John Pettes was born in Amherst, Massachusetts[1] on March 17, 1793,[2] a son of Joseph Pettes (1757-1811) and Charlotte (Wales) Pettes (1761-1849).[3] Joseph Pettes moved his family to Windsor, Vermont in 1800,[1] where he operated a coffee house and hotel.[4] After his death, Charlotte Pettes took over management of the business, which she operated until the early 1840s.[3]
Business career
After the Pettes family's move to Vermont, John Pettes was educated in the schools of Windsor, then became the operator of a general store in Windsor, which he owned in partnership with his brother Frederick.[4] Pettes also became active in the Vermont Militia; in 1820, he was first lieutenant of the Jefferson Artillery, a Windsor battery commanded by Allen Wardner with the rank of captain.[5] Pettes advanced through the militia's officer grades to become a major in a Windsor-area unit, and afterwards was frequently addressed by his rank.[1]
Among the other ventures Pettes pursued in addition to the store were an ownership stake in the Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge,[6] a wool brokerage partnership,[7] real estate sales,[8] serving on the board of directors of the Bank of Woodstock,[9] importing and reselling foreign goods transported to Vermont via steamboat on the Connecticut River,[10] an interest in a fire insurance company,[11] and owning and managing a family farm.[12] In 1833, he was one of the incorporators of the Ascutney Mill Dam Company.[13] In 1845, he was an original incorporator of the Vermont Railroad Iron Company, which manufactured rails and other railroad train and track components.[14]
Murder of Homer Cooper
In June 1842, the family of John Pettes was reported on in newspapers throughout the United States in connection with a murder that took place on the Pettes farm.[15][16][17][18] According to contemporary newspaper accounts, a crew of laborers including several of Pettes's sons and a man named Peter McCue were working on the farm.[15] The group included Pettes's son Frederick Dudley Pettes, who was about 11 years old, and a local African American boy, Homer Cooper, who was four.[15] As the adults left the field where they had been working, McCue told the group he was going to return and provide additional assistance to the boys.[15] Instead, he attacked them with two hoes.[15] Both boys were severely injured, but Frederick Pettes was able to run for help.[15] McCue fled by attempting to swim to the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River,[15] but drowned before he reached the shore.[19] Cooper later died as the result of his injuries.[15] Frederick Pettes recovered, served as Deputy U.S. Marshal for Vermont during his father's term as Marshal, and later owned and operated the family farm.[20]
For many years, Pettes suffered from a tumor which started near a place on his neck where he had been injured after he was thrown from a horse and impaled on a fence.[1] The tumor negatively affected his breathing and disfigured his face, and in his later life Pettes became a near-recluse as a result.[1] In 1867, his hip and leg were broken when the horse he was attempting to bridle knocked him down, after which he was confined to his bedroom.[1][26]
Death and burial
Pettes died in Windsor on March 24, 1868.[1] He was buried at Old South Cemetery in Windsor.[2]
Family
In 1820, Pettes married Lucy Richards (1799-1849) of Dorchester, Massachusetts.[2][27][28] They were the parents of seven children who lived to adulthood:[1]
