier) Consideration: £245, 1725 April 1/2
Note: In a Brooklyn library a letter was discovered written by G.W. Pettit that included a Pettit family linage of his Uncle William Pettit great grandson of Increase Pettit. Joshua Pettit his great-great grandfather from Springfield Gardens a neighbourhood in Jamaica town NY married a rich "English Lady" and had two sons and two daughters. - This letter is from the memory of Increase Pettit's great grandson -- The area was known as Springfield Gardens is a neighbourhood of Jamaica town NY the area that was first settled by Europeans in 1660 that was subsequently farmed until the mid-nineteenth century - -- This letter can be seen on the Pettit Family and History/From Virginia. The Pettit Family of Spartanburg Co. SC
Increase Pettit made a last Will & Testament his homestead was located in Baldwin twp. in South Hempstead. There may have transporting of goods to Merrick township it was located three miles from his township. Merrick township became a trading centre because ships could enter Jones inlet and sail up deep channels beside what is now Merrick.
Source; An Historical Sketch of Merrick Long Island 1643-1900---Richard Valentine had land undescribed in Merrick as early as 1657. He was town Marshall and man of some parts.
Richard Valentine esq. a neighbour of Benjamin Pettit esq. came from South Hempstead to settle in New Jersey. He was a member of the new Providence Presbyterian Church. Abraham Valentine & wife Sarah Archer and Susanna Valentine wife of John Bedell were also members. Edward Carpenter & family from Long Island were also members of New Providence Presbyterian Church.
Elizabethtown is located about fifty miles east from Newton, Sussex, N.J. In the 'Historical record of Newton Sussex, New Jersey it says that the name of Newton (Newtown) was carried here by the Hunts and Pettit's who had originally first settled in Newtown Queens New York.
The Pettit's & Hunts were kin, Thomas Pettit married second Hannah Jessup the widow of John Moore II. Ralph Hunt married Ann Jessup. John Burroughs married second Elizabeth Jessup the widow of Thomas Reed.
In the history it was six Pettit brothers who immigrated to Sussex County and were prominent landowners and influential figures in early local government Jonathan, Amos, John, Nathaniel, Charles & Isaac Pettit... source "History of Sussex & Warren counties New Jersey"
Nathaniel Pettit one of the six brothers mentioned in the book was recorded in Elizabethtown Essex N.J. for the christening his daughter Abigail Pettit on the 19th of November 1769 at Saint John's Episcopal Church with his brother Amos Pettit and his daughter's Anne & Elizabeth Pettit for their Christenings on the same day.
Nathaniel Pettit was a member of the of Christ Episcopal Church in Newton, Sussex, New Jersey. The Church was founded in 1769 by Rev. Thomas Chandler who was from the rector of St. Johns Church in Elizabethtown Essex, NJ.
Jonathan Hampton, Esq was benefactor, contributed to the construction of the old Parsonage House on Dunes place in Newton NJ. reportedly built for Rev Uzal Ogden by John Pettit (1626-1796) a land agent and rent collector employed by Governor John Jay of NY to manage a large tract of land northeast of Newton.
Ephraim Darby a lawyer was the son of William Darby one of the first ruling elders of the Baptist Church in Scotch Plains (Elizabethtown NJ) the second wife of William Darby was Anne Bedell. William Darby's Will was proved in 1774. He gave 20 shillings to his son Ephraim Darby there is no mention of a daughter Abigail Darby in his will who married John Woolverton. Ephraim Darby married Rachel Pettit on Nov 8, 1756, at Scotch Plains Baptist Church the daughter of William Pettit & Mary Cox.
In 1757 Ephraim Darby and his wife Rachel moved to Sussex County N.J., he is recorded as one of administrators of the Will of Justice Thomas Woolverton with Nathaniel Pettit & Mary Woolverton.
On 10 July 1759 a survey of 53.5 acres of land in Sussex County for Ephraim Darby were returned in full of deed to him from Jonathan Hampton March 22, 1759
Jonathan Pettit, Justice of the Peace, owned a Tavern near the stagecoach stop in Johnsonburg in Sussex Co. N.J. The east-west route carried mail from Dover, New Jersey to Stroudsburg Pennsylvania and a north south route carried mail form Albany NY to Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
Taverns were viewed as important occupations When the first Court of General Sessions of the Peace and of Common Pleas for Sussex held their first meeting on Nov. 20, 1753, at the home of Johnathan Pettit in the Township of Hardwick (Johnsonburg or Log Goal) seven men were granted Tavern licences that included Joseph Bell, Abraham Carman, Joseph Carpenter of Greenwich, Henry Hairlock of Newton and Thomas Woolverton.
The land of Thomas Pettit is mentioned in "The Pennsylvania Gazette of 1768" that advertised a venue at the courthouse of Sussex tracts of land of Richard Reading. One property is part of a 422-acre meadow on the branch of the river Paquass adjoining land of the now or late Thomas Pettit. The venue was at 10'oclock and one of the signees John Cox Jr.
There are no records that can prove the claim of parentage of the Pettit brothers of Sussex, if they were the grandsons of Nathaniel Pettit Sr why have they never been recorded in Trenton near Petty's Run. I find records of them in Elizabethtown NJ where the descendants of Thomas Pettit II are found namely Benjamin Pettit and his nephew Joshua Pettit II.
The Pettit Family Bible with a record of the children Joshua Pettit had with Hannah & Rachel can be found on a Pettit family genealogy website. The family record was not in good condition and difficult to interpret but I image that the birth order of his children would have been in this order.
Joshua & Hannah Pettit children
Hannah Pettit b. 1758 m. Joel Hembree source Root Branches and Trees (Bob Hembree's linage)
Joshua Pettit b. 1760-64? Judith Poole
Henry Pettit b. 1763 Anne Poole
unknown son X b. 1765 died 1776
Joshua & Rachel children
Mary Pettit May 20, 1767 -July 20, 1769
Benjamin Pettit b. July 26, 1769, m. Elizabeth Hindman
John Pettit Sept 2, 1771
Nathan Pettit b. Sept 22, 1775, m. Levina Mc Collum
Abraham Pettit b. Oct 29, 1776
Rachel Pettit b. April 9, 1779, m. Hugh Davis 2nd Johnston Hembree.
Note: Hembree research estimated the birth date of Hannah Pettit 1758 not 1765 as Brandon Pettit has suggested on his website. It would be impossible for her to be born in 1765 and would be 10 years old when her son James N. Hembree was born in 1775. The late Bob Hembree known as the grandfather of Hembree research believed that after the death of Joshua Pettit some of his younger children were recorded on the census of Joel Hembree living with him and his wife Hannah Pettit. In his research he had doubts that Rachel was a Hembree, her Hembree estimated birthdate is close in age to the birthdate in the Pettit Family Bible. Rachels marriage to a Hembree/Embry would explain the Embry graves in the Pettit family cemetery.
The date of birth of Joshua Pettit III on record is estimated incorrectly. Joshua was married when he was recorded in the 1790, 1800, 1810 & 1830 and the year of birth of his wife Judith born 1765 is written on her gravestone. Joshua Pettit III is likely close in age with Henry Pettit b. 1663 and his birth between the years of 1660-1664 in his will he gave his wife Judith a Plantation that was on land called Skaggs Tract that he purchased and mentions a tract of land were he was living before.
During the interview for a Revolutionary War Pension Henry Pettit said, that he was born on the Schuylkill River in New Jersey. Henry may have meant Arthurs Kill or Scholly Hill in reference to a Hilly area in Scotch Plains.
Arthurs Kill is a tidal straight between New Jersey and Staten Island. During early settlement of Elizabethtown, the town lots began at Arthur Kill and moved up on the Elizabeth town River to the head of tide at Stone bridge on today's Broad Street. Early Settlers preferred to live near Arthurs Kill near the salt meadow land where Timberland grew at higher elevations near Arthur Kills Bay. Arthurs Kill was a Water Way that had a Bay with a Port. The Ferry took people on Arthur Kill water way to Staten Island and to Manhattan Island. In Elizabeth town there were stores and merchants. The ferry and boats at the Port brought people from New York, so Inns were built to accommodate them. The area provided early colonists with business in New York as well as international and shore trade.
St. John Episcopal Church an Anglican Church was the only church in Elizabethtown, founded 1708. It was not until 1783 that the Presbyterian Church was built in the Port City.
The Presbyterian Church in the Westfields was founded in early 1728. During early settlement a great drum was sounded to call people to services, and many would make the all-day trip to Westfield located about seven miles from Elizabethtown to attend services, the men carrying firearms to protect themselves from Indians.
A Baptist church was established in 1747 ten miles away from Elizabethtown in Scottish Plains, and the stone church building was erected in 1786.
Elizabethtown was susceptible to disease outbreaks and epidemics because of the busy port. A smallpox outbreak in New York spread to eastern New Jersey in late winter of 1766.
Richard Valentine, his brother Ichabod and Ichabod's wife Hannah and daughter, Elizabeth, all died within a few weeks of one another from February 28 to March 10, 1766
Hannah the wife of Ichabod Valentine was a "Baptist" and followed the church teachings Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children." In the 1766 Will abstract of Hannah wife of Ichabod Valentine, it is recorded that she gave her grandchildren all her moveable estate Hannah named grandchildren Rhoda Valentine, Sarah Pettit & Bartholomew Pettit. She did not name Hannah or Henry Pettit in her Will. She had a daughter who married an unknown Pettit that was most likely a relative of Joshua Pettit.
The Pettit's share a history with the Valentine & Carpenters who were also from merchant/lawyer families that had once lived in Jamaica & Hempstead Long Island NY.
Jonathan Hampton was one of the two judges of the Court of Common pleas named in the court of Essex on the Petition of naming Joshua Pettit an insolvent debtor. He was benefactor and contributed for the old Parsonage house built for Rev. Ogden in Newton N. J. and managed by John Pettit a land agent and rent collector from New York.
Documents relating to the Colonial History of New Jersey Vol VI Page 16
Essex County, New Jersey Pursuant to an order of Daniel Pearson, and Jonathan Hampton, Esquires, two of the Judges of the court of common pleas for the county of Essex, upon the Petition of Joshua Pettit, an insolvent debtor and the majority of his creditors notice is hereby given to all the creditors. Notice is hereby given to all the creditors of said Joshua Pettit to show cause if any they have before the said Judges on Monday the tenth of February next at 9 o'clock of the said day, at the house of Mrs Johnson Innkeeper in Elizabeth town why any assignment of the Estate of said Joshua Pettit should not be made according to the payer of the said petition to such persons as shall be appointed and the said, DEBTOR DISCHARGED, pursuant to an Act of Assembly, made this present year entitled an "ACT FOR THE RELIEF FOR INSOLVENT DEBTORS" dated January the 15th,1766 - The New York Gazette or weekly Post Boy, No 1204, January 23, 1766
1760: 1 George 3 c. 17: ACT OF RELIEF OF INSOLVENT DEBTORS--- Historic British Law
Persons by losses or misfortune are rendered incapable of paying debt and are willing to make the utmost satisfaction can and are detained in prison by their creditors---Debtors can be discharged who can comply with the terms contained in this act- deliver up and assign all their effects and estates whatsoever for the benefit of their creditors.
FALSE; source Joshua Pettit of Essex N.J. the insolvent debtor part II. by Brandon Pettit
When compared to the Virginia timeline Joshua Pettit was awaiting his release from jail Aug 20, 1767. Joshua Pettit debtor of Essex was not the same man as Virginia and Spartanburg NC" NOTE-- his jail date of Aug 20,1767 does not correspond to the record above that he was released on the 15th of 1766 by act of insolvent debtors.
Brandon Pettit author of From Virginia; The Pettit Family of Spartanburg- Joshua Pettit was not a lawyer. False He would have had to have a legal background to be in Probate Court twice. Note; There may be more records that have not been found.
In New Hampshire Court Joshua Pettit was named one of administrators by the court of the estate of John Ashbrook and to collect debts from the estate- it took years to collect the debt.
Source; March 15, 1775, By Cash Reed from Stalnaker & Tutt 16 pounds 12 shillings in credit of estate of late John Ashbrook, Garret Van Meter & Joshua Pettit Administrators ENV9 court Hampshire County 1775, West Virginia.
After the French & Indian War 1754-1764 England gained control of the Ohio River Valley, this caused the expansion of land in the English colonies, and many removed westward for settlement for the opportunity to invest in cheaper land.
British control of the roads along the Ohio river made it safer to travel. Joshua and his young family came by ox and wagon to the Shenandoah Valley on the Great Philadelphia Road. Early pioneer settlers walked along the trail next to their wagons and livestock even during bad weather conditions. They faced the possibility of being attacked by Indians or acquiring diseases like cholera along the way and there was always the risk to become severely ill and even dying while on the trail.
In the early spring of 1765 Joshua Pettit and his young family travelled into the frontier of the Shenandoah Valley and into the Allegheny Mountains on North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River in present day West Virginia. They settled in an area that the Germans called Dorcas in the German Valley near Fort Henkle. Joshua's land was next to Deep Spring Run that had large volumes of water and a strong spring and operated a Mill for the large German Farming community in the area. Joshua was the owner of a sawmill supplying lumber to the new towns of Mooresfield & Romney that were built after the war.
V277: Christian Eyman asne. of Joshua Pettit 347 A. (13 Apr 1790) in Hardy co. on Deep Spring Run of S. Mill Cr. 11 Nov 1790
Dorcas is in present day Grant County WV and is five miles from the town of Petersburg that was founded by German Immigrant Jacob Peterson a merchant who owned the first mercantile store in the area.
Bishop Francis Asbury 1745-1816 of the Methodist Episcopal Church who ministered the frontier while traveling on horseback visited the area. Asbury notes meeting with ninety settlers in middle of a Dutch community "Dorcas" in the area and a mill he described being less than 200 yards away. Joshua's land was next to land called "Fairfax Manor."
In "The Draper Papers", in the interview with George Yokum, he described "Jac. Pettit" as among the very first wagons to enter and settle in the area of the South Branch of the Potomac River. (George Yokum Interview, by John D. Shane, ca 1843, Draper MSS 12CC147-151, The State Historical Society.)
In New Jersey, the 1731"Coxe Affair" cancelled the deeds of some of the earlier settlers who bought land from the West Jersey Society formed by a group of shareholders in London. Several who lost their deeds looking for cheaper land moved to Virginia into Shenandoah Valley others settled in Rowan County North Carolina known as the New Jersey Settlement.
Joshua Pettit II may have had friends and family members that had already settled in the Shenandoah Valley; Patterson Creek settlement was near South branch close to Fort Ashby, after the French & Indian War new townships Romney & Moorefield were created.
From. the book the four Goff brothers of western Virginia
"The town of Moorefield was thirteen miles from Petersburg. In 1769 Joseph Neville, Abraham Hite and Abel Randall formed a company to create the town of Moorefield. The town was about 100 miles due west of Hogback Mountain and was to be located in South Branch Manor on the land Conrad Moore leased from the Right Honourable Thomas Lord Baron of Cameron in that Part of Great Britain called Scotland, Proprietor of the Northern New of Virginia (1693-1781) He was otherwise known as Lord Fairfax. The assignment of the lots in Moorefield was determined by a drawing. Six-year-old George Yokum (1763-1855) son of Jacob Yokum (1730-1780) was selected to draw the slips of paper form a hat numbered 1 through 54" ... Abel Van Meter & Garret Van Meter became trustees of the town.
David Badgley was born in Westfield Essex New Jersey. In 1768 the family moved to Virginia. David married Rhoda Valentine in 1769 and reared a large family on his 300 acres in Virginia in Hampshire County in present day Moorefield which later became Hardy County. Census records show that David had a house and three other building. Descendants say that one was a foundry (workshop for casting metal) David owned no slaves his hard-working farmers life was directed by an active mind He listened to ministers, considered all he heard and accepted some to it. In 1775 David Badgley was baptised by William Marshall at Lunies Baptist Church in Hampshire County on the south branch of the Potomac River in Lord Fairfax Manor; Source... David Badgley Pioneer minister in Illinois Territory; A Baptist Journal History & Theology Vol. XX
Joshua Pettit II a lawyer, was known to have done business with Joseph Neville who surveyed Inman lands, source Inman research. Joseph Neville, surveyor known for work on Mason Dixon Line 1782, House of Burgesses 1773-1776, House of representatives 1793-1795
Joseph Nevilles worked for Lord Fairfax his Uncle George Neville married Hannah Burroughs, a cousin of Lord Fairfax of Cameron.
The Virginia Piedmont was settled in 1730, the Van Meter/Hite land grants allowed several Dutch & Walloon settlers in the area, it was not discovered until the settlers were living on their land that part of the grant was on land that Lord Fairfax inherited from his family. The Hite vs. Fairfax lawsuit was not resolved until the end of the Revolutionary War.
Lord Fairfax land was surveyed into lots and those residing on Fairfax Manor payee rent. The towns of Romney & Moorefield were built on Lord Fairfax leased land and were established shortly after the French Indian war that ended in 1763.
Lawyers and Surveyors usually worked together in what is called "Priority of Calls" a standard set of guidelines that when considered or applied can assist the surveyor in creating new parcels of land, in retracing previously created parcels of land that assist the attorney in litigating disputes as to the title of boundaries of land. Joseph Neville & Joshua Pettit may have been working on the Hite v. Fairfax lawsuit. Joshua Pettit had experience with surveyor's work, take note that some of the Pettit brothers from New York who had been in Elizabeth Town and moved to Sussex County were described as surveyors and land speculators.
In South Branch Joshua Pettit was the administrator of the estate of the late John Ashbrook, who had died in 1763 when he was thrown from his horse. He was hired as a attorney by the family to collect the debts for the estate but it took several years to settle. In 1775 debts were collected and in 1780 his estate was divided.
Source; March 15,1775 "By Cash Reed from Stalenaker & Tutt 16 pounds 12 shilling in credit of estate of John Ashbrook; Garret Van Meter & Joshua Pettit administrators. ENV 9, County Court Hampshire County 1775, West Virginia
John Ashbrook was the son of Aaron Ashbrook & Hannah Cook from Gloucester County New Jersey; another son was Levi Ashbrook who was a magistrate for the county court. Levi Ashbrook's farm was on the Cacapon River that lays between the towns of Romney & Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. He was the minister for the North River Baptist Church near Romney in Hampshire County and married Mary the granddaughter of John Chenoweth.
The progenitor of the Chenoweth family was John Chenoweth a Quaker from England who settled in Bucks Co Pennsylvania then to Burlington New Jersey before he immigrated to Prince Georges County near the Potomac River, abt. 1744 in what would become Maryland and later moved his family closer to the Wagon train crossing in Winchester Frederick County to set up a Black Smith shop. One of John Chenoweth's daughter's Ruth Chenoweth m. John Pettit a Quaker possibly from Burlington New Jersey.
A Monroe family also settled on Cacapon River, Rev Alexander Monroe Jr. m. Elizabeth Chenoweth in 1782 and had been a minister for 50 years before his death in Indiana, his brother Rev John Monroe established Capon Baptist Chapel in Hampshire County.
Richard Pearis was a land investor & Indian trader who had a trading post at Fort Loudon (Westchester) in the Shenandoah Valley. Pearis & his former business partner Nathaniel Gist had previously traded with Cherokee in the Carolina's & Tennessee. Pearis had a plan to acquire Cherokee land in exchange for their trading debt. Jacob Hite was one of the richest men in the Shenandoah Valley and had a plan to purchase all of the land. Pearis managed to receive a 100,000 acres land grant from Cherokee leaders with the help of his Cherokee son George Pearis. The land grant was in the old hunting ground of the Cherokee in present day Greenville South Carolina.
The problem with their plan is that it was illegal for white settlers to purchase Indian land without the authorization of the English government. Pearis hired Joshua Pettit who had legal experience in the Elizabeth town court in New Jersey. Joshua advised Pearis to put the deed in the name of his Cherokee son George. Joshua surveyed the land wrote out the deed and witnessed the land transfer. The deed was then filed in the Charleston land office. Joshua was given land as payment from Pearis that he immediately sold.
Pearis divided the land in tracts and gave Jacob Hite one third of the land, some 30,720 acres, and Hite purchased a second tract of 19,280 acre. Colonel John Neville (brother of surveyor Joseph Neville) and son residents of Winchester purchased 11,000 acres that Hite eventually bought to bring his Greenville holding to 61,000 acres. Baylis Earle, Hites friend and business associate purchased 500 acres from Pearis in 1771 for £100 in currency. Joshua Pettit was given at least 500 acres of land about 2 miles south of the fork of the Saluda River that he subsequently sold to John Armstrong on what has been known ever since as Armstrong Creek.
After the Revolutionary War the SC land act of 1784 voided all grands issued beyond Indian Territory all of above had land grants reissued. Richard Pearis lost his land because he had become a Tory and fought on the side of the English during the war.
Free of British occupation and almost bankrupt SC sold land in Greenville to cover war debt to help pay tax revenues...and to settle claims of those who fought for its freedom the General Assembly agreed to provide 200 acres at no cost to former militiamen and made grants of 640 acres at a cost of £10 for each 100 acres for purchasers; source Historic Greenville
Joshua Pettit II is mistakenly thought to be an Indian Trader by Hembree researchers because of his association with Richard Pearis which was a relationship to advise him how to obtain a land deed. He did not father a child with a Cherokee woman.
"The History of the Cherokee" by Emmet Star... Cherokee oral history mentions no record of the first name of the father of Cherokee Nannie Downing's son Thomas Pettit only the last name Pettit .
Shawnee oral history in the book Shawnee Heritage by Don Greene; The Downing family were mistaken for Cherokee because Nannie Downing's grandmother's clan "Bee hunter" were adopted by the Cherokee, Nancy Downing's first husband was William Pettit whose parents are unknown; son Thomas Pettit was born 1760 in Virginia. In 1760 Joshua Pettit was living in Elizabethtown New Jersey so it was impossible for him to be the father of Nannie Downing's son Thomas Pettit.
Joshua Pettit II settled in South Carolina back country with his family between 1773-1775. He had knowledge of law could survey land and write out land deeds. He was a slave owner owned a plantation and held several tracts of land in Spartanburg. He owned a lumber mill on the Pacolet River near Lawson's Fork and an Iron works called "Briarwood Iron works" the name was on the deed of 68 acres of land that he gave to his daughter Hannah Pettit Hembree for inheritance.
On Henry's War Pension application, he stated that his father Joshua Pettit was living at district 96 when he was called upon to help build Wofford's Fort on Lawford's creek. In 1776 13-year-old Henry Pettit joined the militia substituting for his father while he was helping build Wofford's Fort. Henry was wounded a at the battle of Cow Pens. There was the testimony of Henry's son in which he stated that his father was never fully compensated for his pension.
Joshua Pettit II's lumber mill was on the Pacolet River near Lawson's Fork, during the colonial era settlers on the Pacolet River near Lawson Fork built water powered mills and used the creek to provide a steady source of waterpower. This area would be later called Glendale Shoals and were the first textiles mills were established.
Joshua Pettit Jr. inherited this Mill. In his Will he mentions two thirds of the income of the Mill to his wife Judith (Poole)and one third to his son John for maintaining the Mill.
Joshua Pettit II served in the Revolutionary War in the Spartan Regiment before the fall of Charleston on May 12, 1780, and after. The regiment was formed Aug 1775 at Wofford's Iron Mill on Lawsons Fork. The Spartan Regiment were known to meet every two weeks so they could practice for battle.
In 1773 Wofford's Iron works was built on Lawson's fork, Joshua Pettit was witness to a couple of deeds of William Wofford. In Colonial America deeds were written by a County Clerk, a Lawyer, Justice of the Peace or someone familiar with the needed legalities of a deed and required two signatures. It is most likely probable that Joshua Pettit surveyed the land and wrote out the deed for William Wofford.
According to Hembree researcher Bob Hembree, Joel Hembree the son in law of Joshua Pettit was a sworn chain carrier--an assistant to the surveyor, the chain carriers moved the surveying chain from one location to another under the direction of the surveyor.
In 1788 John Hembree (uncle of Joshua's son in law) witnessed a deed in Spartanburg County SC. He had a land grant for 640 acres with Joshua Pettit in Spartanburg County before moving to present day Pickens County NC where he is found on the 1800 census. Nearby was brother David Hembree and his family in present day Anderson County---Joel Hembree the son in law of Joshua Pettit was the son of James Hembree the brother of John & David Hembree. James Hembree land was on Cain Creek North of the Tyger River. Joel & Hannah Pettit Hembree lived on the same homestead that belonged to his father James Hembree after his death and next to him was Abraham Hembree's homestead. Larry Petrisky's researcher of the Abraham Hembree data project did a computer simulation in which there was a high probability that Joel & Abraham Hembree were brothers.
(note) In Bob Hembree's roots branches leaves newsletters spent hours looking at records- believed that there were four brothers who settled in the back country of South Carolina James, John, David & Edward Hembree) -- Hembree/ Embry/ Emery
Abraham Hembree moved to Gaffrey SC, and he is found on an 1818 Goucher Baptist Church record with Joshua Pettit Jr (brother-in- law of Joel Hembree). Joshua Pettit Jr's daughter Rachel married Ephraim the son of Abraham Hembree and inherited some of this land from her father Joshua Pettit Jr.
The Hembree's were tobacco planter's from England who settled in Virginia colony in the 1600's --They were not Cherokee. (Joel Hembree's descendants DNA tested and have Native American ancestry) The likely source of their Native American ancestry is from the Placage system that was prevalent during early colonization-The Hembree's were related to the Gentry & Allen families of Virginia who were known to be carpenters John Hembree was a carpenter and built a Fort in Haysville and also helped build Wolford's Fort.
Joshua's official date of death is wrong.
Joshua's specific date of death probably comes from his Rev War account (AA 5901) which was recorded on Sept 15, 1786, by Col Robert Anderson who said that Joshua Pettit was deceased at that time. What isn't well known is that Anderson had previously lost his records and was under instructions to redo them by order of the State (SC no 1298).
The problem with the date of death is that the land on Graham's Branch that John Hembree & Joshua Pettit land was surveyed on November 15, 1788.
Source: Stub Entries to indents issued payment of claims against South Carolina growing out of the Revolution Part Ii page 163
No3670 book Y) issues the 15th of Sept. to Henry Pettit for thirteen pounds for duty in Roebucks Reg…...No 3671) issued 15th 1786 to? for the estate of Joshua Pettit for three pounds for standing watch Roebucks Reg.
Joshua Pettit II is considered to be the son of Joshua Pettit I of Springfield Gardens a neighbourhood of Queens three miles from Jamaica Town Long Island New York the dates of his birth and death are estimations.
Joshua Pettit II was a descendant of early Puritan settlers Thomas & Christian Pettit who came to New England during the Great Migration. (NOTE) It is clear in the records that Joshua Pettit came from Long Island to New Jersey then removed to the Shenandoah Valley because of his insolvent debt before removing to Spartanburg SC.
In the court of Elizabethtown in New Jersey Joshua Pettit's name appears on a 1759 inventory record with Thomas Baker who was named one of the executors of his Uncle's Will. In probate court the Judge normally assigns an attorney to do inventory - This would indicate that they both practiced law...
Source; Documents relating to the colonial, revolutionary and post-revolutionary history of the State of New Jersey page 83
1759 June 19, Cushman, Oliver a soldier. Int. Adm'r his father Thomas Cushman of Elizabeth yeoman Bondsman- Jacob Clarke of Elizabeth yeoman Lib G, p.83–1759 Aug 15 Inventory £42.16, by Joshua Pettit and Thomas Baker.
Thomas Baker m. Hannah Thompson their son William Baker married Rachel the daughter of Richard Valentine Esq. neighbour of Benjamin Pettit Esq. the uncle of Joshua Pettit II. Rachel's twin Sarah died 26th June 1786 age 26.
Benjamin Pettit, Esq. came from New Rochelle in the State of New York to Passaic Valley and by deed dated 31 December 1729 purchased 105 acres of land of Jona Carle. He also purchased in 1737 from the committee of the freeholders of Elizabethtown 100 acres adjoining and lying west of the other tract and between that and Nathaniel Smiths tract and both adjoining the River which are in the possession of his descendants to this day on which Major Jotham Potter now lives. Benjamin Pettit Esq. died the 30th of January 1771 aged 72 years and left children.
Last Will and Testament --1769 March 13 Pettit Benjamin of Borough of Elizabeth Essex County.
My movable estate to be sold, except as hereafter stated, and money to be put to interest for the use of wife Hannah and at her death or marriage, given to my daughters Mary Pettit and Abigail Broadwell, if they are alive, but if not then to the two eldest daughters Evangelia Broadwell and Elizabeth Potter. Grandson Benjamin Pettit, the apparel that once belonged to his father, Benjamin Pettit deceased, My plantation to be rented till my grandson Benjamin Pettit comes of age, the rent to be given to my granddaughters Elizabeth and Phebe Pettit , till it should amount to £20 for each, and, after this the rent of said plantation on which I live to be given to my grandson Benjamin Pettit Executors--my friends Capt. Jonathan J. Dayton, Jonathan Elmer Thomas Baker.-----1769 April 22 Codieil Witnesses John Winans, Daniel Smith Lib k. p. 287
NOTE --- Benjamin Pettit and Richard Valentine are called esquire in the records which simply means someone who practices law-- It is a fact that his brother Joshua Pettit I also practiced law as his name appears on several Jamaica court documents.
It was considered by researchers that Joshua Pettit I married Susanna Carpenter without a record because of the many of documents in the district court of Jamaica that include his name with Increase Carpenter and his sons who practiced law. He also named one of his sons "Increase Pettit"
A record was discovered of a Will, in which it names Martha (Greene) wife of Joshua Pettit I of Jamaica town a daughter of an English merchant who was a rope maker in Jamaica town NY. Richard Greene Sr. ropemaker died Aug 1710. It is believed that his widow Elizabeth and daughter Martha were neighbours of the Pettit's and the Carpenters.
Record Bristol Archives reference no. AC/WO/12/85
1) Elizabeth Greene of the town of Jamaica, Queens County, Island of Nassaw, New York, widow of Richard Greene of Barton Regis, ropemaker, and the sole heir of Jonathan Edwards of Bristol, haulier; Richard her son; Joshua Pettit of Jamaica town, yeoman and Martha his wife (n,e Greene) 2) Thomas Elbridge. One moiety of messuage and closes called Downend, Marshleaze, Townend, the Paddock, Great Oare and Little Oare, and common for 30 sheep, in the tithing of Shirehampton (Purchased by Jonathan Edwards from Walter Lord Aston, heir of Ralph Sadlier) Consideration: £245, 1725 April 1/2
Note: In a Brooklyn library a letter was discovered written by G.W. Pettit that included a Pettit family linage of his Uncle William Pettit great grandson of Increase Pettit. Joshua Pettit his great-great grandfather from Springfield Gardens a neighbourhood in Jamaica town NY married a rich "English Lady" and had two sons and two daughters. - This letter is from the memory of Increase Pettit's great grandson -- The area was known as Springfield Gardens is a neighbourhood of Jamaica town NY the area that was first settled by Europeans in 1660 that was subsequently farmed until the mid-nineteenth century - -- This letter can be seen on the Pettit Family and History/From Virginia. The Pettit Family of Spartanburg Co. SC
Increase Pettit made a last Will & Testament his homestead was located in Baldwin twp. in South Hempstead. There may have transporting of goods to Merrick township it was located three miles from his township. Merrick township became a trading centre because ships could enter Jones inlet and sail up deep channels beside what is now Merrick.
Source; An Historical Sketch of Merrick Long Island 1643-1900---Richard Valentine had land undescribed in Merrick as early as 1657. He was town Marshall and man of some parts.
Richard Valentine esq. a neighbour of Benjamin Pettit esq. came from South Hempstead to settle in New Jersey. He was a member of the new Providence Presbyterian Church. Abraham Valentine & wife Sarah Archer and Susanna Valentine wife of John Bedell were also members. Edward Carpenter & family from Long Island were also members of New Providence Presbyterian Church.
Elizabethtown is located about fifty miles east from Newton, Sussex, N.J. In the 'Historical record of Newton Sussex, New Jersey it says that the name of Newton (Newtown) was carried here by the Hunts and Pettit's who had originally first settled in Newtown Queens New York.
The Pettit's & Hunts were kin, Thomas Pettit married second Hannah Jessup the widow of John Moore II. Ralph Hunt married Ann Jessup. John Burroughs married second Elizabeth Jessup the widow of Thomas Reed.
In the history it was six Pettit brothers who immigrated to Sussex County and were prominent landowners and influential figures in early local government Jonathan, Amos, John, Nathaniel, Charles & Isaac Pettit... source "History of Sussex & Warren counties New Jersey"
Nathaniel Pettit one of the six brothers mentioned in the book was recorded in Elizabethtown Essex N.J. for the christening his daughter Abigail Pettit on the 19th of November 1769 at Saint John's Episcopal Church with his brother Amos Pettit and his daughter's Anne & Elizabeth Pettit for their Christenings on the same day.
Nathaniel Pettit was a member of the of Christ Episcopal Church in Newton, Sussex, New Jersey. The Church was founded in 1769 by Rev. Thomas Chandler who was from the rector of St. Johns Church in Elizabethtown Essex, NJ.
Jonathan Hampton, Esq was benefactor, contributed to the construction of the old Parsonage House on Dunes place in Newton NJ. reportedly built for Rev Uzal Ogden by John Pettit (1626-1796) a land agent and rent collector employed by Governor John Jay of NY to manage a large tract of land northeast of Newton.
Ephraim Darby a lawyer was the son of William Darby one of the first ruling elders of the Baptist Church in Scotch Plains (Elizabethtown NJ) the second wife of William Darby was Anne Bedell. William Darby's Will was proved in 1774. He gave 20 shillings to his son Ephraim Darby there is no mention of a daughter Abigail Darby in his will who married John Woolverton. Ephraim Darby married Rachel Pettit on Nov 8, 1756, at Scotch Plains Baptist Church the daughter of William Pettit & Mary Cox.
In 1757 Ephraim Darby and his wife Rachel moved to Sussex County N.J., he is recorded as one of administrators of the Will of Justice Thomas Woolverton with Nathaniel Pettit & Mary Woolverton.
On 10 July 1759 a survey of 53.5 acres of land in Sussex County for Ephraim Darby were returned in full of deed to him from Jonathan Hampton March 22, 1759
Jonathan Pettit, Justice of the Peace, owned a Tavern near the stagecoach stop in Johnsonburg in Sussex Co. N.J. The east-west route carried mail from Dover, New Jersey to Stroudsburg Pennsylvania and a north south route carried mail form Albany NY to Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
Taverns were viewed as important occupations When the first Court of General Sessions of the Peace and of Common Pleas for Sussex held their first meeting on Nov. 20, 1753, at the home of Johnathan Pettit in the Township of Hardwick (Johnsonburg or Log Goal) seven men were granted Tavern licences that included Joseph Bell, Abraham Carman, Joseph Carpenter of Greenwich, Henry Hairlock of Newton and Thomas Woolverton.
The land of Thomas Pettit is mentioned in "The Pennsylvania Gazette of 1768" that advertised a venue at the courthouse of Sussex tracts of land of Richard Reading. One property is part of a 422-acre meadow on the branch of the river Paquass adjoining land of the now or late Thomas Pettit. The venue was at 10'oclock and one of the signees John Cox Jr.
There are no records that can prove the claim of parentage of the Pettit brothers of Sussex, if they were the grandsons of Nathaniel Pettit Sr why have they never been recorded in Trenton near Petty's Run. I find records of them in Elizabethtown NJ where the descendants of Thomas Pettit II are found namely Benjamin Pettit and his nephew Joshua Pettit II.
The Pettit Family Bible with a record of the children Joshua Pettit had with Hannah & Rachel can be found on a Pettit family genealogy website. The family record was not in good condition and difficult to interpret but I image that the birth order of his children would have been in this order.
Joshua & Hannah Pettit children
Hannah Pettit b. 1758 m. Joel Hembree source Root Branches and Trees (Bob Hembree's linage)
Joshua Pettit b. 1760-64? Judith Poole
Henry Pettit b. 1763 Anne Poole
unknown son X b. 1765 died 1776
Joshua & Rachel children
Mary Pettit May 20, 1767 -July 20, 1769
Benjamin Pettit b. July 26, 1769, m. Elizabeth Hindman
John Pettit Sept 2, 1771
Nathan Pettit b. Sept 22, 1775, m. Levina Mc Collum
Abraham Pettit b. Oct 29, 1776
Rachel Pettit b. April 9, 1779, m. Hugh Davis 2nd Johnston Hembree.
Note: Hembree research estimated the birth date of Hannah Pettit 1758 not 1765 as Brandon Pettit has suggested on his website. It would be impossible for her to be born in 1765 and would be 10 years old when her son James N. Hembree was born in 1775. The late Bob Hembree known as the grandfather of Hembree research believed that after the death of Joshua Pettit some of his younger children were recorded on the census of Joel Hembree living with him and his wife Hannah Pettit. In his research he had doubts that Rachel was a Hembree, her Hembree estimated birthdate is close in age to the birthdate in the Pettit Family Bible. Rachels marriage to a Hembree/Embry would explain the Embry graves in the Pettit family cemetery.
The date of birth of Joshua Pettit III on record is estimated incorrectly. Joshua was married when he was recorded in the 1790, 1800, 1810 & 1830 and the year of birth of his wife Judith born 1765 is written on her gravestone. Joshua Pettit III is likely close in age with Henry Pettit b. 1663 and his birth between the years of 1660-1664 in his will he gave his wife Judith a Plantation that was on land called Skaggs Tract that he purchased and mentions a tract of land were he was living before.
During the interview for a Revolutionary War Pension Henry Pettit said, that he was born on the Schuylkill River in New Jersey. Henry may have meant Arthurs Kill or Scholly Hill in reference to a Hilly area in Scotch Plains.
Arthurs Kill is a tidal straight between New Jersey and Staten Island. During early settlement of Elizabethtown, the town lots began at Arthur Kill and moved up on the Elizabeth town River to the head of tide at Stone bridge on today's Broad Street. Early Settlers preferred to live near Arthurs Kill near the salt meadow land where Timberland grew at higher elevations near Arthur Kills Bay. Arthurs Kill was a Water Way that had a Bay with a Port. The Ferry took people on Arthur Kill water way to Staten Island and to Manhattan Island. In Elizabeth town there were stores and merchants. The ferry and boats at the Port brought people from New York, so Inns were built to accommodate them. The area provided early colonists with business in New York as well as international and shore trade.
St. John Episcopal Church an Anglican Church was the only church in Elizabethtown, founded 1708. It was not until 1783 that the Presbyterian Church was built in the Port City.
The Presbyterian Church in the Westfields was founded in early 1728. During early settlement a great drum was sounded to call people to services, and many would make the all-day trip to Westfield located about seven miles from Elizabethtown to attend services, the men carrying firearms to protect themselves from Indians.
A Baptist church was established in 1747 ten miles away from Elizabethtown in Scottish Plains, and the stone church building was erected in 1786.
Elizabethtown was susceptible to disease outbreaks and epidemics because of the busy port. A smallpox outbreak in New York spread to eastern New Jersey in late winter of 1766.
Richard Valentine, his brother Ichabod and Ichabod's wife Hannah and daughter, Elizabeth, all died within a few weeks of one another from February 28 to March 10, 1766
Hannah the wife of Ichabod Valentine was a "Baptist" and followed the church teachings Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children." In the 1766 Will abstract of Hannah wife of Ichabod Valentine, it is recorded that she gave her grandchildren all her moveable estate Hannah named grandchildren Rhoda Valentine, Sarah Pettit & Bartholomew Pettit. She did not name Hannah or Henry Pettit in her Will. She had a daughter who married an unknown Pettit that was most likely a relative of Joshua Pettit.
The Pettit's share a history with the Valentine & Carpenters who were also from merchant/lawyer families that had once lived in Jamaica & Hempstead Long Island NY.
Jonathan Hampton was one of the two judges of the Court of Common pleas named in the court of Essex on the Petition of naming Joshua Pettit an insolvent debtor. He was benefactor and contributed for the old Parsonage house built for Rev. Ogden in Newton N. J. and managed by John Pettit a land agent and rent collector from New York.
Documents relating to the Colonial History of New Jersey Vol VI Page 16
Essex County, New Jersey Pursuant to an order of Daniel Pearson, and Jonathan Hampton, Esquires, two of the Judges of the court of common pleas for the county of Essex, upon the Petition of Joshua Pettit, an insolvent debtor and the majority of his creditors notice is hereby given to all the creditors. Notice is hereby given to all the creditors of said Joshua Pettit to show cause if any they have before the said Judges on Monday the tenth of February next at 9 o'clock of the said day, at the house of Mrs Johnson Innkeeper in Elizabeth town why any assignment of the Estate of said Joshua Pettit should not be made according to the payer of the said petition to such persons as shall be appointed and the said, DEBTOR DISCHARGED, pursuant to an Act of Assembly, made this present year entitled an "ACT FOR THE RELIEF FOR INSOLVENT DEBTORS" dated January the 15th,1766 - The New York Gazette or weekly Post Boy, No 1204, January 23, 1766
1760: 1 George 3 c. 17: ACT OF RELIEF OF INSOLVENT DEBTORS--- Historic British Law
Persons by losses or misfortune are rendered incapable of paying debt and are willing to make the utmost satisfaction can and are detained in prison by their creditors---Debtors can be discharged who can comply with the terms contained in this act- deliver up and assign all their effects and estates whatsoever for the benefit of their creditors.
FALSE; source Joshua Pettit of Essex N.J. the insolvent debtor part II. by Brandon Pettit
When compared to the Virginia timeline Joshua Pettit was awaiting his release from jail Aug 20, 1767. Joshua Pettit debtor of Essex was not the same man as Virginia and Spartanburg NC" NOTE-- his jail date of Aug 20,1767 does not correspond to the record above that he was released on the 15th of 1766 by act of insolvent debtors.
Brandon Pettit author of From Virginia; The Pettit Family of Spartanburg- Joshua Pettit was not a lawyer. False He would have had to have a legal background to be in Probate Court twice. Note; There may be more records that have not been found.
In New Hampshire Court Joshua Pettit was named one of administrators by the court of the estate of John Ashbrook and to collect debts from the estate- it took years to collect the debt.
Source; March 15, 1775, By Cash Reed from Stalnaker & Tutt 16 pounds 12 shillings in credit of estate of late John Ashbrook, Garret Van Meter & Joshua Pettit Administrators ENV9 court Hampshire County 1775, West Virginia.
After the French & Indian War 1754-1764 England gained control of the Ohio River Valley, this caused the expansion of land in the English colonies, and many removed westward for settlement for the opportunity to invest in cheaper land.
British control of the roads along the Ohio river made it safer to travel. Joshua and his young family came by ox and wagon to the Shenandoah Valley on the Great Philadelphia Road. Early pioneer settlers walked along the trail next to their wagons and livestock even during bad weather conditions. They faced the possibility of being attacked by Indians or acquiring diseases like cholera along the way and there was always the risk to become severely ill and even dying while on the trail.
In the early spring of 1765 Joshua Pettit and his young family travelled into the frontier of the Shenandoah Valley and into the Allegheny Mountains on North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River in present day West Virginia. They settled in an area that the Germans called Dorcas in the German Valley near Fort Henkle. Joshua's land was next to Deep Spring Run that had large volumes of water and a strong spring and operated a Mill for the large German Farming community in the area. Joshua was the owner of a sawmill supplying lumber to the new towns of Mooresfield & Romney that were built after the war.
V277: Christian Eyman asne. of Joshua Pettit 347 A. (13 Apr 1790) in Hardy co. on Deep Spring Run of S. Mill Cr. 11 Nov 1790
Dorcas is in present day Grant County WV and is five miles from the town of Petersburg that was founded by German Immigrant Jacob Peterson a merchant who owned the first mercantile store in the area.
Bishop Francis Asbury 1745-1816 of the Methodist Episcopal Church who ministered the frontier while traveling on horseback visited the area. Asbury notes meeting with ninety settlers in middle of a Dutch community "Dorcas" in the area and a mill he described being less than 200 yards away. Joshua's land was next to land called "Fairfax Manor."
In "The Draper Papers", in the interview with George Yokum, he described "Jac. Pettit" as among the very first wagons to enter and settle in the area of the South Branch of the Potomac River. (George Yokum Interview, by John D. Shane, ca 1843, Draper MSS 12CC147-151, The State Historical Society.)
In New Jersey, the 1731"Coxe Affair" cancelled the deeds of some of the earlier settlers who bought land from the West Jersey Society formed by a group of shareholders in London. Several who lost their deeds looking for cheaper land moved to Virginia into Shenandoah Valley others settled in Rowan County North Carolina known as the New Jersey Settlement.
Joshua Pettit II may have had friends and family members that had already settled in the Shenandoah Valley; Patterson Creek settlement was near South branch close to Fort Ashby, after the French & Indian War new townships Romney & Moorefield were created.
From. the book the four Goff brothers of western Virginia
"The town of Moorefield was thirteen miles from Petersburg. In 1769 Joseph Neville, Abraham Hite and Abel Randall formed a company to create the town of Moorefield. The town was about 100 miles due west of Hogback Mountain and was to be located in South Branch Manor on the land Conrad Moore leased from the Right Honourable Thomas Lord Baron of Cameron in that Part of Great Britain called Scotland, Proprietor of the Northern New of Virginia (1693-1781) He was otherwise known as Lord Fairfax. The assignment of the lots in Moorefield was determined by a drawing. Six-year-old George Yokum (1763-1855) son of Jacob Yokum (1730-1780) was selected to draw the slips of paper form a hat numbered 1 through 54" ... Abel Van Meter & Garret Van Meter became trustees of the town.
David Badgley was born in Westfield Essex New Jersey. In 1768 the family moved to Virginia. David married Rhoda Valentine in 1769 and reared a large family on his 300 acres in Virginia in Hampshire County in present day Moorefield which later became Hardy County. Census records show that David had a house and three other building. Descendants say that one was a foundry (workshop for casting metal) David owned no slaves his hard-working farmers life was directed by an active mind He listened to ministers, considered all he heard and accepted some to it. In 1775 David Badgley was baptised by William Marshall at Lunies Baptist Church in Hampshire County on the south branch of the Potomac River in Lord Fairfax Manor; Source... David Badgley Pioneer minister in Illinois Territory; A Baptist Journal History & Theology Vol. XX
Joshua Pettit II a lawyer, was known to have done business with Joseph Neville who surveyed Inman lands, source Inman research. Joseph Neville, surveyor known for work on Mason Dixon Line 1782, House of Burgesses 1773-1776, House of representatives 1793-1795
Joseph Nevilles worked for Lord Fairfax his Uncle George Neville married Hannah Burroughs, a cousin of Lord Fairfax of Cameron.
The Virginia Piedmont was settled in 1730, the Van Meter/Hite land grants allowed several Dutch & Walloon settlers in the area, it was not discovered until the settlers were living on their land that part of the grant was on land that Lord Fairfax inherited from his family. The Hite vs. Fairfax lawsuit was not resolved until the end of the Revolutionary War.
Lord Fairfax land was surveyed into lots and those residing on Fairfax Manor payee rent. The towns of Romney & Moorefield were built on Lord Fairfax leased land and were established shortly after the French Indian war that ended in 1763.
Lawyers and Surveyors usually worked together in what is called "Priority of Calls" a standard set of guidelines that when considered or applied can assist the surveyor in creating new parcels of land, in retracing previously created parcels of land that assist the attorney in litigating disputes as to the title of boundaries of land. Joseph Neville & Joshua Pettit may have been working on the Hite v. Fairfax lawsuit. Joshua Pettit had experience with surveyor's work, take note that some of the Pettit brothers from New York who had been in Elizabeth Town and moved to Sussex County were described as surveyors and land speculators.
In South Branch Joshua Pettit was the administrator of the estate of the late John Ashbrook, who had died in 1763 when he was thrown from his horse. He was hired as a attorney by the family to collect the debts for the estate but it took several years to settle. In 1775 debts were collected and in 1780 his estate was divided.
Source; March 15,1775 "By Cash Reed from Stalenaker & Tutt 16 pounds 12 shilling in credit of estate of John Ashbrook; Garret Van Meter & Joshua Pettit administrators. ENV 9, County Court Hampshire County 1775, West Virginia
John Ashbrook was the son of Aaron Ashbrook & Hannah Cook from Gloucester County New Jersey; another son was Levi Ashbrook who was a magistrate for the county court. Levi Ashbrook's farm was on the Cacapon River that lays between the towns of Romney & Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. He was the minister for the North River Baptist Church near Romney in Hampshire County and married Mary the granddaughter of John Chenoweth.
The progenitor of the Chenoweth family was John Chenoweth a Quaker from England who settled in Bucks Co Pennsylvania then to Burlington New Jersey before he immigrated to Prince Georges County near the Potomac River, abt. 1744 in what would become Maryland and later moved his family closer to the Wagon train crossing in Winchester Frederick County to set up a Black Smith shop. One of John Chenoweth's daughter's Ruth Chenoweth m. John Pettit a Quaker possibly from Burlington New Jersey.
A Monroe family also settled on Cacapon River, Rev Alexander Monroe Jr. m. Elizabeth Chenoweth in 1782 and had been a minister for 50 years before his death in Indiana, his brother Rev John Monroe established Capon Baptist Chapel in Hampshire County.
Richard Pearis was a land investor & Indian trader who had a trading post at Fort Loudon (Westchester) in the Shenandoah Valley. Pearis & his former business partner Nathaniel Gist had previously traded with Cherokee in the Carolina's & Tennessee. Pearis had a plan to acquire Cherokee land in exchange for their trading debt. Jacob Hite was one of the richest men in the Shenandoah Valley and had a plan to purchase all of the land. Pearis managed to receive a 100,000 acres land grant from Cherokee leaders with the help of his Cherokee son George Pearis. The land grant was in the old hunting ground of the Cherokee in present day Greenville South Carolina.
The problem with their plan is that it was illegal for white settlers to purchase Indian land without the authorization of the English government. Pearis hired Joshua Pettit who had legal experience in the Elizabeth town court in New Jersey. Joshua advised Pearis to put the deed in the name of his Cherokee son George. Joshua surveyed the land wrote out the deed and witnessed the land transfer. The deed was then filed in the Charleston land office. Joshua was given land as payment from Pearis that he immediately sold.
Pearis divided the land in tracts and gave Jacob Hite one third of the land, some 30,720 acres, and Hite purchased a second tract of 19,280 acre. Colonel John Neville (brother of surveyor Joseph Neville) and son residents of Winchester purchased 11,000 acres that Hite eventually bought to bring his Greenville holding to 61,000 acres. Baylis Earle, Hites friend and business associate purchased 500 acres from Pearis in 1771 for £100 in currency. Joshua Pettit was given at least 500 acres of land about 2 miles south of the fork of the Saluda River that he subsequently sold to John Armstrong on what has been known ever since as Armstrong Creek.
After the Revolutionary War the SC land act of 1784 voided all grands issued beyond Indian Territory all of above had land grants reissued. Richard Pearis lost his land because he had become a Tory and fought on the side of the English during the war.
Free of British occupation and almost bankrupt SC sold land in Greenville to cover war debt to help pay tax revenues...and to settle claims of those who fought for its freedom the General Assembly agreed to provide 200 acres at no cost to former militiamen and made grants of 640 acres at a cost of £10 for each 100 acres for purchasers; source Historic Greenville
Joshua Pettit II is mistakenly thought to be an Indian Trader by Hembree researchers because of his association with Richard Pearis which was a relationship to advise him how to obtain a land deed. He did not father a child with a Cherokee woman.
"The History of the Cherokee" by Emmet Star... Cherokee oral history mentions no record of the first name of the father of Cherokee Nannie Downing's son Thomas Pettit only the last name Pettit .
Shawnee oral history in the book Shawnee Heritage by Don Greene; The Downing family were mistaken for Cherokee because Nannie Downing's grandmother's clan "Bee hunter" were adopted by the Cherokee, Nancy Downing's first husband was William Pettit whose parents are unknown; son Thomas Pettit was born 1760 in Virginia. In 1760 Joshua Pettit was living in Elizabethtown New Jersey so it was impossible for him to be the father of Nannie Downing's son Thomas Pettit.
Joshua Pettit II settled in South Carolina back country with his family between 1773-1775. He had knowledge of law could survey land and write out land deeds. He was a slave owner owned a plantation and held several tracts of land in Spartanburg. He owned a lumber mill on the Pacolet River near Lawson's Fork and an Iron works called "Briarwood Iron works" the name was on the deed of 68 acres of land that he gave to his daughter Hannah Pettit Hembree for inheritance.
On Henry's War Pension application, he stated that his father Joshua Pettit was living at district 96 when he was called upon to help build Wofford's Fort on Lawford's creek. In 1776 13-year-old Henry Pettit joined the militia substituting for his father while he was helping build Wofford's Fort. Henry was wounded a at the battle of Cow Pens. There was the testimony of Henry's son in which he stated that his father was never fully compensated for his pension.
Joshua Pettit II's lumber mill was on the Pacolet River near Lawson's Fork, during the colonial era settlers on the Pacolet River near Lawson Fork built water powered mills and used the creek to provide a steady source of waterpower. This area would be later called Glendale Shoals and were the first textiles mills were established.
Joshua Pettit Jr. inherited this Mill. In his Will he mentions two thirds of the income of the Mill to his wife Judith (Poole)and one third to his son John for maintaining the Mill.
Joshua Pettit II served in the Revolutionary War in the Spartan Regiment before the fall of Charleston on May 12, 1780, and after. The regiment was formed Aug 1775 at Wofford's Iron Mill on Lawsons Fork. The Spartan Regiment were known to meet every two weeks so they could practice for battle.
In 1773 Wofford's Iron works was built on Lawson's fork, Joshua Pettit was witness to a couple of deeds of William Wofford. In Colonial America deeds were written by a County Clerk, a Lawyer, Justice of the Peace or someone familiar with the needed legalities of a deed and required two signatures. It is most likely probable that Joshua Pettit surveyed the land and wrote out the deed for William Wofford.
According to Hembree researcher Bob Hembree, Joel Hembree the son in law of Joshua Pettit was a sworn chain carrier--an assistant to the surveyor, the chain carriers moved the surveying chain from one location to another under the direction of the surveyor.
In 1788 John Hembree (uncle of Joshua's son in law) witnessed a deed in Spartanburg County SC. He had a land grant for 640 acres with Joshua Pettit in Spartanburg County before moving to present day Pickens County NC where he is found on the 1800 census. Nearby was brother David Hembree and his family in present day Anderson County---Joel Hembree the son in law of Joshua Pettit was the son of James Hembree the brother of John & David Hembree. James Hembree land was on Cain Creek North of the Tyger River. Joel & Hannah Pettit Hembree lived on the same homestead that belonged to his father James Hembree after his death and next to him was Abraham Hembree's homestead. Larry Petrisky's researcher of the Abraham Hembree data project did a computer simulation in which there was a high probability that Joel & Abraham Hembree were brothers.
(note) In Bob Hembree's roots branches leaves newsletters spent hours looking at records- believed that there were four brothers who settled in the back country of South Carolina James, John, David & Edward Hembree) -- Hembree/ Embry/ Emery
Abraham Hembree moved to Gaffrey SC, and he is found on an 1818 Goucher Baptist Church record with Joshua Pettit Jr (brother-in- law of Joel Hembree). Joshua Pettit Jr's daughter Rachel married Ephraim the son of Abraham Hembree and inherited some of this land from her father Joshua Pettit Jr.
The Hembree's were tobacco planter's from England who settled in Virginia colony in the 1600's --They were not Cherokee. (Joel Hembree's descendants DNA tested and have Native American ancestry) The likely source of their Native American ancestry is from the Placage system that was prevalent during early colonization-The Hembree's were related to the Gentry & Allen families of Virginia who were known to be carpenters John Hembree was a carpenter and built a Fort in Haysville and also helped build Wolford's Fort.
Joshua's official date of death is wrong.
Joshua's specific date of death probably comes from his Rev War account (AA 5901) which was recorded on Sept 15, 1786, by Col Robert Anderson who said that Joshua Pettit was deceased at that time. What isn't well known is that Anderson had previously lost his records and was under instructions to redo them by order of the State (SC no 1298).
The problem with the date of death is that the land on Graham's Branch that John Hembree & Joshua Pettit land was surveyed on November 15, 1788.
Source: Stub Entries to indents issued payment of claims against South Carolina growing out of the Revolution Part Ii page 163
No3670 book Y) issues the 15th of Sept. to Henry Pettit for thirteen pounds for duty in Roebucks Reg…...No 3671) issued 15th 1786 to? for the estate of Joshua Pettit for three pounds for standing watch Roebucks Reg.
