See also
| Name: | Thomas PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | John PETTIT ( - ) | |
| Mother: | Sarah SMITH ( - ) | |
| Death | 1699 | |
| Name: | Susanna (?) | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | - | |
| Mother: | - | |
| Name: | Anne PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 22 Jun 1652 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Mary PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 15 Jul 1653 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Cicalya PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 19 Mar 1655/56 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Elizabeth PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 16 Oct 1657 | Knowlton |
| Death | 24 Feb 1657/58 (age 0) | Knowlton |
| Name: | Sarah PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse: | John BAKER ( - ) | |
| Birth | 16 Oct 1657 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Robert PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 18 Jan 1658/59 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Thomas PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 28 Sep 1660 | Knowlton |
| Death | 8 Aug 1666 (age 5) | Knowlton |
| Name: | Susanna PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 11 Feb 1660/61 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Elizabeth PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | Aug 1665 | Knowlton |
| Death | 2 Apr 1666 (age 0) | Knowlton |
| Name: | John PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 2 May 1667 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Thomas PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Birth | 2 May 1667 | Knowlton |
| Name: | Gabriel PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Spouse: | Margaret MAY ( -1702) | |
| Birth | 4 Jun 1668 | Knowlton |
| Death | 1702 (age 33-34) | Deal |
| Name: | William PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Spouse: | Mary NEAME ( - ) | |
| Birth | 6 Mar 1672/73 | Northbourne |
| Burial | Mar 1742/43 | Nonnington |
| Name: | Catherine PETTIT | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Death | 17 Sep 1682 | Knowlton |
1. Everything which is known about Thomas Pettit comes from his will, of which the transcription below was sent me by Rita Pettit. The assumption here is that his son William Pettit, who is an executor, is the William who married Mary Neame. The reasons for making the connection are
a) that he has property in Nonington (and William moved here later in life)
b) one of the witnesses is a Thomas Neame
c) his daughter Sarah married John Baker by licence which referred to Mary Neame of Northbourne.
The transcription of the will is as follows :
In the name of God Amen
I Thomas Pettit of the parish of Knowlton
in the County of Kent yeoman Altho sick in body yet
of good perfect and sound memory praised be God for
the same but considering the uncertainty of this life
for the disposing of my Estate both Real and personall
with which the Lord hath blessed me do make and
declare this my last will and Testament in writeing
this tenth day of May in the Eleventh year of the
Reign of our Sovereign Lord King William
the Third over England A D 1699 in
manner following That is to say First I commend
my Soule to God my creator trusting by the alone
meritts of Christ my Redeemer to be made partakes
of a better life after this mortal I life shall be ended
And my body I comitt to the Earth whereof it was
first framed to be decently buried at the discretion
of my Executors hereafter named Also my will desire
and meaning is that all my Messuages and Lands and
Tenements be first sold for the payment of my
debts and Legacies hereinafter mentioned which
(2nd page)
said debts and legacies I will that my Executors
shall pay them Also I do give and bequeath unto
my son Gabriel Pettit the summe of fifty pounds of
lawfull money of England to be paid by my Executors
within twelve months next after my decease and sale
of my said Lands and Tenements Also I do give
and bequeath unto my daughter Sarah the wife of
John Baker the summe of fifty pounds of lawfull
money of England to be paid by my Executors within
twelve months next after my decease and sale of my
said Lands and Tenements After I do give and bequeath
unto my son John Pettit the summe of one hundred pounds
of lawfull money of England for my Executors to put
out to Interest within twelve months after my Decease
and sale of my said Lands and Tenements and for the
only use of my said son John Pettit to receive the
Interest thereof during his natural I life and after
the decease of my said son John Pettit I give and
bequeath the said hundred pounds to my Executors and
their heirs equally to be divided between them After
all that my Messuages or Tenement with the stable
garden back side and appurtenance to the same belonging
situate and being in the parish of Holv Cross in Westgate,
near or without the walls of the City of Canterbury
in the County of Kent and now or late in the tenure or
occupation of John Streafe or his assigns And of all
that building now used for a stable and slaughter house
with the yards to the same adjoining situate lying and
being in the parish of Holy Cross Westgate aforesaid and
St Dunstan in the said County of Kent or one of them
and now in the Tenure or occupation of William
Shoesmith his lessess or under Tenants And after
all those four peeces or parcels of arable land and
pastures Land containing in the whole by estimation
sixteen acre more or less with the appurtenance lying
and being in the parish of Woodnesborough in the said
County of Kent and now or late in the tenure or
occupation of John Read or his assigns and after all
those five acres of pasture land lying and being in the
parish of Word ats Worth in the said County of Kent
and now or late in the tenure or occupation of Taylor
or his assigns And after all that Messuage or
Tenement Edifice buildings land and premises with
(3rd Page)
the appurtenants there to belonging situate lying and
being in the parish of Nonnington in the said County of
Kent all which aforementioned Messuages Lands and
Tenements edifices and buildings with all and singuler
other the appurtenances thereunto belonging or many wayes
appertaining My will and meaning is that they be all
sold for the payment of my debts and legacyes
aforementioned and the remainder thereof after my
debts and legacies paid I give and bequeath unto my
Executors And as for all other my personall Estate
whatsoever and wheresoever and of what nature kind or
quallity soever I give and bequeath the same unto my sons
Thomas Pet it and William Pettit equally to be divided
between them and do hereby make and ordaine them
the said Thomas Pet it and William Pettit sole
Executors of this my last Will and Testament This
is the last will and testament of me the said Thomas
Pettit made and declared the day and yeare aforesaid
touching the disposing of all my Messuages Lands
Tenements hereditaments and personall Estate
Whatsoever In witness whereof I the said Thomas
Pettit to this my last Will and Testament my hand
and seale have hereunto sett and putt dates the day
and yeare first above written Thomas Pettit Sealed
and published and declared to be the last will and
Testament of the said Thomas Pettit the tenth
day of May in the said yeare of our Lord one
Thousand six hundred ninety and nine in the presence
of Peter Pury Thomas Neame Nick. Wells
Latin Probate dated 29th June 1699
2. The PRC collection has an inventory dated 1699 for a Thomas Pettit of Knowlton. My best effort at transcribing it, with assistance from Rita Pettit, is as follows :
" An inventory of all and singular the goods chattels and credits of Thomas Pettit late of the parish of Knowlton in the County of Kent yeoman deceased taken the tenth day of July 1699.
Inprimis ready money £ 2 : 16 : 0
Item 4 tubbs(?) a copper a small table 11 small printed pictures £ 9 : 10 : 0
a small Jack(?) ____ rope and bucket
Item a case of Drawers £ 0 : 12 : 0
Item a mare £ 2 : 10 : 0
Item his wearing cloathes linen and woollen £ 3 : 15 : 0
Sum Total £ 19 : 3 : 0
Apprised by Peter Pury
John Sanns(?)
Thomas Pettit
Will Pettitt
18 day July 1699
Probate written in Latin which appears to be granted to his sons Thomas and William Pettit.
Item a debt due to the said deceased(?) at his death in bond from Mr Balderstone
for principall & interest rent(?) from this July ____ to witt - 24th July 1699 £ 21 : 3 : 6 "
3. The following is an excerpt from a local history of Nonnington :
"The Church Street, (now Pinners Lane) Forge once stood against the Church wall, the site is now occupied by a post box and car park. When the White Horse alehouse was sold by the heirs of Thomas Pettit to William Hammond in 1700, the property consisted of "all that messuage or tenement with the barns stables smiths forge buildings courtyards gardens and all that part or parcell of arable land enjoining by estimation two acres more or less". A smithy probably occupied part of the premises well before this, the White Horse occupied a central position in the parish next to the Church on a cross-roads and stable buildings are mentioned in a 1659 sale document."
This is slightly noteworthy for telling us that Thomas Pettit owned an alehouse. The whole object of the exercise at present is to prove that Thomas is the grandfather of William Pettit, innkeeper, of Folkestone. At least we now have the possibility that the business of innkeeping ran in the family (unfortunately Thomas Pettit's inventory gives no evidence of it). See also the note on Thomas's son Gabriel who appears to have been a maltster.
4. Thomas was certainly living in Knowlton from 1652 - 1668, during which time a total of 12 children were born. By 1672/3 he had moved to Northbourne where William was born. At that time Thomas is described as a Churchwarden. In 1682 he still appears to be in Northbourne:- see the death of his daughter Catherine who is described as the daughter of Thomas Pettit of Norbourne. In his will of 1699 he describes himself as 'of Knowlton'.
5. Rita Pettit makes the guess that Thomas may have been baptised in 1626 as the daughter of John and Sarah nee Smith; this couple lived at Shoulden before later moving to Northbourne. The evidence for the Shoulden connections is there is a will of a Richard Pettit of Shoulden in 1693 who names all his brothers and sisters, includeding a "Thomas, yeoman of Northbourne". [Note that this Richard is mentioned in the 1684 will of a Thomas Fasham, brewer. This extends the supposed family connection with brewing.]
6. There is an interesting bit about the will of his brother Richard Pettit, of which he was an executor together with his brother James. See the notes on Richard Pettit (d.1693) for details.
In the will of Richard Pettit he is described as living in Northbourne.