Matthew PETTIS

Sources:

Argyle , Washington , N.Y. Land Records
http://ftp.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/census/ny/washington/1810/argyle.txt
http://www.fortklock.com/nymilitiaalbany13.htm
New York in the Revolution as Colony and State , by James A. Roberts & Frederic G . Mather , Second Edition

Notes:

                   Side  note  about  his  Militia  Commander  - Col .  John  McCrea  : JohnMcCrea  was  a  graduate  of
Princeton  College  and  worked  as  a  Lawyer  at  Albany , N.Y. whenthe  Revolutionary  War  started .
He  was  given  command  of  the  13 th  Regiment - Albany  Company - (commissioned  20  Oct. 1775 ) , until  honorably  discharged  in 1781 , (he 's  also  listed  as  having  his  residence  at  Turner  Point ,Washington  Co . , N.Y.  and  he  has  88  acres , of  lot  #  158  in1789 ) . He  was  the  oldest  child  of  James  McCrea , an   Episcopalminister  and  Mary  Graham , ( his  first  wife   was  Sarah  Beekmanand  second  wife  was  Eleanor  McNaughton ) , and  his  brothers Samuel, James , and  Stephen , ( a  surgeon ) ,  also  served  as patriots .His  sister ,  Jane  McCrea ,  whom  was  massacred  by  the Indians nearFort  Edwards , Washington ,  N.Y. , ( whom  were  allied with  theBritish  under  Gen. Burgoyne ) ,  in  1777 . There  is  a monument todaydedicated  to  her  memory  at  this  site . *****
Matthew  moved   his  family  to Argyle ,Washington , New  York  afterthe  Revolutionary  War .
From the '' Petty  Book '' genealogy:  ( disclaimer , I  added thissolely  as  a  source . WJD. ) :
NOTE : Mathew Pettis of Washington County, NY, is not mentioned byWilliam 4 Pettis in his Bible record and there is no positive proof ofhis birth date of 15 December 1746 nor has he been positively identifiedas a son of William, 4, and Mary ( Kenyon ) Pettis and further researchis needed.  Yet  he appeared to be in this relationship as he named a son" Kenyon " Pettis . Land records indicate that he had a brother, StephenPettis*, living in Kingsbury, Washington County, NY, in 1795 . From RRP .
Now , get  this  everyone , ( especially Richard  Pettys ) , this  just -in , 1774 - Rhode Island  census     '' Pettis , Matthew , residing  atHopkinton , R . I . , 2  males  under  16 , 1 male  over  16 , ( himself) ,    1 female  over  16 , ( Alice ) , lives  near  Stephen  Pettis  &William  Pettis ''. Odd  huh ?? Check  it  out  yourself  :www.print.google.com . In  the  1790  census  report  from  Argyle ,Washington , New  York ,
Matthew  has  two  free  white  males  above  16  y. o . , three  under16  y. o. , six  females  at  home ,
( no  ages  given )  and  no  slaves or  others , from  page  #  187 ,Argyle , Washington , New  York .
Now , according  to  the  1810  U.S. census report , Matthew  Pettis  isat  home , married  to  Alice , and  they have  one  daughter  still  athome ( Eliza  Pettis - 26 y.o. in  1810 ) , page  468 , line  38 . Fromthe  Dictionary  of  American  Family Names  , '' Pettis '' - English :From  the  possessive  or  plural form  of  Middle  English   '' pytte '', '' pitte '' or  ''pit '' , ' hollow ' , hence  a  topographical   namefor  someone   who lived  by a  pit , or  a   habitational   name  froma  place  named with  this word , as  for  example  '' Pett '' in  EastSussex  in   present  day south  - eastern   England  .  Also , accordingto  the military  pension  record  for  Stephen  Pettis ,  ( brother  /cousin / nephew  , take  your   pick ) ,  it  describes Stephen  Pettisin  this manner ,' Stephen  Pettis  is  six  foot tall , brown  hair ,dark eyes '.  My  wife  says  that  also  describes  me , (  Bill  Delker) , from  this  web  page  :http://members.aol.com/lynnash911/spettis.html   and  while we're  at  it,  try  this  also ,http://members.aol.com/pionear504/pettisarguments.html  . This  pagegives  various  arguments  against  why researchers  shouldn't  hold  toomuch creedence toward  the '' Bible '' of  William Pettys . In  the  1800U.S.  census  report  from  Argyle , Washington  Co . , New  York  , itlists  Matthew  Pettis  household  with  one  male , 45 +  y. o. , (himself ) , one  female  , 45 +  y. o. , ( Alice ,  his  wife  ) ,and onefemale , 16 - 25  y. o. , ( most  likely Eliza , whom  is  listed inArgyle  land  records  as a lunatic ) .
The  listing  for  Baker  Cemetery  says '' Hudson  Falls , Washington ,New  York , but  more  precisely
it  should  say , Baker  Cem . , located  three  miles  north  of  FortAnn , on  route # 4 , turn  right  at
Comstock , which  would  be  route  # 22 , drive  straight  about  3 / 4mile , then right  again  at  Quarry  Road , then  about  another  halfmile  ahead  is  Baker  Cemetery , just  before  Comstock  Cemetery .
   ......... Breaking  News ..... date line ... 25  June  2004 ..........
Argyle  land  records, p. 328 : '' Anny  Smith  of  Argyle , relick , (widow ) , of  Daniel  Smith , sold  200
acres  of  lot  #  127  to  Matthew  Pettis  of  Argyle  for 150 pounds .'' 11 - 15 - 1792 , note # B - 2 - 11 .
P . 329 ,  On  this  date ,  6 - 5 - 1818  ,  '' Matthew  and  AlicePettis  of  Argyle  sold  52  acres  of  lot
# 127  to  Alce  Shepard  of   Argyle  for  $ 400 . 00 . ''  Notation  O- 146 ,  Argyle  land  records , N.Y.
( This  was  part  of  the  original  450  acres  listed  as  MatthewPettis's - Argyle land  patent # 127 ) .
This is direct from Argyle , Washington , New  York : Office of  the TownHistorian , ( 518 - 638 - 8681 ) ,
41  Main  Street ,  Argyle , New  York  12809 ,  or  you  can  e - mail:  GiannaL333@aol.com  ........
Matthew  Pettis , 1746 - 1827 , was  the  son  of  William  Pettis , 1722- 1794  and  his  first  wife  Mary
Kenyon .  Matthew  was  born  in  Richmond , Rhode  Island , marriedAlice ... died  lot # 127 , and
is  buried  in  Baker  Cem. ,  Hudson  Falls , Washington , New  York .During  the  Revolutionary  War ,  he  served  in  the  13 th  Regiment ,Albany  County   Militia  under  Col. John  McCrea , brother of  thecelebrated  Jane  McCrea . Matthew  and  Alice  had  five , ( or  seven ,depends  on  whom  you  ask  ) , including  William  M .  Pettis ,  1770- 1821 , (  we  recently  received  the 1821 death  inquest  for  WilliamM. Pettis ) , whom  married  Ruth  Crandall ,1771 - 1837 , daughter  ofNathan Crandall , (??) ,   I  had  Elijah  Crandall ) . Matthew  wasprobably  a  relative  of  Joseph  Pettis  since  both  were  born  inRichmond , R . I . Members  of  the  Pettis  family  were  Baptists  andof  English  and  Welsh  descent . Source ; (  ATN  86 , AHstn , WCHstn ). { *Stephen Pettis is a proved son of William, 4} Matthew  Pettis , Sr.served  in  the  New  York  Militia  ( 13 th Regiment , Albany  Co . ,New  York  Militia   -  Revolutionary  War  under  Col. John  McCrea  ) .Circumstancial  evidence  indicates that Matthew  Pettis  was  the son ofWilliam C. Pettys ,b.1722 son  of  William Petty ,b. 1691 d.1747 , son ofJames Petty , b. 1663, son  of  John Petty , b. 1639 d. 1680 . WilliamC.  Pettys  bought   and  sold  several  pieces  of  property , ( lots  #127  and # 128 ) , within  a  short  distance  to Matthew Pettis inArgyle , Washington  Co . , New  York  and  he  did  not  list all of hismarriages  in  the  family  bible , so  is it  possible that  he may haveomitted  some  of  his  children  as  well . Now  comes  word that otherfamily  researchers  have  openly  questioned  the  family bible ofWilliam  C.  Pettys , check  this  out  at  this  site  :http://members.aol.com/pionear504/pettisarguments.html . And  MatthewPettis  named  several  of  his own  children  William , Kenyon , andMary ; perhaps  to  signify his relationship to  his  father and mother .I list  one other  piece  of  circumstancial  evidence , William C.  (Pettis )  Pettys , was  the  first to  start  using  the Pettis spellingof  the  name , and  I  personally have contacted other familydescendants whom  today  use  Petty , Pettys , Pettee , Petteys , butnone  whom use  the  Pettis  spelling . However ,  Matthew  Pettis andhis  brothers  and  sisters  followed , in  my  opinion , William C.Pettys  use  of  '' Pettis '', ( like  father , like  son ?? ) . Before1784 , Washington Co . , New York was  known   as  Charlotte  County ,and  several  boundary changes  have also  occurred  since  this  time .
The  1800  U.S  census  lists , besides  Matthew  and  his  family ,another  45 + y.o. free  gentleman ,
whom  I  believe  to  be  Matthew's  father  because  William  is  listedon  the  voting  rolls  until 1804 .
This  last  bit  is from  the Kingsbury , New  York   web  page . Next ,we  find  our Matthew  Pettis ,           ( listed  as  Matthew  Pettes ), in  the book ' New York  in  the Revolution as Colony & State ', SecondEdition 1898 ,  by James  A . Roberts  and  Frederic  G . Mather . Thisis also available  online  at :http://www.fortklock.com/nymilitiaalbany13.htm , (  this  page  maybeoffline  or  has  been  moved ) , other sources :http://www.threerivershms.com/nymilitiaalbany13.htm , ( possibly atbattle of Saratoga ,
his Militia commander Corn. Van Vechten is  listed  as  being at  theBattle of  Saratoga , New  York , try  this  page :http://www.rootsweb.com/~nysarato/batluv.htm ) , Daughters of  theAmerican Revolution - Patriot Index , Vol.  III , page  # 2105 , HudsonValley  , New  York  area  information  and  history -http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/state/his/bk3/ch3.html ,
http://ftp.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/census/ny/washington/1810/argyle.txt,
http://www.rays-place.com/census/ny-wash-argyla.htm ,
' New  York  Miltary  in  the  Revolution ', by James A.  Roberts , 1898, p. 124 , Heading - Albany Co. Militia - 13th regiment , rank - Enlisted, name - Matthew  Pettes ',
' Landholders of  Northeastern New York ' , 1739 - 1802 , p. 137 , byFred Q. Bowman , 1983 ,
' The  Argyle  Patent  and  It's  Early  Settlers ', by  JamesMacNaughton , Jr . , Sleeper  Co . , 1999 ,
The Portrait & Biograghical Record of Muskegon & Ottawa Co. , Mich. ,1893, p. 236 , Bio. Pub. Co . ,
Rhode  Island  census , taken 1 June 1774 , Hopkinton , R . I . , onlineat  :  www.print.google.com ,
'' New  York  in the Revolution  as a Colony  and a  State '', by  JamesRoberts & Fred  Mather . WJD .