DyanaG, Thanks for the comments. I agree with you completely. These sites encourage replication and propagation of proven errors due the nature of how they are organized. They are basically the modern equivalent of the old family group sheets... anyone can say anything and get it replicated like a computer virus.
Regarding Nathaniel H. Pettit being the son of Joshua Pettit and Judith Poole, I believe this is "Nathan" and not "Nathaniel H." The confusion on this is quite common, especially since some researchers refuse to accept the fact that these were two different men. You may want to check out a couple of articles on this issue: 1) Nathaniel H Pettit b. 1813 and Nathan Pettit b. 1792. Which one is the son of Joshua Pettit Jr. and Judith Pettit? and 2): John Pettit (b. 1771) Forgotten Son of Joshua and Rachel Pettit of Spartanburg Co., SC
To be clear, I have no doubt that the Pettit clan in AL with which Ashford is found are the descendants of Joshua Pettit and Judith Poole. There has been a lot of discussion about Ashford Pettit for many years and as far as I know his parent's names remain a mystery. However, I believe there has been a recent YDNA test done to compare him with other Spartanburg Pettits. Not sure those results have been posted yet.
I haven't researched him very much, but I suspect a clue to finding his parents may lie in his unusual name. At the time, the given name Ashford was a one-off for the Pettit family. As you mentioned, they liked to reuse a common set of names; Henry, Joshua, Nathan, Benjamin etc.... Ashford could be his mother's maiden name. Just a thought.
