Henry & Ada “Annie” Petite

Henry Edwin Petite was born on May 9, 1875 at Mose Ambrose. He operated a general store and schooners involved in the Grand Banks fishery, a business he started around 1900.

Mr. Petite also operated three-masted schooners that sailed to Portugal and Italy with salt fish. He owned the 136-ton schooner Tobeatic, which was used in the coastal freight business. Mr. Petite was active in the community of Mose Ambrose, and was instrumental in getting the local church and school built.

In 1913, he married his second wife Ada”Annie” Hill at the Anglican Cathedral in St. John’s. When Mr. Petite drowned in a boating accident in 1925, it was Annie Petite who stepped in to take over the operation of the general store and schooners. According to the late Joey Smallwood, Mrs. Petite was the only woman in Newfoundland, and perhaps the world, to be operating and managing a bank fishery business.

She was extensively involved in the Anglican Church and helped establish the Anglican Church Women’s Organization (ACW) in Mose Ambrose. She also attended the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II