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Research in Other Countries => United States of America => Topic started by: suzilad on Wednesday 19 December 12 21:23 GMT (UK)
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A while ago I was given this information re the above he is the brother of my gggg grandmother .
He was found in a list of " Scots in Mid Atlantic States ! 1783-1883 - Robert Pettigrew his wife Elenor and their family John b 1805, Jane 1808, Ellen 1812 Ann 1815 he was Naturalised in New York and left from Leith for
America,
Looking for more information for this family if possible
Thanks
suzilad
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There is a Passenger and Immigration Record 1815 - 1826 for the family mentioned however there is also a daughter Margaret. Census records for that period do not give much information except head of household. There is also a Robert Pettigrew in New York who died Nove 8, 1853. Are you sure your Robert Pettigrew died in 1883? He would have been 100 years old.
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I have no idea when Robert died . I thought there might be more children as there were quite big
gaps between their ages . I have been unable to find a marriage for Robert and Eleanor or any of
the children in Scotland.
Grateful for any help and advice.
suzilad
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Hi Suzilad,
Had a look at this one from time to time but can find nothing concrete, there were quite a few Robert Pettigrew in New York.
Looking at FIND A GRAVE they show a few deaths for Robert Pettigrew but no birth years.
http://tinyurl.com/a5x4u5t
There was a November 1 st 1826 naturalization for Robert Pettigrew in Marine Court. NYC gave his age as 38 years so born 1788. Occupation :- Labourer. Former Nationality:- English.
A couple of other naturalizations in 1834 and 1843 gave both as born England but no age or birth years :'(
Looked for a John Pettigrew born 1805 but the nearest match was a 1860 census entry for a John born 1810 Scotland, married to Mary - Mary and the 3 children all born in New York.
John Pettigrew 50 Born Scotland. Contractor. Value of Real Estate 200,000
Mary Pettigrew 45 Born NY
John W Pettigrew 22 Born NY
Ellen R Pettigrew 20 Born NY
Leary J Pettigrew 18 Born NY
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MC48-6VH
Sorry nothing positive :'(
Sandra
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Hi Sandra,
Thank you so much for having a look for them .
Thought they might be very difficult to find.
suzilad
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http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vermont/CaledoniaLyndon.html
Lyndon Township, Caledonia County, Vermont.
"Robert Pettigrew was a native of Scotland, came to New York city in 1808, was a contractor on public works, and remained there until his death, at the age of sixty-three years. His son John, a native of Scotland, came to New York city when he was fourteen years of age, married Mary Innis, of that city, and reared four children; John, Ellen R., Mary J. and Robert. He was a contractor in New York city, where he died, aged sixty-three years. His son Robert married Mary E. Hall, and has reared seven children, viz.: Mary R., John, Hannah, Robert, Julia S., Mrs. Josephine Quimby, now dead, and Julia E., also deceased. Mr. Pettigrew resides in Lyndonville, on Park street. Mary R. Pettigrew, daughter of Robert, married Henry E., son of Larnard Watson, of Burke, and has seven children, viz.: Cora A., Claud, Ellie, Edna B., Guy H., Mary E. and Robert P. They reside in this town on road 13."
The patriarch Robert died 12 March 1849, and his wife, as Helen/Hellen, died 13 May 1860. Both they and many family members are buried in Green-wood Cemetery. You can search for them here:
http://www.green-wood.com/2010/burial-search/
I discovered a lot about your Robert Pettigrew and his descendants. If you want me to post more, let me know. They were an American immigrant success story. Robert, his son John, and grandson John W. all became very wealthy as public works contractors for New York City.
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Hi,
Sorry I have just found your post . Thank you so much for posting this I would be very grateful if
you would post your info . or if you would rather all you need to do is make another post and we
can communicate by P.M.
May I ask are you descended from Robert.
Regards,
suzilad
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The bio I gave you about Robert Pettigrew and his son and grandson came first from a local history book that you can see via Google, called "Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764-1887." Search for that title + Pettigrew to pull up the exact page.
That bio states that Robert immigrated in 1808, but I question that date. Since his youngest child was 6 years old in 1821, and born in Scotland, according to Robert's citizenship petition, then the family must have immigrated no earlier than 1815. I found a first mention of him in 1818 in this:
Book: Minutes of the Common Council of the city of New York, 1784-1831;
New York: The City, 1917, 14825 pgs.
Richard Varick; P V Livingston; Leonard Lispenard; Abraham Lott; et al
R. Pettigrew first shows up in minutes of 10 Aug 1818, under Accounts Audited: "Robt. Pettigrew--bal. Well in Rivington St., $89.25." He continues building wells until 1826, then there is a jump to 1829 when the minutes report bills from him for filling up, regulating, and paving streets. These continue through 1831.
As you've no doubt seen already:
Ancestry.com: New York, Naturalization Petitions, 1794-1906
pgs. 388-9.
Robert Pettigrew
Declaration of intention: 16 Apr 1821, Marine Court, NYC.
Citizenship granted: 1 Nov 1826, Marine Court, NYC.
Exhibits presented (on page 388):
"Report by Robert Pettigrew, an alien, of himself and family made to the clerk of the Marine Court of the City of New York, the 16th day of April in the year 1821."
Robert Pettigrew, b. East Lothian, Scotland, age 38, labourer, emigrated from Leith.
Elenor Pettigrew, b. same, age 39
John Pettigrew, b. same, age 16
Margaret Pettigrew, b. same, age 14
Jane Pettigrew, b. same, age 13
Ann Pettigrew, b. same, age 6
Ellen Pettigrew, b. same, age 9
With the above information about the children, I found some marriage and death notices.
New-York Spectator, (New York, NY) Friday, September 17, 1830; col A
Mr. Francis Duncan married Miss Jane Pettigrew, daughter of Mr. Robert Pettigrew, all of NYC.
Wedding was held Friday evening, but no date given, so unknown if wedding was Sept. 17 or Sept. 10.
New-York Spectator, (New York, NY) Monday, December 30, 1833; col E
Dec. 24th, 1833, Mr. John C. Stanberry married Miss Helen, daughter of Robt. Pettigrew, all of New York City.
New-York Spectator, (New York, NY) Saturday, June 05, 1841; col F
At Manhattanville, 1 June 1841, Mr. George J. Byrd, of the firm of Macdonald & Byrd married Miss Hannah, daughter of Robert Pettigrew, Esq., all of NYC.
They were married by the mayor of NYC. Based upon subsequent census records, I suspect that Hannah was the Ann named in Robert's citizenship petition.
The following death notice shows Robert died in 1849, although his birthyear would have been 1780-81 if age 68 is accurate. This deviates from his declaration of intention which gave his age as 38 in 1821. Even with that discrepancy, I still feel this Robert who died in 1849 is your Robert as he does not appear in the 1850 census, although his widow does.
Date: Saturday, March 17, 1849
Paper: Weekly Herald (New York, NY) , Volume: XV , Issue: 11 , Page: 88
DIED, 12 March 1849, Robert Pettigrew, aged 68 years, a native of Scotland, and for many years a resident of this city.
The New York Herald, (New York, NY) Tuesday, May 15, 1860; pg. 7; col D
Died, May 13, 1860, Helen Pettigrew, relict of the late Robert Pettigrew, aged 94 years. The funeral services were held at the residence of her son-in-law, George J. Byrd, No. 6 West 29th Street.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Robert and Elenor/Ellen/Hellen are buried in Green-wood Cemetery, 500 25th Street Brooklyn, New York 11232. Hellen Pettigrew is buried in the Byrd lot, instead of with her husband.
In 1850 Elenor, now widowed and now called Ellen, is in her son-in-law's household.
Home in 1850 census: New York Ward 18, New York, New York
Household Members:
Name Age
Geo J Byrd 40, b. Ireland
Hannah Byrd 33, b. Scotland
Emma Byrd 12
Robt P Byrd 2
Ellen Peltigrew 70, b. Scotland
Ellen Sherriden 27
Likewise, here is a mid-decade census entry, with Elenor/Ellen still alive:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K67V-1N5
Event Date: New York, State Census, 1855
Event Place: E.D. 1, Ward 21, New York City, New York, New York, United States
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
George J Byrd Head M 46
Hannah Byrd Wife F 29
Emma Byrd Daughter F 17
Robert Byrd Son M 7
Ida Byrd Daughter F 3
Ellen Pettigrew Mother-in-law F 86
Bridget Donohue Servant F 20
Jane Sheridan Servant F 23
Family Number: 335 , Line Number: 10 , GS Film number: 1018665 , Digital Folder Number: 005207166 , Image Number: 00029
I have more research about Robert's progeny, but that will take another post.
I am not one of his descendants, but I do research into all Petticrew and Pettigrew lines. John W., Robert's grandson, came to my attention before, so your initial question gave me reason to do some more digging.
I am happy to share what I discover, but I like to share it by means of the forum rather than privately. That way, the research can benefit others in the future. You are welcome to PM me if you like, but I will report all that I know on this forum, so a PM may not be necessary.
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Thank you so much for all this information on the Pettigrews .
I only suggested PMing you as a lot of people do not like to post all their research on line.
I shall have a look at the book you have suggested .
suzilad
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Continuing with the children of Robert and Elenor Pettigrew. To recap:
Jane Pettigrew m. Francis Duncan, 10 or 17 Sept. 1830.
Helen Pettigrew m. John C. Stanberry, 24 Dec. 1833.
Hannah Pettigrew m. George J. Byrd, 1 June 1841.
Robert and Elenor had another daughter, Margaret. There is a Margaret Pettigrew buried in the same lot as Robert in Green-wood Cemetery. Her burial date was 1849-04-07, less than a month after Robert's death. There was a cholera outbreak in NY City in early 1849, so perhaps they both fell victim to it.
When Robert died he was a wealthy man, that fact known to me only because of the 1870 census. In that census, his daughter Helen Stanberry reported that she owned real estate worth $60,000. Her sister Hannah Byrd reported real estate holdings of $50,000. Sister Jane Duncan did not report any real estate. However, no one else on the same census pages did so either, which indicates the enumerator of Jane's district just did not record this item of information.
You would need to find the wills of both Robert and his widow Elenor/Ellen/Helen to learn exactly how Robert's estate was divided. But, from the evidence of the 1870 census, it appears that his real estate eventually was divided among his children, daughters included. $60,000 in 1870 is worth about $1,000,000 today, so these women were wealthy in their own right, apart from their husbands.
Of the three married sisters, Hannah married wealth. Her husband, George J. Byrd, was a Manufacturer and Wholesale Dealer in umbrellas. In the 1870 census he reported real estate of $60,000 and personal property worth $35,000.
John C. Stanberry had occupation of builder in the 1870 census but did not report any net worth, although his wife Helen did.
I never did find a census record for Jane's husband Francis Duncan. In an 1857 New York directory, he was listed as a stonecutter, with a household at 87 E. 30th Street. I also found this mention about him in a lawsuit, when Jane gave testimony:
New York Times, 2 Sept 1859
Law Reports, Supreme Court, Special Term, before Judge Ingraham
The McParlen Habeas Corpus-Application of Hugh McParlen
"Mrs Jane Duncan was sworn for the relator: I am a married woman, and reside No. 91 East 30th-street; I am the wife of Francis Duncan, who has a brown-stone yard in the City...."
Then came death notices:
Date: Thursday, February 6, 1868;
Paper: New York Herald (New York, NY); Volume: XXXIII, Issue: 37, Page: 6.
Feb. 5, 1868, Francis Duncan died, aged 67 years. Funeral services were held at his late residence, No. 243 East 30th-st.
Later that year, a son died:
Date: Monday, October 5, 1868
Paper: New York Herald (New York, NY), Volume: XXXIII, Issue: 279, Page: 8.
October 2, 1868, Robert P. Duncan died, aged 37 years, grandson of the late Robert Pettigrew, of this city. Funeral from the residence of his mother, No. 243 East Thirtieth street.
He was a member of the Olympic Club and Naval Lodge No. 62, F. and A.M.
Paper: New York Herald (New York, NY); 22 Sep 1871
19 Sept. 1871, Mrs. Jane Pettigrew Duncan died, in the 65th year of her age. She was widow of Francis Duncan. Funeral was held at her late residence, 243 East Thirtieth Street.
All three Duncans are buried in the same lot in Green-Wood Cemetery.
In the next post, I'll tell what I know about John the only son, of which I am aware, of Robert and Elenor, and his son John W. I'll end this post with some census information.
1870 United States Federal Census about Jane Duncan
Home in 1870: New York Ward 21 District 9 (2nd Enum), New York, New York
Residence: 243 East 30th Street, New York City
Value of real estate: None listed
Household Members:
Name Age
Jane Duncan 63, b. Scotland
Ann Grimmes 45, b. Ireland
Isabella Simms 25, b. Scotland
Marie Tanton 25, b. Conn.
George Tanton 28, b. Conn., bookkeeper
1870 United States Federal Census
Home in 1870: New York Ward 21 District 21, New York, New York
Household Members:
Name Age
Geo J Byrd 60, umbrella manufacturer, RE $60k, PP $35k
Hannah Byrd 45, Value of real estate: $50k
Robt P Byrd 22
Ida L Byrd 16
Geo J Byrd 14
Ann Keelan 45
Mary Deaven 25
Marriage notice:
New York Times, Published: October 5, 1865
Oct. 3, 1865, HENRY B. BURTNETT married EMMA J., daughter of Geo. J. Byrd, Esq., all of NYC.
1880 United States Federal Census about G. I. Byrd
Home in 1880: New York City, New York, New York
Household Members:
Name Age
H. B. Burtnett 44
E. B. Burtnett 40 (daughter of George and Hannah Byrd)
Louis Burtnett 12
Ida Burtnett 7
G. I. Byrd 65, Mother-in-law, widowed. (This must be Hannah.)
Geo. I. Byrd 24
Ida Byrd 26
1870 United States Federal Census about Helen Stanberry
Home in 1870: New York Ward 21 District 20, New York, New York
Household Members:
Name Age
John Stanberry 60, builder, no Real Estate or Personal Property
Helen Stanberry 60, Value of real estate: $60k, PP $7k
John A Stanberry 30
Maron Sulley 36
Percy Sulley 12
Frank Suley 30
Margret Mccann 40
Ann Cook 34
1880 United States Federal Census about John C. Stanbery
Home in 1880: New York City, New York, New York
Household Members:
Name Age
John C. Stanbery 70, Retired Carpenter
Helen P. Stanbery 70, self, father & mother all b. Scotland
John A. Stanbery 43, b. NY
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The family bio, in "Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, Vt. 1764-1887," stated that John Pettigrew, son of Robert and Elinor/Helen, married Mary Innis of NY City. I did not find their marriage notice in a newspaper. The marriage must have been in the late 1820s, as their oldest child was born before 1830. I found John Pettigrew, in 1850, with a wacky index spelling on Ancestry.com:
1850 United States Federal Census about John Pelegrin
Home in 1850: New York Ward 18 District 2, New York, New York
Name Age
John Pelegrin 44 , contractor, real estate value $85k, b. Scotland
Mary Pelegrin 42, b. NY
Robert Pelegrin 21
John Pelegrin 18
Elen R Pelegrin 16
Mary J Pelegrin 12
Catharine Burns 20
The son Robert is the same as the grandson of the patriarch Robert, who was featured in that same family bio. The son John is John W., and I will have more to say about him later in this post.
Another poster already supplied that John, the father, and family appeared in the 1860 census:
Home in 1860: New York Ward 21 District 1, New York, New York
John Pettigrew 50, b. Scotland, real estate value $200,000
Mary Pettigrew 45
John W Pettigrew 22
Ellen R Pettigrew 20
Leary J Pettigrew 18 (Mary J.)
For some unknown reason the family is enumerated in the household of Jasper Grosvenor, although John was already worth $5M in today's dollars.
John served as a New York City assistant alderman, 1842-44, under mayor Robert H. Morris:
http://www.mocavo.ca/Manual-of-the-Corporation-of-the-City-of-New-York-for-the-Year-1844-1845/320757/176
Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, for the Year 1844-1845
John's two daughters were married on the same day:
New York Times, 12 June 1858, pg 4.
June 1, 1858, Charles Cole married Ellie R., eldest daughter of John Pettigrew Esq., all of this City.
June 1, 1858, J. Henry Weeks married Jennie, youngest daughter of John Pettigrew, Esq., all of this City.
Then John Pettigrew's death notice:
Date: Thursday, April 1, 1869
Paper: New York Herald (New York, NY), Volume: XXXIV, Issue: 91, Page: 10.
March 28, 1869, after a painful illness, John Pettigrew died, in the 66th year of his age.
The funeral was from his late residence, 256 Fifth avenue. Relatives mentioned were his sons Robert and John W., and his sons-in-law Charles Cole and J.H. Weeks.
John's widow Mary died 4 Dec. 1892.
Fortunately, the wills of John and his wife Mary are available as part of a review of a court case, in the following book. The case starts on page 1:
http://books.google.com/books?id=sstibo-bcn4C&pg=PA1
In the Court of Appeals, State of New York
The will of John Pettigrew starts on page 204:
http://books.google.com/books?id=sstibo-bcn4C&pg=PA204
The will of Mary Pettigrew starts on page 214:
http://books.google.com/books?id=sstibo-bcn4C&pg=PA214
Other useful family information is given in the testimony of several witnesses, as also in this book:
http://books.google.com/books?id=ILtU9C5XAs0C&pg=RA3-PA48
Supreme Court, New York County.
Note that at the time of this court case their daughter Ellen Pettigrew Cole had been widowed and remarried to Otis W. Randall. Their daughter Mary J., or Jennie Pettigrew Weeks, had been widowed and remarried to Francis J. La Sala.
By John's will, his many real estate holdings were liberally distributed among his four children. His son John W. continued in the same trade as his father and became even more wealthy through his street-paving contracts with NY City. John W. outlived his father by only 6 years, and died 11 March 1875, intestate and without children.
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections > New York Clipper > 20 March 1875
New York Clipper: "The Oldest American Sporting and Theatical Journal"
"DEATH OF A MILLIONAIRE TURFMAN-- Mr. John W. Pettigrew, a wealthy contractor and well-known turfman of this city, died suddenly at his residence in Fifth avenue in this city on Thursday, March 11. He had long been in a declining state of health, and in company with the well-known trotting trainer Johnny Murphy, he last Winter made a trip to California to recruit his health. The journey did him considerable good, and only the day before his death he had been enjoying a sleighing excursion. Only a week previously he had expended over $30,000 for three trotting horses, for he was a most liberal patron of the turf, both trotting and racing. He paid $15,000 for the fast mare Maggie Wilson, $10,000 for Nat Woodcock, and $6,000 for Tanner Boy; and when he fancied a horse, high figures did not deter him from becoming his possessor. He was also partial to the running turf, and was privately known as the financial partner and confederate in the Donahue stable. The deceased was esteemed and respected by all who knew him."
A former housekeeper, Jane Foshay, claimed she and John W. Pettigrew had married. Try to find copies of these articles online:
New York Times, 4 July 1877, pg 3:
LAW REPORTS.: STRANGE LIFE OF A CONTRACTOR. THE LATE JOHN W. PETTIGREW'S NURSE AND HOUSEKEEPER, WHO CLAIMS TO BE HIS WIDOW HER PECULIAR DUTIES AND COMPENSATION SINGULAR DISCLOSURES PROMISED IN A PENDING SUIT.
New York Times, 1 Nov 1879, pg 3:
JOHN PETTIGREW'S MONEY: A FIGHT FOR IT IN THE COURTS. A WOMAN WHO SAYS SHE WAS HIS WIFE MARRIED AT 14, AFTER EIGHT YEARS IN SCHOOL WITHOUT LEARNING TO WRITE.
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Suzilad,
In those three posts, I gave you all I have on the three generations of New York City Pettigrews. When Robert arrived he may not have found the streets of America paved in gold, but by paving New York's streets he, his son, and his grandson found their own gold.
I hope you will help me, now, by posting what you know of Robert Pettigrew and his family in Scotland, and his ancestors. I try to learn as much as I can about all Pettigrew and Petticrew lines, whether in America, Ireland, Scotland, or elsewhere.
Thank you.
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An astract of the will, with codicils, of this Robert Pettigrew can be seen here:
https://www.ancestry.com/boards/surnames.pettigrew/600/mb.ashx
I especially like the part where he bequeaths a house and lot in Manhattan to each of his 5 children and to a grandson. How many $millions would those be worth today!
Here are Robert's parents and siblings:
John Petticrue m. Jane/Jean Henderson, 27 Feb 1778, Gladsmuir,East Lothian,Scotland.
Their children:
Elisabeth Petticrue, christened 28 Mar 1779.
James Petticrue, b. 06 Oct 1781.
Robert Pettiecrue, b. 08 Jun 1783.
Janet Petiecrue, b. 04 May 1786.
Helen Petticrue, b. 17 Mar 1789.
John Petticriwe, b. 25 Dec 1790.
Jean Petticrue, christened. 26 Mar 1797.
The above info is from Familysearch.org.
A workup on Robert's brother James appears on page 2 here:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=630692.9
James also was a contractor of public roads projects in NY City. An abstract of his will can be seen here:
https://www.ancestry.com/boards/surnames.pettigrew/599/mb.ashx