Uncle Willis Pettigrew, colored, died here yesterday morning (July 12, 1913) and was buried today. He was said to be one of the oldest citizens in Washington County, having been here long before the war. He was one of the Southern slaves and was known by everyone in this pat of the state. For a number of years he drove an ox team around the city doing draying for a living. Uncle Willis was a unique character and in his loss Fayetteville loses another old landmark.
— Fayetteville Daily, July 10, 1913
Pettigrew was survived by his wife, Rose Pettigrew; daughter Susie Pettigrew, and grandson Hadden Snell. The census of 1910 showed him as being 90 years old, and he would have been 93 by his death. — Fayetteville History