Petley-Hamilton Family Reunion, 1941

50 Attend Annual Reunion at Lake

Descendants of Petley-Hamilton Families Convene

Bainbridge News & Republican, July 31, 1941

 

About 50 descendants of the Petley-Hamilton families met on July 27 at Brackett Lake for their annual reunion as the guests of Mr. and Mrs. T. Henry Petley.  Out of town guests came from Greene, Oxford, Smithville Flats, Guilford, Rockdale, Sidney and Afton.  Several members of the family who usually attend were unable to be present as they were in other states.  Among them were Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Petley and family, formerly of Oneonta, who are now residing at Nawasee, Ind., where Mr. Petley has employment; Doris and Donald Stead, who are visiting in California; and George James, who enlisted in the United States Army and is now with his company at Fredericksburg, Va. 

 

As this was the 40th anniversary of this reunion it was made a special occasion and  a large, beautifully decorated cake, bearing the inscription "Petley-Hamilton, 1901-1941" graced the long dinner table. 

 

At the business meeting, T.H. Petley spoke of the many changes in our family history during the past four decades.  Mrs. Newton Hovey, who has spent considerable time looking up the family ancestors, spoke of some interesting things she had discovered.  She said that the history of the Petley family in England is recorded in "Visitation of Kent, England" a book in the New York City Public Library.  The earliest name is Richard Petley who lived during the reign of Henry III and died before 1394.  At the present time the youngest member of the Petley family is also named Richard, baby son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Petley, of Rockdale.  In nearly every generation since 1394 occur the familiar names of Thomas, John, Henry and Ralph. 

 

The first members of the family who came to America were Thomas and Charles Petley who came here as young men in 1866.  They made their homes on farms near Bainbridge [Chenango Co., NY].  Thomas married Betsey Ann Hamilton, thus linking the two families.

 

The Hamiltons were descendants of Jesse Hamitlon, a Revolutionary soldier who enlisted from Brookfield, Mass., and fought in the Battle of Saratoga.  In 1794 he brought his family to New York State and settled in Oxford [Chenango Co., NY].