Pett Dynasty - Joseph Pett of Limehouse, Master Shipwright

Joseph Pett of Limehouse, Master Shipwright

As noted above, Joseph Pett of Limehouse became Master Shipwright in 1589, before his father Peter's death. He was the father of Joseph Pett of Chatham and had another son, William, and a daughter, Lydia, who took up the trade of her father and is a rare example of a female master tradesman of the era. He was married twice, first to Margaret Curtis (who died in 1594), and later to Margaret Humphrey (who died in 1612). Joseph died in 1605.

Petts were represented as Pates in America, where they were found in New Kent County and Isle Of Wight County, Virginia. The estuarian ferry at Yorktown was run by a Thomas Pate, who continued the Pett shipbuilding tradition in America. There are many Pett tracks in Isle Of Wight County, Virginia. The Virginia General Assembly in 1663 rewarded "John Pitt", of Isle Of Wight County, for building a vessel of twenty-three tons.

Pates built wooden ships in Old Bertie County in colonial North Carolina. Their shipyard was on Cashie river, near the present town of Hertford, North Carolina. Later Throughgood Pate descendants were boat builders at Hobucken, North Carolina. Samuel Pate was the name of the founder of the Hobucken Pate boatyard. Samuel Pett was the name of a famous Pett shipbuilder of Deptford.

Political, religious and professional conflicts made America a better place for Pates than was England under Cromwell. Thoroughgood Pate was a casualty of Queen Anne’s War, which was fought to preserve the English slave trade. Descendants of Thoroughgood Pate related to family historian Julia Claire Pate claim the coat of arms of Peter and Phineas Pett their own.

The influence of the Pett family in integrating the peoples of the world is apparent. Joseph was a given name of the Pates of Patetown, in North Carolina, through which flows Stoney Creek, the original of which runs through New Kent County, in Virginia.