In "The Great Petrie Fortune", an episode of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', we
were posthumously introduced to another member of the Petrie family - Rob's
great uncle, Hezekiah Petrie. When the episode began, old Hezekiah was already
dead, but we got to see him in an old movie which Hezekiah made specifically for
Rob and bequeathed him in the will. (It turned out to be a clue about the real
worth of his bequest to Rob - a roll-top desk.)
Rob also said that Uncle Hezekiah never married (as far as he knew.) This
could have been the cause for Hezekiah Petrie's sour disposition, because I
think the old hoofer fell in love but never could marry the woman due to
pressures from society.
I think Hezekiah Petrie had been in love with a black woman back in the
constrictive 1890's. And whether he was able to marry her in secret or not, I
think she bore him at least one male child.
I don't know where Hezekiah Petrie was raised, but we do know he was in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863, as he was seen as an infant
being held by his father in a photograph on that historically momentous day. (I
won't spoil it, but you can probably figure out from what I've provided as to
what was going on.)
Whether he was raised in Pennsylvania or in New York, there were no
anti-miscegenation laws on the books in either state at that time which could
have prevented Hezekiah from marrying a black woman if he so desired. New York
never enacted such a law and the one in Pennsylvania had been struck off the
books by 1780 after being in effect for less than fifty years.
Since Rob was raised in Danville, Illinois, Hezekiah may have been living
in that state as well. Illinois' anti-miscegenation laws weren't repealed until
1874, when Hezekiah was eleven years old. Even so, I think public opinion would
have been strongly against the idea of whites marrying blacks by the time
Hezekiah was old enough to make such a decision.
(From Wikipedia: "Most white Americans in the 1950's were opposed to
interracial marriage and did not see laws banning interracial marriage as an
affront to the principles of American democracy. A 1958 Gallup poll showed that
96 percent of white Americans disapproved of interracial marriage." So it could
only have been worse back in the 1890's.)
Facing probable pressures from his family and by society at large, Hezekiah
would likely have succumbed, and never married his love. She probably left him
in despair, and most likely without telling him that he was going to be a
father.
From that male offspring, two more TV characters joined the Petrie family
tree - one a regular character on a TV series, and the other a guest role in
another show.
DETECTIVE MARCUS PETRIE - 'Cagney And Lacey'
MARK PETRIE - 'The Listener' - "Iris"
As you can see, both of them have similar first names. I take this to mean
that they were probably cousins who had the same grandfather - Marcus Hezekiah
Petrie - after whom both of them were named. It is my contention that this
Marcus Petrie was the illegitimate son of Hezekiah Petrie.
Detective Marcus Petrie was a member of the NYPD, working out of the 14th
Precinct, alongside detectives Chris Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey.....
His younger cousin Mark Petrie may
have grown up in Canada, where he married a woman named Fanny. Unfortunately,
Fanny became terminally ill and not even the powers of a teenaged "healer" named
Iris could save her. Fanny was
too tired to keep fighting and wanted to finally rest. (This angered Mark
Petrie so much that he sought revenge, shooting the uncle of Iris before he was
stopped.)
So with this theory of relateeveety, we can make a tentative connection
between 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'The Listener', and 'Cagney And
Lacey'........
This marks the "Black History Month" edition of our year-long salute to
'The Dick Van Dyke Show', in celebration of its fiftieth anniversary last
October. We'll have more about Hezekiah Petrie and his family tree in next
month's post about the classic sitcom.......
BCnU!
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