Family Group Sheet


Name John P. Pettit, GG Uncle
Birth 15 Sep 1867, Rowan Co., Kentucky
Death 20 Dec 1938, Iaeger, McDowell Co., West Virginia
Father Preston ("Pressie") Pettit (1837-1907)
Mother Mary Susan Riddle (1839-1916)
Other spouses Malissa Clark, 1C4R
Marriage 5 Oct 1911, Rowan Co., Kentucky
Spouse Nickety ("Tye") Trent
Birth 22 Mar 1878, Sandy Huff, McDowell Co., West Virginia
Death 1 Dec 1961, Iaeger, McDowell Co., West Virginia
Father Harvey Trent (1851-1929)
Mother Rena Lambert (1851-1922)
Children
1 M William Anderson Pettit, 1C2R
Birth 15 Sep 1899, Rowan Co., Kentucky
Death 9 Sep 1981, Salem, Roanoke Co., Virginia
Spouse Mollie Mae Stacy
2 M Jason Pettit, 1C2R
Birth 2 Aug 1902, Mingo Co., West Virginia
Death 27 Mar 1976, Welch, McDowell Co., West Virginia
Spouse Louisa "May" Blankenship
3 M Asa Pettit, 1C2R
Birth 25 Sep 1906, Virginia or West Virginia
Death Apr 1966, West Virginia
Spouse Hazel Lawhorn
4 F Lillie Pettit, 1C2R
Birth 24 Jul 1916, Bath Co., Kentucky
Death abt 1920, Virginia
Notes for John P. Pettit
John spelled his last name "Petit" in his first marriage record and in the 1900 and 1910 censuses, but his second marriage record says "Pettit", and his sons all used that spelling, so he may have switched to that spelling later in life.

Jessie Petitt bible1 has entry "Joney Pettit was Born September the 15th 1867", and another entry "Johnie Petitt died Dec 20, 1938". A more recent letter from Lila Chadwell, probably based on the bible entries, since the names are listed in the same order, says instead "Johnie Petitt borned February 15-1861 Died Dec. 20 1938". This is my only record of Johnnie's death date. He is not in the Kentucky death index, which probably means he died in West Virginia. But Fay Beck says that there is no death certificate on file for him in McDowell Co., either, so it must have been another county.
Census
1890 Tax Rolls of Hogtown Prec., Rowan Co., KY, lists on p. 36, line 9:
John P. Petit, 25 acres, neighbor Wm Kegley, 1 male over 21, no children 6-20. (People in other categories are not enumerated.)

1900 census of Mingo Co., WV, enumerated June 6, lists in Hardey district, as family #168:
John Petty, 22, b. Sep 1867, Ky Ky Ky; Tie, 21, b. Mar 1879, Va Va Va; Willie, 8/12, b. Sep 1899, 8/12, Ky Ky Va.

1910 census of Mingo Co., WV, lists in Hardee District, as family #143:
Pettit, John, 45, KY US US; (wife) Tella, 33, WV WV WV; "Tella" mother of 3 children, 3 living; (son) Willie, 10, WV KY WV; (son) Jason, 8, WV KY WV; (son) Acy, 3, WV KY WV. Both John and "Tella" (presumably Nickety) are listed as married 14 years, and as married only once.

1920 census of Buchanan Co., VA, lists:
Pettie, John, 51, widowed; son Jacin, 17; son Acie, 13.

John was not really widowed, but apparently he and Tye were separated at the time. I haven't found her in 1920.
Notes for Nickety ("Tye") Trent
County Clerk's Office in Welch, WV has recorded the following:

Pettit, Nickety, born 22 Mar 1878, Iaeger, WV, died Dec 1, 1961, Iaeger, WV, age at death 83. Cause: cerebral hemorrhage. Contributory cause: hypertension. Housewife, widowed. Parents: Harvey Trent and Rennie Lambert. Name and address of informant: Jason Pettit, Flint, Mich.

Her obituary in the Welch Daily News read:

Funeral services for Mrs. Nickety Pettit, 83, widow of John Pettit, who died Friday at her home in Iaeger after a long illness, were to be held at 1 p.m. today at the residence in Red Bird Community, with burial in Iaeger Memorial Cemetery at Roderfield. The officiating minister is the Rev. Clyde Roberts.

A native of Sandy Huff, near Iaeger, Mrs. Pettit was a daughter of the late Harvey and Rennie Lambert Trent. She was a member of the Sandy Huff Church of Christ. Surviving are three sons, Asa and Jason Pettit, of Flint, Mich., and Bill Pettit of Iaeger; 16 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Notes for John P. & Nickety ("Tye") (Family)
Rowan Co. marriage book 7, p. 456, records marriage on 5 Oct 1911 of John Pettit, 45, s/o Preston & Mary Pettit (spelled that way), to Nickety Trent, 33, b. W. Va., d/o Harvey & Rena Trent, by Harvey Trent at his house, witnesses Rena Trent & Harvey Trent Jr., bond surety by W. T. Caudill. It is marked as a second marriage for John, and his residence is given as "east Virginia."

Aunt Oly says that "Uncle Johnnie's boys" lived in West Va., near Stark. By this she must mean his sons by Ty, as Frank and Roscoe lived in Morehead. Stark is a tiny community at the end of state road 17, near the small town of Jeffrey, in Boone Co.

Except where other records are explicitly mentioned, all the information I have on the family of Johnnie and Nickety is from Fay Horn Beck of Bluefield, Virginia, a daughter-in-law of Johnnie's son William A. Pettit.

All three of Johnnie and Tye's sons were born while he was still officially married to Malissa Clark.
Last Modified 30 Mar 1999 Created 30 Jun 2002 by Reunion for Macintosh