Pettus family

Born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, William Albert Pettus (1787-1844) settled near Huntsville, Alabama, in 1815 and married Elizabeth Patrick, with whom he had at least two sons. In 1822, he sailed to Texas with his wife and brother Freeman (b. 1781) on the Revenge. As members of Stephen F. Austin’s colony, each brother received two leagues and a labor of land. William settled in present-day Wharton, Fort Bend, and Waller Counties as a farmer and stock raiser. Freeman’s land was in Colorado, Fayette, Matagorda, and Brazoria counties. Before coming to Texas, he married Elizabeth Craddock, with whom he had sons Samuel and Edward.

From 1824 to 1832, William Albert Pettus served as sindico procurador in San Felipe, before moving to present-day Austin County, where he opened a house of entertainment in 1836. He was a member of the central standing committee established by the Convention of 1832 and was appointed to the San Felipe committee of vigilance and safety in 1835. In 1840, Pettus became director of the Houston and Brazos Railroad Company. Two years later, Sam Houston sent Pettus to Austin in an unsuccessful attempt to move the republic’s archives from Austin to Washington-on-the-Brazos, an act known as the Archive War. His son William Albert Pettus (b. 1838) became a farmer and stockraiser in Goliad.

Source:

“ Pettus, Freeman .” Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed February 18, 2011.

“ Pettus, William Albert .” Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed February 18, 2011.

From the guide to the Pettus Family Papers 1987., 1822-1972, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)