[6] They had the following children:[3] Amelia had previously been married to Joseph Ward Davis, registered in the September quarter of 1848 in Newington, Surrey, England.

[9] On 15 December 1881, William's daughter Margaret married Philip, the eldest son of another Brisbane alderman and mayor, John Hardgrave.

His early work in the Brisbane area as a surveyor revealed to him the quantity and quality of timber available and how profitable it could be if it was milled efficiently without the need for intensive labour.

In 1863, William Pettigrew visited the area and found there was plentiful timber to be obtained, including hardwood, cedar, bunya and kauri pine.

So William Pettigrew established a depot and wharf at Mooloolah Heads (now known as Mooloolaba) to deliver timber to his Brisbane sawmill.

William Pettigrew closed his sawmill at Maroochydore in 1898 and sold up his land holdings (Cotton Tree, Potts Point, Mooloolah Heads) in the Maroochy area in 1903.

These events appear to coincide with both his bankruptcy as well as timber-getting becoming uneconomic (all the suitable trees in the area having been cut down) and a rail link to Brisbane reduced the need for a steamer service.