| We return to the court case. After Margaret Bancroft had managed to hide herself away from the court proceedings, the main action in the story was centred around the estate at Santon: who would benefit from it and would it be taken over by the Committee of Sequestrations? Jeremy Aylett argued that he had the rights to the estate because Margaret had leased it to him. Katherine Pettus argued that the transaction was just a device to deprive her of her rightful dues. Houses of Lords and Commons, petitioned by Katherine, tended to side with her claims to the Santon estate while Aylett's argument to the Committee of Sequestrations left him in charge of the estate without sequestration. The two sides fought over the fruit of those Santon lands - literally. Katherine's tenant tried to harvest his crops - Ayletts men threw him out and both sides argued the case in court. And all that while Margaret was in hiding. This was the time that Jeremy Aylett began to feel the pressure because he was arraigned for contempt after a rather vigorous session to remove Katherine's tenant. Perhaps he was then hoping to get some agreement with Margaret that would resolve his situation. Hence the letter and visit from Shadwell. |
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The blow by blow sequence of events; sequestration, court orders, Chancery decrees and visits to jail are all to be found in the documents that focus on this extraordinary battle. Some documents are in the archives in the Norfolk Record Office, others in the Public Record Office and many of the rest in the private collection of Sebright papers. Anyone wanting to read the progress and detail of this story or to know more about the Pettuses involved in it will want to read the forthcoming book on the history of the Pettus family of England and Virginia by William W. Pettus of the U. S. A. Interested parties can contact Mr. Pettus via e-mail at wwpiv@aol.com. All the documents for this part of the Pettus story, the Pettus/Bancroft struggle, are recorded, all the events described and the sequence of this monumental legal battle made plain. For those readers interested in the story or researching the genealogy of the Pettus families, Bill Pettus' book will be a must. |