Biographical Sketch of Alfred Pettit from "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Hancock County [Illinois]", Vol. 2, p. 1320. PETTIT, Alfred, now deceased, was one of the honored pioneers of Hancock County who, coming here at a very early day, developed a fine farming property from wild land in Pilot Grove Township, and became a man of prominence in his community. He was born on Long Island, N.Y., a son of Jesse and Mary Pettit, natives of New York state, and was reared in his native place, and there acquired his educational training. In young manhood he came west to Iowa and there met Mary Hemingway, a daughter of John and Mary Hemingway, all of whom were born in Ontario, Canada, but moved at an early date to Iowa. After Alfred Pettit and Mary Hemingway were married, in 1851, he drove overland on the long and perilous journey to th Pacific coast in search of gold, and returned by way of Cape Horn to New York City, thence to Hancock County. He then bought sixty acres of land on the present site of Burnside in Pilot Grove Township and kept on adding to his farm until he had 200 acres in his home farm and sixty acres one mile west of it. Here he died November 4, 1891 and his wife died November 8, 1893. Their children were as follows: Alice and George, who are deceased; Emma, who is Mrs. R. M. Duffy, of Lynch, Neb.; John H. who lives in Burnside; and Edwin, who is deceased.
The sketch fails to mention that the Pettit family moved from Long Island, New York, to Lee County, Iowa, in 1841-1842 because his parents had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which at the time was establishing its gathering place in the city of Nauvoo in Hancock County, Illinois, which is just a few miles from where Alfred Pettit eventually settled. Both of Alfred's parents and several of his siblings died of disease in the spring of 1842, just a few months after their arrival on the Mississippi River. (Malaria, cholera, pneumonia, and other illnesses were common in the swampy bottomlands of the Mississippi River at this time.) A few of the children of Jesse and Mary Pettit were old enough or persistent enough to remain with the Latter-day Saints when they left the Mississippi River valley and moved west to what became Utah. Most of the children remained in Iowa and Illinois, the younger ones with court appointed guardians. Alfred was old enough that he made his own decision to marry and remain in the Hancock County.
The sketch fails to mention that the Pettit family moved from Long Island, New York, to Lee County, Iowa, in 1841-1842 because his parents had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which at the time was establishing its gathering place in the city of Nauvoo in Hancock County, Illinois, which is just a few miles from where Alfred Pettit eventually settled. Both of Alfred's parents and several of his siblings died of disease in the spring of 1842, just a few months after their arrival on the Mississippi River. (Malaria, cholera, pneumonia, and other illnesses were common in the swampy bottomlands of the Mississippi River at this time.) A few of the children of Jesse and Mary Pettit were old enough or persistent enough to remain with the Latter-day Saints when they left the Mississippi River valley and moved west to what became Utah. Most of the children remained in Iowa and Illinois, the younger ones with court appointed guardians. Alfred was old enough that he made his own decision to marry and remain in the Hancock County.
Biographical Sketch of Alfred Pettit from "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Hancock County [Illinois]", Vol. 2, p. 1320. PETTIT, Alfred, now deceased, was one of the honored pioneers of Hancock County who, coming here at a very early day, developed a fine farming property from wild land in Pilot Grove Township, and became a man of prominence in his community. He was born on Long Island, N.Y., a son of Jesse and Mary Pettit, natives of New York state, and was reared in his native place, and there acquired his educational training. In young manhood he came west to Iowa and there met Mary Hemingway, a daughter of John and Mary Hemingway, all of whom were born in Ontario, Canada, but moved at an early date to Iowa. After Alfred Pettit and Mary Hemingway were married, in 1851, he drove overland on the long and perilous journey to th Pacific coast in search of gold, and returned by way of Cape Horn to New York City, thence to Hancock County. He then bought sixty acres of land on the present site of Burnside in Pilot Grove Township and kept on adding to his farm until he had 200 acres in his home farm and sixty acres one mile west of it. Here he died November 4, 1891 and his wife died November 8, 1893. Their children were as follows: Alice and George, who are deceased; Emma, who is Mrs. R. M. Duffy, of Lynch, Neb.; John H. who lives in Burnside; and Edwin, who is deceased.
The sketch fails to mention that the Pettit family moved from Long Island, New York, to Lee County, Iowa, in 1841-1842 because his parents had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which at the time was establishing its gathering place in the city of Nauvoo in Hancock County, Illinois, which is just a few miles from where Alfred Pettit eventually settled. Both of Alfred's parents and several of his siblings died of disease in the spring of 1842, just a few months after their arrival on the Mississippi River. (Malaria, cholera, pneumonia, and other illnesses were common in the swampy bottomlands of the Mississippi River at this time.) A few of the children of Jesse and Mary Pettit were old enough or persistent enough to remain with the Latter-day Saints when they left the Mississippi River valley and moved west to what became Utah. Most of the children remained in Iowa and Illinois, the younger ones with court appointed guardians. Alfred was old enough that he made his own decision to marry and remain in the Hancock County.
The sketch fails to mention that the Pettit family moved from Long Island, New York, to Lee County, Iowa, in 1841-1842 because his parents had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which at the time was establishing its gathering place in the city of Nauvoo in Hancock County, Illinois, which is just a few miles from where Alfred Pettit eventually settled. Both of Alfred's parents and several of his siblings died of disease in the spring of 1842, just a few months after their arrival on the Mississippi River. (Malaria, cholera, pneumonia, and other illnesses were common in the swampy bottomlands of the Mississippi River at this time.) A few of the children of Jesse and Mary Pettit were old enough or persistent enough to remain with the Latter-day Saints when they left the Mississippi River valley and moved west to what became Utah. Most of the children remained in Iowa and Illinois, the younger ones with court appointed guardians. Alfred was old enough that he made his own decision to marry and remain in the Hancock County.
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