Wesley Petty

• General Notes
  • @NI870@
    In honour of the golden wedding of Mr and Mrs Wesley Petty, who have be great supporters of the temperance cause in Leeds, a dinner was given on Friday night in the County Liberal Club by the Leeds branch of the Nation al Commercial Temperance League. Mr Frederick Holiday, the president of the branch, occupied the chair, and the guests numbered about 150, among th were Mr and Mrs Petty, Sir William Middlebrook, MP, and Alderman E Woodhe ad (Huddersfield). The Chairman, in giving the toast of "Our Guests", dwelt on Mr Petty's industry in business, the work he had done for the temperance cause, and t he great width of his sympathies. It was often said, Mr Halliday observed, th at teetotallers were cranks - that they were men of one idea. That could nev er be said of Mr Petty, as his association with the Leeds Chamber of Commerc e, the Printers' Association, Freemasonry, Church work, and music showed. (Applause) Mr Petty, in response, said his married life had been fifty years of continuous pleasure. Although he was secretary of the Leeds Temperance Society at the early age of 23, he had devoted the latter part of his li fe to the work of the National Commercial Temperance League, and one of the greatest exhilarations of the past half a century had been the wonderful comradeship of Mr Thomas Gordon. (Applause) [Item continues about Sir William Middlebrook's toast to "The League"] During the evening musical items were given by Madame Marion Walker a nd Mr Wilfred Hudson. Miss E Naylor was at the piano. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    HH - 25th April 1928
    
    Mr Wesley Petty, one of the best-known figures in the printing trade, a nd who lived at Harrogate for 30 years, died at his house, 2 Hollins Lane, Headingley, Leeds, on Sunday night. He was in his 82nd year. Mr Petty was well-known in Leeds and Harrogate. For some years he was chairman and joint managing director of Messrs Petty and Sons, of the Whitehall Printeries, which was established in 1865 by his father, the la te Mr J W Petty. At one time he was president of the Leeds and Yorkshire Mast er Printers' Association, and in later years a member of the Council of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce. Though he was an active businessman Mr Petty found time to devout himse lf to various public movements. An earnest advocate of temperance, he was hon. Secretary of the Leeds Tempera nce Society in 1869, and afterwards its president, and he founded the Leeds and other branches of t he National Temperance Council, of which at the time of his death he was senior vice-president. His concern f or the welfare of the working classes was shown in various ways, notably as organising secretary of the St James 's Hall Workingmen's Institute, (built by the late Mr W J Armitage), and he w as one of the late Canon Jackson's helpers among the poor of St James's paris h. Mr Petty was on the Boards or Committees of the Leeds Extension Society, t he Cookridge Convalescent Hospital, and the Thoresby Society; he was vice-president of the Leeds YMCA; as a junior in the West Riding Choir, fi rst prize winners, he sang in the first national competition of tonic sol-fa choirs at the Crystal Palace, 1857-8; in his early days he helped to fou nd the Leeds Amateur Vocal Association, and was in the first committee of t he Leeds Philharmonic Society; and was in recent years a member of the nation al Health Insurance Committee of the Leeds Corporation. While he was living in Harrogate he was interested in its local affairs, a nd for three years represented the Central Ward on the Town Council. He al took great interest in Bilton Church, occupying the position of Warden, a nd frequently read the lessons at the request of the Vicar. He organised t Choir Committee and assisted in building a new organ chapel and the enlargement of the fine organ by Lewis. He also founded the winter concer ts and the Mutual Improvement Society, which were popular features. An old Freemason, he was one of the founders of the Doric Lodge, Harrogate, a nd a Past-Provincial Grand Deacon. In 1916 he was made Freeman of the City of London, through the Guild of Feltmakers, and admitted to the Honourable Co urt of Assistants two years later, and he helped in the formation of a Mason ic Lodge with the title of "The Feltmakers". As recently as last Friday he w as made the first Honorary Member of the Doric Lodge. When the late Mr Buckingham, many years schoolmaster at Christ Church Schools, lost that position he had filled with great ability, Mr Petty organised a Board under which Mr Buckingham established the Harrogate Middle-Class Schools, using the United Methodist Schoolroom for that purpo se. They were the forerunner of the Harrogate Secondary Schools, now for ma years one of the best educational assets of the borough. Mr and Mrs Petty celebrated their golden wedding in October 1921. they h ad thirteen children, eight sons and five daughters - three died in infan cy - and at the time of their golden wedding they had 21 grandchildren and t great grandchildren. Mrs Petty died in September 1922, and since then Mr Petty has lived in qui et retirement at his home in Headingley.
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- HH - 6th June 1928
    
    Mr Wesley Petty, of Hollin Lane, Headingley Leeds, chairman and managing director of Petty and Sons, of the Whitehall Printeries, a former president of the Leeds and Yorkshire Mast er Printers' Association (net personality £34,313) - gross £36, 599. The bequests included 500 Preference shar es in his firm to Stanley Barratt, 300 Preference shares to Harry George Ralph, 60 Preference shares each to Har ry Hemingway and Edward Samuel Bellis if respectively in his employment at the time of his death, and £ 20 each to other employees.

Click here for details of Wesley's family with Frances Elizabeth Harrison

¹ 1891 England Census
Source/Citation 1851 England Census

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