Pacific-Kitsap County WA Archives Biographies.....Petit, Jack H. May 26, 1892 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wa/wafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com February 13, 2011, 3:23 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 888 - 889 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company JACK H. PETIT. One of the oldest pioneer families of the Columbia River valley is that of which Jack H. Petit, of Ilwaco, is a representative. From the time his great-grandfather settled here, nearly one hundred years ago, to the present the family has been prominently identified with the development of this section of the Pacific northwest and its members have always stood high in public regard, Jack H. Petit being today recognized as one of the leading business men and most influential citizens of his community. He was born at Old Chinook, Washington, on the 26th of May, 1892, and is a son of Herbert and Mary (Greenleaf) Petit,, both of whom were born in Marion county, Oregon. Mr. Petit's great-grandfather, Alex Obishau, who was of French descent, was born in Quebec, Canada, and came to Oregon territory about 1830 with the Hudson's Bay Company. Soon after his arrival here he took a donation land claim of six hundred and forty acres at Butteville, Marion county, which at that time was one of the leading trading points in the territory. He was one of the first French settlers in Oregon and proceeded to develop the land which he had acquired. He made his first plow, fashioning tin over the mouldboard and share, and also made his own harness. He prospered and acquired more land, so that at one time he owned four square miles of the finest land in the Willamette valley. Having decided to erect a new residence, he gave six hundred and forty acres of land in payment for the building of his house, which was at that time considered the finest home in Oregon territory. The district became known as "French Prairie," in honor of the first settlers here, and today comprises some of the most fertile and productive land in the valley. Mr. Petit's grandfather, Amable Petit, who also was born in Quebec, Canada, crossed the plains with ox teams and covered wagons in 1839 and located at St. Paul, Marion county, Oregon. He was a millwright by trade and was employed in the grist-mill at St. Paul which had been built by the missionaries, and which was the first grist-mill in Oregon. After working there a few years, he bought the mill, and later also bought a sawmill, both of which he operated. He also bought a farm near by. In about 1844 he sold the mills to a Mr. McKay and went to California, where he took a contract to build the first grist-mill in that state for Captain Sutter, at Sutter's Fort, the mill being operated by horse power. On the completion of that contract he returned to Oregon and lived on his farm until 1847, when he again went to California and contracted with Captain Sutter for the erection of another grist-mill, in payment for which service he was to receive fifteen thousand acres of land in Green valley and one hundred head of cattle. Before the completion of the mill gold was discovered, followed by a general stampede to the gold fields, and work was suspended on the mill, which was never completed. Mr. Petit engaged in gold mining, but malaria and other diseases broke out in camp, many miners dying, and he went back to Oregon, where for about ten years he devoted his attention to his ranch. He then sold out and went to Walla Walla, Washington, where he ran a pack train, transporting supplies to the mines in Idaho. After following that business for two years, he went to Portland, Oregon, which was then growing rapidly, and buying a barge, engaged in contract work, transporting sand, gravel and wood to Portland for about two years. About 1866 he moved to Old Chinook, Washington, at the mouth of the Columbia river, and engaged in salmon fishing, salting the fish, which he shipped by boat to Portland. In this enterprise he was successful and in 1881 he retired from active business pursuits and resided at Ilwaco until his death, which occurred in 1889. To him and his wife were born eleven children, of whom six are living, namely: Herbert, father of Jack H. Petit; Mrs. Catherine Colbert, of Ilwaco; Mrs. Esther Brumser, of Portland, Oregon; J. A., of Seattle; Joseph, of Chinook, Washington; and Henry, of Raymond, Washington. Herbert Petit was born near St. Paul, Marion county, Oregon, on the 26th of December, 1849, and was educated in the district school at Butteville, Oregon. He worked on his father's farm for several years, and then learned the machinist trade which he followed for several years. He was also for a number of years associated with his father in salmon fishing and packing, and for the past twenty years has been employed as head machinist at the McGowan Brothers' salmon cannery at Ilwaco. He is one of the most active men of his age in the state, being as keen and alert as most men twenty years his junior. Mr. Petit has been married three times, first, in 1879, to Miss Annie Sweeny, who was born in Pacific county, Washington, and they became the parents of three children, Georgie, who lives in Portland, Oregon, and Frankie and Hattie, both deceased. The mother died about 1885, and in 1887 Mr. Petit was married to Miss Frances Sweeny, a sister of his first wife. She died in 1889, and in 1890 he married Miss Mary Greenleaf. To them have been born five children, namely: Jack H., of this review; Mrs. Frances Wikel, who lives in San Francisco, California, and is the mother of two children, Bert and Marian; Mrs. Evelyn Lynehan, who also lives in San Francisco and has two children, Byron and Mary Adele; Thomas, who is married and has a son, Thomas, Jr.; and Ernest, who remains at home and is employed at the plumbing business with his brother. Jack H. Petit received his educational training in the public schools of Ilwaco, and also took a correspondence business course. He learned the plumbing trade at Fort Canby, where he was employed by the United States government for three years after which he went to Bremerton, Washington, where he did clerical work in the navy yard for four and a half years. He then joined the C. C. Moore Company, of San Francisco, for which concern he erected machinery all over the northwest, and in 1921 he returned to Ilwaco and established a plumbing shop. He has been successful in this venture, building up an extensive and prosperous business, and now owns two business houses in this place, occupying one of them himself and leasing the other, and also owns an attractive home. He is painstaking and thorough in the execution of every contract into which he enters and has earned an enviable reputation for reliability in every regard. In 1914 Mr. Petit was united in marriage to Miss Pauline Harris, who was born and reared in Ilwaco and is a daughter of Captain Alfred and Clara (Gaither) Harris, both of whom are deceased. Captain Harris was the first chief of the first life saving station at Cape Disappointment, at the mouth of the Columbia river. Mr. and Mrs. Petit have a son, Jack A., Jr., who was born December 10, 1915, at Ilwaco. Mr. Petit is a member of Ilwaco Lodge, No. 118, I. O. O. F.; the Odd Fellows Encampment at South Bend, Washington; Port Angeles (Wash.) Lodge, No. 353, B. P. O. E.; the Woodmen of the World and the Daughters of Rebekah, and also belongs to the Kiwanis Club and the Chamber of Commerce. A man of candid and straightforward manner, honorable in all of his affairs, maintaining a good citizen's interest in everything pertaining to the welfare and progress of his community, and cordial and friendly in his social relations, he has shown himself well worthy of the respect and confidence which are accorded him throughout the locality where he lives. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/pacific/bios/petit221gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wafiles/ File size: 8.3 Kb