The 14th day of July 1625, my eldest son John Pett was married to Catherine Yardley, youngest daughter to Mr. Robert Yardley, of Chatham, deceased. The wedding was kept at our own house.
The 24th of September my wife's mother sickened at my house [at] Chatham, and the 4th of October she died, and the 6th day, being Thursday, she was buried in the chancel of our parish church: Mr. Pyham[505] made her funeral sermon.
The last part of this Christmas quarter, I was posted to and again from Chatham to London and Hampton Court, about building of small ships and presenting plats[506] of them, both to the King and Commissioners of the Navy, to very little purpose and my great trouble and charge.
My son Joseph died in Ireland in February this year.[507]
In the year '26 I was called to sundry employments, the one to have built a new ship at Chatham of 300 tons, and Mr. Burrell was to have built another, for which I made moulds and sent them into the woods by one Thomas Williams, shipwright, who hewed the frame in the woods, which was brought into the yard with an excellent provision of long straight timber; but by the malice of Mr. Burrell the business was hindered, and not suffered to go forward, so that the frame was kept in the yard till it was good for no use of shipping; but afterward I was employed to build two small pinnaces of 70 tons a piece or thereabouts, which I performed accordingly at Chatham, my son Richard being my principal foreman. They were called, the one the Henrietta, the other Maria, after the Queen's name.
Also, the Commissioners of the Navy growing to be called in question for their actions, in the latter end of this year,[508] there was a great commission of Lords and divers other experienced captains granted under the Broad Seal[509] for inquiry of their actions, amongst which number I was chosen one: much doing was about it, but in the end it trenched so far upon some great personages, that it was let fall and nothing to any purpose done in it, but divers of the Commissioners came to Chatham, and surveyed the state of the ships and other things; and so in the end of January following returned all to London.
The 14th of February, being Wednesday and St. Valentine's Day, my dear wife Ann departed this life in the morning, and was buried the Friday after in Chatham Church in the evening, leaving behind her a disconsolate husband and sad family. Not long after, I being at London, my only sister then living, Mary Cooper, departed this life the fifth of March for very grief of the loss of my dear wife.
This summer, my son John was made captain of a merchant ship, and served under Sir Sackvill Trevor's command at the taking of the French prize called the St. Esprit.[510]