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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.

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

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.

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.