Main sources: BEB1841 Pettus of Rackheath, Visitation Norfolk, 1664, Pettus
Additions from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~janet/Camden.html
www.southern-style.com/Pettus.htm
Burke's "Extinct Baronage"
Walter Rye's "Norfolk Families" ii 656
Edmund Farrer's "Church Heraldry of Norfolk" 116
Norris's "Pedigrees" 917: "Alumni Cantabrigienes " iii 353, published,1924, at Cambridge and edited by John Venn
Percy Milligan's "Freeman of Norfolk 1548-1713", published in 1934
and Talloch's "Sketch of the Pettus Family".
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* The name of SIR JOHN PETTUS, KNIGHT, appears in "Brown's Genesis of the United States:. The third charter, period III. Nov. 1609 to July 1614,p. 966. "This document was drawn, I suppose by Sir Edwin Sandys, it was published by Rev. William Stith, 1747." p. 966--SIR JOHN PETTUS, 3 Sub---pd 25 pounds, Of Norwich. M.P. for Norwich, 1601 and 1604.11 . died; April 9th 1613.

WILL OF SIR JOHN PETTUS, OF NORWICH, KNIGHT.

SIR JOHN PETTUS, of Norwich, knight, 10 January 1613, proved 13 May 1614.
To be buried in the church of St. Symon and Jude, Norwich, nigh to my father's grave. To ward the building of a porch at the North door ofthe said church, over my grandfather's grave , twenty marks. MY SON THOMAS PETTUS. THOMAS PETTUS MY GRANDCHILD, son of SIR AUGUSTINE PETT US my son deceased, at twenty=one. Dame Bridget my wife. My brother Thomas Pettus. My lease of house and c in London wherein my brother William Pettus dwelt at the time of his decease . John Pettus my godson, son of the said William, my brother at two and twenty. Item, I do give and bequeath unto Bridgett Saltonstall my grandchild the sum of one hundred pounds and unto Susan Saltonstall my granchild one hundred pounds and unto Christian Saltonstall my grandchild one hundred pounds to be paid unto them at their several ages of eighteen year s of days of marriage, which shall first happen. My cousin Thomas Potter and Anne his wife shall have the use of the corner nessuage in the parish of St. Symon and Jude, late my uncle Richard Swifte's, after my decease, for the term of seven years upon the condition that he shall pay unto John Pettus my godson, son of my brother Thomas Pettus, yearly, at the said corner messuage, eight pounds. I bequeath unto my brother Thomas Pettus, my sister Whall, my sister Joanes, the late wife of my brother William, deceased, my sister in law Mrs. Reeves, Mr. George Downing, my brother in law Robert Debny (and others named) a nest of cups or bowls of silver of ten pounds price, with a superscription, "IN MEMORIAN JOHANNIS PETTUS MILITIS." Cousin Stile, cousin Myles, cousin Richard Dethicke and William Blackhead's wife. To my son i n law Sir Peter Saltonstall knight one bason and ewer of silver double gilt, and one each to m y sons in law Robert Knightley and Martyn Sedly. My niece Susan Pettus of London. My wife Dam e Bridget. My son Thomas Pettus to be sole executor and my son in law Martyn Sedley, my brother Robert Debney and my cousin Henry Pendleton to be supravisors. Lawe, 51. Setentia pro comfirmatione was pronounced 4 November 1614 in a causebetween Thomas Pettus, so n of the deceased, and executor of the foregoingwill, on the one part and Dame Bridgett Pettu s, the relict, DameChristian Saltonstall, Ann Knightley and Bridget Sedley, daughters, andTho mas and John Pettus, grandsons of the deceased on the other part. Lawe 116

Reference:--Genealotical Gleanings in England by Henry F. Waters, A.M. Vol II, pp. 940-941.

THE PETTUS FAMILY IN ENGLAND

Sir John Pettus knighted by Elizabeth, a Member of Parliament in 1601;Mayor of Norwich in 160 8. There is a handsome portrait of him in official robes in the Guild Hall. He was a member of the "Virginia Company:. His will (Genealogical Gleanings in England by Henry Waters,p. 9 4-) says he must be buried in the church of S.S. Simon and Jude, "nigh to my father's grave" . Left money for building a porch at the door of the church, over his grandfather's grave. H is grave is marked by "the sumptuous tomb" erected by his younger son to him and his oldest so n whodied before he did. Will dated Jan. 10, 1613. Inscription on the tomb reads: "Sacraet septernae Moeriae clarissimi Patris et dilectissimi Fratris, Johannis et Augustini Petti, mi letum, maetissimus Filius et Frater Thomasus Pettus armiger pietatis et amoris ergo posuit. " Sir John was a public spirited citizen and devoted churchman. For many years his memory wa s honored by a special annual service in the church. He m.1-25-1580 at Hourington, Bridget , dau. of Augustine Curtis, Esq. Shedied in 1622 and was buried in the church.

Sir John Pettus Knt. MP for Norwich 1601 and Mayor of Norwich 1608 Information taken from LDS files, World Family Tree Records, Some Prominent Virginia Families, Vol. IV and Genealogies of Virginia Families. The Old Churches of Norwich
By Noel Spencer & Arnold Kent Publ ished by Jarrold Publishing, 1990 ISBN 0-7117-0544-5

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** Notes for ColTHOMAS PETTUS:

1 AUTH Hist. and Register of ancestors and Members of the Society of Colonial Dames

1 AGNC p. 505

1 DEST Will, Meade, 115

1 MEDI Will. "Gleanings in England" by Henry F. Waters.

Authorities as to service: Stanard's Colonial Virginia Register p. 35 Virginia Historical Magazine, Vol Authorities as to descent:

Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography (1921) Vol. 4, p . 1316, New York Public Library. Ibid.: Mrs. L. Clarence Stacy (Pocahontas Hutchinson): The Pettus Family(1957). (New York Public Library) p. 7 and 44, will of Chilion Palmer,Halifax County, Virginia, copy attached signed Chilion, Stacy gives name as Chilton, See also; Excerpt B, opposite Column: Excerpt B: History ofJefferson County, Florida--Mary Oakley McRory and Edith Clarke Barrows, Monticello, Florida (1939) p. 26, In 1758 Martin Thomas Palmer appeared in Virginia, married twice and became the father of several children. A son by the later wife, by name Chilian married Mary Pettus in 1779, they were the parents of ten children. Stacy: The Pettus Family, pp. 517.

MEMBER OF GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL 1642-1648

Ibid. pp. 5, 6, 48 Note: Authorities disagree as to the identity of the wife of Dabney Pettus , b. 1685. See--W.F. Anderson: Early Descendants of William Overton...(no date), p. 92 (4) a nd infra. Also, F. Hamilton Baskervill, A.M. (1921): Andrew Meade of Ireland and Virginia, pp .142-143, 152. It would appear in the references cited that Dabney Pettus, b. 1685 married Anne Overton, and that a later Dabney (or John?) Pettus b. 1704 married another Anne Overton . However, the evidence isnot conclusive. Stacy: The Pettus Family, pp. 4-5, 46 Baskervill, p. cit. p. 142. Stacey" The Pettus Family pp. 3-4, 48 Baskervill, op. cit. pp. 147, 142. Va. Genealogical Histories, Vol. p. 847 Col. Thomas Pettus was 40 years old when he came to Virginia. Probably a widower. With him o r before him came a Stephen Pettus. Here by 1637.Had land grants in 1655 and 1667. Was accused and acquitted of withholding tithes in 1674. Sued the sheriff of New Kent in 1662. Thena me Stephen is not found in records of Pettuses of Norwich, Eng. But Capt. Thomas Pettus named a son Stephen. Looks like the "first Stephen"was a son of Col. Pettus by a first wife an d named for her family. Have heard of no one claiming descent from "the first Stephen". To summarize: Col. Pettus, Councilor, had son Capt. Thomas and daughters Mary and Ann. So prove d. Also possibly a daughter who married Freeman.And very probably sons Stephen ("the first Stephen") and John of Rapahannock and New Kent.

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Baptized August 23, 1610, served on the Continent with Sir Thomas Dale in the Thirty Years War, and was sent to Virginia by Sir John Pettus of the London Company in command of 40 men. H e married in 1645 Elizabeth Durant, widow of Richard Durant. He was known as Col. Thomas Pettus and was a member of the King's Council in 1642-1660.

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Appointed by Crown Gov. Council of VA 1641-1660, highest honor of Virginia, title given "Colonel" Vestryman of Bruton Parish 1636-40 Littletown Plantation on James River Referenced in Hopkins of Virginia, The Pettus' of Cornhill, and The Pettus' of Virginia and England. (Rudd)

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Colonel Thomas PETTUS (aka Councilor) came to America in 1638-1641, after serving on the Continent in the Thirty Years War, for the Virginia Company in command of forty men to assist the colonists in their struggles with the Powhatan Indians at Jamestowne. Colonel Thomas built a substantial residence on the James River on a tract four miles downriver from the Jamestown settlement not long after his arrival. He named the seventeenth century plantation house Littletown. Colonel Thomas, son of William Pettus, sought a lifestyle different than was offered in his native environs. He found Virginia an attractive alternative lifestyle. He quickly became a member of the emerging provincial elite. Colonel Thomas PETTUS became a Governor's councilor in the mid-seventeenth century, serving on the prestigious Governor's Council from 1641 until 1660. Colonel Thomas probably was entitled to some Jamestowne property through investments made by his granduncle Sir John PETTUS, who had purchased stock in the company holding the third charter to Virginia, The Third Virginia Charter Company. 11 The marriage of Colonel Thomas to the widow, Elizabeth ( Mrs. Richard) DURRANT, added substantial holdings to the estate which eventually encompassed 1280 acres. The PETTUS plantation left a lasting imprint on the Jamestowne and Williamsburg landscape.

About 1972 the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission located and began excavation of Colonel Thomas PETTUS' Littletown 15 site at Kingsmill (right) and determined the layout and size of the buildings from discolored earth where dwelling supporting postholes existed. Several plantation sites comprised the Kingsmill area. The Pettus Littletown Plantation archaeological site, uncovered by historical archaeologist William M. Kelso, is located near the marina on the private Kingsmill Resort property south of Williamsburg, VA. An article entitled "The Virginians" in the November 1974 National Geographic Magazine 8 gives an account of this archaeological find and excavation and further insight into the development of Colonial Virginia. Below is the complete four paragraph excerpt from the section on pages 593-596, under the subtitle "Post Molds" Reveal a Colonial Saga, which pertains to Colonel Thomas PETTUS. Author Mike W. Edwards writes:

"Thomas Pettus was one of those hardy settlers - a land clearer and housebuilder. When, he arrived in 1641, land was available near Jamestown. He built on a tract four miles downriver from the settlement."

"I came on Pettus's holdings on a hot July afternoon and met half a dozen young people who had cleared the land again - at least, a little of it. They scraped the earth with trowels; one brushed with a whisk broom."

"From beneath his yellow hard hat - protection from the sun - archeologist William Kelso of the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission explained that the team sought 'post molds' - discolored earth that would disclose where posts had stood. Judging from the ashes here, this had been Pettus's smokehouse. 'As you can see,' Bill said, waving a hand toward rows of holes, ' we've found the other buildings of the homestead.' "

"It was not a grand manor. Pettus built a T-shaped house and haphazardly added outbuildings, all of wood. 'It was almost a medieval layout,' Bill continued. 'In the 17th century, men like Pettus were concerned more with survival than pleasing architecture.' He apparently possessed little china or crystal. 'Mostly we've found items of local clay, crudely formed and crudely fired.' "

Later findings and thinking can be found in William M. Kelso's "Rescue Archaeology of the James - Early Virginia Country Life" 3 and Kingsmill Plantations, 1619-1800, Archaeology of Country Life in Colonial Virginia, Studies in Historical Archaeology 12 which is an extensive study of the Kingsmill Plantations and contains many references to Thomas PETTUS' Littletown Plantation.

Colonel (Councilor) Thomas PETTUS was an active participant in the affairs of Jamestowne and Old Fields at Middle Plantation, Williamsburg's name until the 66-year-old community was incorporated in 1699, and he is mentioned in many documents of the period. After Colonel Thomas died in 1660, the plantation house and land passed to his son Captain Thomas PETTUS, Jr. http://www.communique.net/~pepbaker/pethop00.htm

More About THOMAS PETTUS , COL: Fact 1: Christened 2-19-1598

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+� Sir John Pettus of Chediston Hall, younger son of Sir Augustine Pettus,was a Member of Parliament in 1650 and author of various works. Died at the age of 77 in Fleet Station Prison, after many years of persecution, for which his wife was largely to blame. She was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Gurney, 1661. This lineage of Pettuses of Norwich shows how Virginia Pettuses were related to their neighbors, --the Sandyses, Burwells, Dabneys, Bacons, Rolfes, and Wyatts. Sir Francis Wyatt, Governor of Virginia, 1621-25 and 1639-41, m. Margaret, dau. of Sir Samuel Sandys, son of Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York. Another son of the Archbishop was George Sandys, Secretary of the "Virginia Company" in London and later Member of the Council in Virginia.

The brothers Sir James Bacon of Friston Hall and Sir Nathaniel Bacon of Shiffkey, Norfolk were 1st cousins of Sir Francis Bacon, the great scientist, thought by some to have written Shakespeare's plays. Sir Nathaniel's granddaughter married Sir Thomas Pettus.

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Notes for STEPHEN PETTUS:

Dabney-Pettuses by Mrs. P. Stacy, Va. Genealogical Hist., p. 849

Stephen Pettus (Thomas, Thomas) called himself "Stephen Pettus of Hanover" in deeds to his son s in 1745 and 1754. In 1700 he was "of Blissland Parish, New Kent" when he signed a "lease-re lease" deed for "Littleton" and "Utopia" in favor of his stepmother's 2nd husband, James Bray . This deed is something of a mystery, quite lengthy but not complete. The "release" was not within it when found and we do not know what price Mr. Bray paid. How it was found and a full copy is given in Va. Hist. Mag., xivi 5. It was signed also by Elizabeth and Jane Freeman and their husbands. If Mr. Bray was safeguarding his wife's title to property left her by Capt . Pettus, why did not other cousins sign?

Blissland Parish was in lower New Kent, adjoining King William. Dabneys lived in New Kent an d King William. Stephen married Mary, daughter of Capt. George Dabney of King William. His will, 1729, names daughter Mary Pettus, and grandson Dabney Pettus, son of Stephen Pettus." I n 1720 Hanover was set off from New Kent. In 1727 Stephen Pettus patented extensively in western Hanover. Louisa set off from Hanover in 1742,included part of his holdings. He deeded Louisa lands to sons, Dabney, John and George. To son, Stephen he deeded or willed Hanover lands .Hanover records were burned in 1865. He seems to have had a daughter who married Terry. I n 1761 John Pettus deeded "for love" to George Terry, had on his bond Dabney Pettus, son of Stephen. But this was down inCharlotte Co. Stephen Pettus , of Hanover's sons, all left Hanover and Louisa. And, oddly, as they went elsewhere, Overton Pettuses moved into Hanover and Louisa, and are known as the Pettuses of Louisa. George Pettus (Ste. Tho. Tho) was probably the youngest of the brothers. He may have gone to Jefferson Co., which became the state of Kentucky. There in 1792 a Stephen Pettus married Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Adams.