Family Group Sheet
NameBenjamin Franklin Petitt, 2C3R
Birth15 Sep 1876, Bath Co., Kentucky
Birth MemoAs recorded in the annual birth report
Birth20 Sep 1875, Bath Co., Kentucky
Birth MemoAs recorded on his draft registration.
Death13 Aug 1933, Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana
FatherBenjamin Franklin Pettit (~1848-1876)
MotherMartha E. Hunt (1855-1916)
Marriageabt 1899, Bath Co., Kentucky
SpouseCordelia “Corda” Updike
Birthabt 1883, Kentucky
Death1971, Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana
Notes for Benjamin Franklin Petitt
Bath Co. Ky birth register for 1876 lists Benj Pettit, born 15 Sep 1876, father Frank Pettit, maiden name of mother Martha Hunt, both born in Bath Co.
His WW I draft registration card, filed 12 Sep 1918 in Owingsville, Bath Co., Ky, says Ben Franklin Petitt, age 42, residence Sharpsburg, Ky, born 20 Sep 1875, occupation farmer, employed by James Toy, nearest relative Cordia Petitt, physical description medium height and build, blue eyes, brown hair.
(It is possible these records are for two different people, but I think it is more likely that the age is off by one year in the draft registration, and by a few days in one or the other of them. The birth reports were compiled at the end of the year from reports submitted by doctors and midwives of all the births they attended, and they include a pretty lot of errors.)
His obituary in the Richmond [Indiana] Palladia-Item reported “Benjamin F. Petitt, residing at 213 North Fifth Street, died early Sunday at his home. Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock in the Nazarene church with Rev. I.E. Rodiffer to officiate. Burial will be made in Earlham cemetery. Friends may call at the home anytime. Survivors are the widow, Mrs. Cornelia (sic) Petitt; a daughter, Mrs. B.T. Royburn (sic); three sisters, Mrs. Snediker, Mrs. Ada Goldey, Mrs. Maud Jones; one half-brother, James Collins, and two grandchildren.”
His WW I draft registration card, filed 12 Sep 1918 in Owingsville, Bath Co., Ky, says Ben Franklin Petitt, age 42, residence Sharpsburg, Ky, born 20 Sep 1875, occupation farmer, employed by James Toy, nearest relative Cordia Petitt, physical description medium height and build, blue eyes, brown hair.
(It is possible these records are for two different people, but I think it is more likely that the age is off by one year in the draft registration, and by a few days in one or the other of them. The birth reports were compiled at the end of the year from reports submitted by doctors and midwives of all the births they attended, and they include a pretty lot of errors.)
His obituary in the Richmond [Indiana] Palladia-Item reported “Benjamin F. Petitt, residing at 213 North Fifth Street, died early Sunday at his home. Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock in the Nazarene church with Rev. I.E. Rodiffer to officiate. Burial will be made in Earlham cemetery. Friends may call at the home anytime. Survivors are the widow, Mrs. Cornelia (sic) Petitt; a daughter, Mrs. B.T. Royburn (sic); three sisters, Mrs. Snediker, Mrs. Ada Goldey, Mrs. Maud Jones; one half-brother, James Collins, and two grandchildren.”
Census Notes for Benjamin Franklin & Cordelia “Corda” (Family)
1910 census of Bath Co., Ky, Sharpsburg precinct, enumerated 19 April, lists on p. 4A as family #8:
Ben Petitt, 34; Corda, wife, 27, married 11 years, no children; Craycraft, William W., 53, divorced, boarder. All born Ky Ky Ky.
I cannot find this family in the 1920 or 1930 censuses, nor in the Kentucky death records.
The U.S. City Directories index lists Benj and Corda Petitt living at 213 N. 5th St., Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana in 1933. They do not appear there in the 1930 census, though.
Ben Petitt, 34; Corda, wife, 27, married 11 years, no children; Craycraft, William W., 53, divorced, boarder. All born Ky Ky Ky.
I cannot find this family in the 1920 or 1930 censuses, nor in the Kentucky death records.
The U.S. City Directories index lists Benj and Corda Petitt living at 213 N. 5th St., Richmond, Wayne Co., Indiana in 1933. They do not appear there in the 1930 census, though.
