Dabney-Pettuses and Overton-Pettuses DNA Investigation
As many readers may already know, genealogist P. H. Stacy wrote of two distinct lines of descent from the immigrant Thomas Pettus to Virginia. She designated one line the Dabney-Pettus line and the other the Overton-Pettus line. Although I have solid evidence that some of Stacy's claims about the early generations in the two lines are incorrect, I will use her nomenclature for convenience in what follows. Many Overton-Pettus descendants claim Thomas Pettus, burgess of Lunenburg Co. (1712-1780) who married Amey Walker as their ancestor. Thomas and Amey were my fifth great-grandparents. The genealogical problems lie with the previous generations. In the case of the Dabney-Pettuses, volume II of my book on the Pettus family (see my previous postings) shows that Stephen Pettus who married Mary Dabney was the son of Thomas Pettus II, son of the immigrant. Although most of the descendants of Stephen and Mary settled in southern colonies or states, I have not yet found one who is presently living. My goal is to find some one in the male line of descent from Stephen who might be willing to compare his Y-DNA with my own. A positive result would help unify the family history and resolve some outstanding problems with Pettus genealogy. If you know any such person, please contact me at [email protected].