Latest Full Color Photos -Family Bibles of Joshua Pettit (1734) and Henry Pettit (1763)
In May of 2025, The Pettit Research Project was granted special access to the the Henry Pettit Sr. Revolutionary War Pension file at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The folder containing his records was removed from the vault and given to this researcher by the lead archivist. Examination of the contents was permitted under his supervision for safe handling and security reasons....
The word above Abraham is possibly "deaf" ? Deaf children often in the past were categorized as mentally deficient.....
That is a brilliant suggestion. I'll make a note of it in the article. Thank you!
Hello, I think the word written above Abraham’s name is lark. The four-letter word commonly used in the 1770s to describe a poor foolish lad is "lark." This term was often employed in a light-hearted or playful manner.
I am new here. My great grandmother is Myrtle Mae Pettit, daughter of Benjamin Riley Pettit.
Thank you for all of this wonderful research .
Hey Deborah. Thanks for the message. I agree this looks a lot like “lark” but had kind of ruled that out because using that word did not make sense to me. What you say makes sense. Do you happen to have any examples from this time period where the word lark was used to refer to a “poor foolish lad?” I would love to update the article and reference whatever info you can provide. Thanks!