David Pettigrew (Pettegrew) was born in Weatherfield, Vermont, on July 29, 1791, the son of a travelling Methodist preacher. In 1832 Pettigrew married Elizabeth Alden and the couple moved first to Ohio and then Indiana. While living in Indiana, Pettigrew heard a Mormon sermon and was introduced to the Book of Mormon, of which he bought a copy for study. He decided to give up his Methodist faith and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1832 the family moved to Jackson County, Missouri, where they suffered from mob attacks on Mormons. Pettigrew joined the Mormon militia and fought in the Missouri Mormon War of 1838. Following the Mormons' defeat, he was tried alongside Joseph Smith and sent to Richmond Jail, from which he was released in December 1838. The Pettigrews eventually settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. Pettigrew served with several Mormon missions in the United States, including those to Indiana and Ohio in 1842-1843 and 1845, and New York in 1844. The family travelled with the Captain Morley Company to Utah, where Pettigrew joined the Mormon Battalion in 1846 and served in California. He died in Salt Lake City on December 28, 1863.
From the description of Autobiography of David Pettigrew, 1840. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 557550891
