The Pettus Family of Norwich, County Norfork, England
Our Pettus line goes back to Thomas Petyous, Gent. (b. ? d. aft. 1492) of Norwich, England. Prior to the 15th, in England, the family name appeared in various spelling during the early years, Pethawe, Pettowe, Pettowes, Pethous, and Petyous.
The first Thomas Petyous, Gent., was a tailor, and is referenced in several different sources. In the Burke's Extinct Baronage he is call "an opulent citizen." He is believed to have come to Norwich from London in the 15th century. In the Collins's Extinct Baronage he is mentioned as an "eminent and wealthy citizen." Tallock's Account of the Family of Pettus states that Thomas Petyous was admitted in 1492 to the Freedom of Norwich, and was buried at St. Edmund's Church, Lombard St., London, S.E.
By being admitted into the Freedom of Norwich meant that he had the right to hold civic office and to use the term Gentleman after one's name. In English society the privileges were hereditary.
The first Thomas Petyous (Pettus) may have lived on Elm Street in Norwich. And two of his descendants probably lived there also. A post card was brought back my Miss Lucille Pettus of Washington D.C. in 1937. On the post card was a picture of a house with an inscription over the second story. The first line reads: "Thomas Puttus, Gent. of Norwich, 1506." The second line reads: "Thomas Pettus, Sheriff of Norfolk 1566, Mayor 1590." The last line reads: "Sir John Pettus, First Knight of the Family, Mayor 1608."1
John Pethous (Pettus), Gentleman, (b. ?, d. 1558) was the son of the first Thomas Petyous. John also lived his life in Norwich and he succeeded to his father's business. In his will, dated 1558, he says he was the son of the tailor Thomas Petyous. Like his father he was admitted to the Freedom of Norwich on June, 9, 1520. John was buried August 28, 1558, in St. Simon's and Jude's Churchyard, Norwich.2
Thomas Pettus, Gentleman, (1519-1597), son of John Pethous (Pettus), had a distinguished public life. Like his father and grandfather before him he was admitted to the Freedom of Norwich, November 5, 1551; he was the first Pettus to receive municipal honors, was Sheriff in 1556; Mayor in 1590; Alderman in 1591 and 1592. He came a much trusted member of the city elders.
In 1591 Thomas purchased the manor house of "Rackheath Hall," Norwich, where his son and successors resided until the male line of the Pettus family became extinct in England in 1772.
Cecily, the daughter of Thomas Pettus and Christian Dethick (or Dethlic), is where we pick up our line. In 1581 Cecily married Humphrey Camden in Suffolk. Humphrey and Cecily (Pettus) Camden's daughter Susan married Henry Pendleton. He was the son of George Pendleton (1542-1603) and Elizabeth Pettingale of Manchester, England and later Norwich, England. (See Pendleton Line)
Sir John Pettus of Norwich (1550-1614) was the brother of Cecily Pettus Camden. Sir John Pettus, was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. He served as Member of Parliament in 1601, Mayor of Norwich in 1608. Sir John Pettus was a member of the Third Charter for the Virginia Company of London, March 22, 1612. This company had wide political powers over Bermuda, and an important source of provisions for the floundering colony.
In Vol. 48 of the New England History and Gen. Register, is a copy of the will of Sir John Pettus, Knight, of Norwich, dated January 1613. The will says: "Appoint my cousin, Henry Pendleton, Supra visor of my estate." Also in the will of Thomas Pettus, of Caistree, St. Edmond's Norfolk, October 1618, he says: "To my Cousins, Henry Pendleton and Susan, his wife, annuity out of my houses &c. in Norwich." 3
Later Elizabeth Pettus Douglas, a granddaughter of Thomas Pettus, married Henry Pendleton. Henry was the son of Henry Pendleton and Susan Camden. (See Pendleton Line)
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1. The Pettus Family, by A. Bohmer Rudd, Washington, DC 1957; contained in the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, No. 56422.
2. America the Beautiful, A Family History. by Dr. J. Phillip London, Gateway Press, Inc. Baltimore, MD 1997.
3. Genealogical and Historical Note on Culpeper County, Virginia. Embracing a Revised and Enlarged Edition of Dr. Philip Slaughter's History of St. Mark's Parish, by Raleigh Travers Green, Baltimore, Regional Publishing Company, 1983.
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