This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/FMB.2ACE/1392 Message Board Post: Taken from the book: "Goodspeed's History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford & Gasconade Counties Missouri" History of Missouri chapters, page 190/191 giving, "Dates of the organization of the counties, origin of their names, etc." Pettis {county name}--Organized January 26, 1833. Named in honor of Hon. Spencer Pettis, of St. Louis, a member of Congress from Missouri in 1828-31, and who was killed in a duel with Maj. Thomas Biddle, on Bloody Island, in the latter year. The first county seat was at St. Helena; in 1837 it was removed to Georgetown; in 1862 to Sedalia. The last named town was laid out in 1859 and named by its founder, Gen. George R. Smith, for his daughter Sarah, who was familiarly called "Sade" and "Sed". It was first called by Gen. Smiith "Sedville", but he afterward gave it the more euphonius title which it now bears. NOTE: This book was originally published in 1888. My reprint is from 1970. Information given here was from the original time period so county seats may have changed.