Wes Patterson
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I have added a new page to the site called The Sons of Robert and Sarah Patterson. The work of Harald Reksten over the last couple of years has yielded more court records to pull the bigger picture together, allowing us to conclude that Robert had at least five sons, including a James Patterson -- previously unknown.
17 May 2013
John and Margaret Black Patterson's son named George Patterson was born in 1800. His 1st wife was Rebecca Chastain, his 2nd wife was Sophia Dunagan (m. 1850). I descend from George by his 1st wife. George and Sophia had 5 children by the 1860 census, in which they were enumerated on July 20, 1860.
James Neal sent me a PDF document containing 5 letters Sophia wrote to her Dunagan relatives between 1858 and 1862. These letters are quite enlightening, to say the least. However, hidden within the lines of these letters was one of the most important pieces of information I've been looking for, for many years. When did George Patterson die? All I've ever known was between 1860 and 1870.
I now know he died between July 20 and Dec 23, 1860. Letter #1 was written in Aug or Sept of 1858. Letter #2 was written May 2, 1859. Letter #3 is the key letter in pinpointing George's death. It is dated December 23, but no year. I'll come back to this. Letter #4 was written about August of 1861. And Letter #5 was written in late May or early June, 1862.
James and I had narrowed down Letter #3 to either 1859 or 1860. This week I have transcribed these letters, so it has been quite an exercise and has certainly made various details jump out at me. Tonight, the words "MY YEAR SUPPORT" jumped out at me in Letter #3. I realized that George was only mentioned in the first 2 letters (as the "old man"). Nothing was said of him in the last 3 letters. Letter 3 specifically talks about her cutting and carrying the wood by herself, and then having gone to town to see the ordinary about her "year support".
So, I googled 1860 GEORGIA A WOMAN'S "YEAR SUPPORT" - and what I found was that Georgia law allowed for a widow with minor children to receive financial help for 12 months following her deceased husband's death, until such necessary funds could be obtained from his estate. That means 2 things!
1. Letter #3 was written on Dec 23, 1860, and
2. George Patterson died between July 20 and Dec 23, 1860.
In case anyone wonders if it could have been written in 1861 or later, no it couldn't have. Letter #3 mentions Sophia's brother Ben and wanting him to come visit her. He enlisted in the CSA the next year on Aug 31, 1861 and died the following July 1862. 1860 is the only year this letter could have been written.
James, I can never thank you enough for sending me these letters from Sophia. It has "only" taken me 9 months to read these letters enough times for it to sink in and figure this out.
But WOW..... what a nugget to find buried within this 150 year old letter.
My descent from George is his son William Harden Patterson (b 1832), Joseph Elijah Patterson (b 1871), Clinton Willie Patterson (b 1904), Francis Oliver Patterson (b 1940), me (b 1968).
12 June 2011
Are John and Margaret Black Patterson buried in unmarked graves at Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery? This cemetery is located in Lower Young Cane, Union Co, GA a few miles west of Blairsville. I now think they may be. To learn more about why I believe so, see my new pages regarding 1) Land Lots, and 2) Union Co GA Deeds. See why the evidence strongly suggests this may be the case.
11 June 2010
The Patterson DNA Project is really starting to take shape now. Some 125 participants have taken the test so far, with 12 being from the Robert "R" Patterson (d 1775 SC) group from which I descend. Please check out the project page for more details.
3 June 2009
There is a Patterson-Turner reunion every year at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Union Co Ga. It takes place every October, 3rd Sunday. This church is located on Loving Rd right at the Fannin / Union Co Line (Union side). They have a church service that starts around 10:30 a.m. and then lunch and then fellowship, where genealogy (etc) can be shared.
I just spoke with Stanley Turner, one of the overseers there and he mentioned that any of us Pattersons (John and Margaret Black Patterson descendants, basically) and/or Turners are welcome to come. Stanley's grandfather was John Burton Turner, a son of Miles Clayton Turner and Amy Jane Patterson. MC Turner was a son of Bailus E. Turner, and Amy Jane Patterson was a daughter of Joseph B Patterson and Polly Hawkins. They are from the John Jr and Sally Hicks Patterson branch.
23 May 2009
My research over the years has centered around the following families and topics:
In 2000 I was able to link my mother's ancestors to the royal families of Europe for the first time. This is through her Langley-McGhee-Fuller-Duke-Byrd lines. The royal families of Europe can be traced through multiple lines back to the Biblical genealogies, most commonly back to Judah, son of Jacob (Israel).
In June of 2001 I was able to trace a line of my wife's ancestors back to the Biblical genealogies, through her Fishburne-Bellinger-Bull families. And then in July 2001 I was able to connect my dad's ancestors back to the Biblical genealogies, through his Stephens-Byers-Ratcliff lineage.
Since 2001 however, most of my efforts have focused on my PATTERSON ancestors as I have been networking with other great researchers across the U.S. in a quest to learn more about our immigrant ancestors. Great clues have been uncovered since 2001 as pieces of "our puzzle" begin to be put together (by many of us working together).
In July, 2002 a friend of mine and cousin from the Patterson line (Harald Reksten) made an important trip to the South Carolina Archives to do on-site research of Robert Patterson's 1775 will. Robert Patterson was my GGGGGG-Grandfather, who lived from the early 1700's until 1775. Harald was able to take some very good quality photos of the different sections of this will in an effort to share with us the handwriting and signatures of different family members during the different stages of probation on this will (1775, 1775, 1791). Harald very graciously allowed me to share HIS notes and photos with everyone on my web site so that we all may view his findings, and possibly add insight as well. Thanks, Harald. You may view this 1775 will and the associated probates on my web site at http://wespatterson.com/patt/robert-r.1775will.asp. This is a must read! Please allow about 5 - 10 seconds for the page to load. There are 12 images that will need to load in your web browser while this page loads.
In late 2002 I put together a "Biographical Sketch of Robert "R" Patterson". It is located at http://wespatterson.com/patt/bios/robert-r.bio.toc.asp and includes much of the knowledge we have gained from the research that Harald Reksten, myself, and many others have put together over the years, regarding the life of Robert Patterson. Much is still to be learned about him and his family. It is my belief that he was my immigrant ancestor, perhaps having immigrated in the 1710's or 1720's. At this time I do NOT know when the immigration occured, nor who the immigrants were. More has been learned since I wrote the bio sketch on Robert. Perhaps one day I can update it or publish a book. We'll see...
A distant cousin of mine named Leah Koehn relayed a story to me in 2002 that her late grandmother had passed down to their family that "our immigrant ancestor" was named Robert Patterson, and that he was born somewhere between 1700-1735, and that he came over from Ireland (he was Scotch-Irish) on a ship named "Importance". Leah's "Patterson line" intersects with my line at George and Rebecca Chastain Patterson. George was born in 1800 in Buncombe Co., NC, and was the son of John and Margaret Black Patterson. George was also the grandson of Thomas Patterson, and the g-grandson of Robert "R" Patterson. Robert was the son of William and Mary "Margaret" Patterson, so there was only one Robert in this line of Pattersons. If Leah's grandmother was correct, the shoe fits with Robert "R" Patterson. The name fits, the dates fit, the heritage fits, the migration patterns fit. Finding a ship manifest would be the find of all finds!
Happy hunting as you browse my web site. I hope that some of the information I have may help you in your research. If you have anything to add or correct, or any other suggestions for that matter, please contact me. Thanks.
August 7, 2004 was a great day for our Patterson family in that we celebrated my Uncle Derral Patterson and Aunt Frankie Patterson's 50th wedding anniversary. This celebration was a family reunion for many of us. To see more info about this and the pictures taken there, see my page on Derral and Frankie.
