Biographical
Sketch of Robert Patterson of Craven Co., SC
© 2003, Charles Wesley (Wes) Patterson, Sr.
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Having briefly scanned the families of the three closely related Robert Pattersons of Augusta Co., VA who were born by 1740, consider the evidence regarding Robert (A) Patterson, son of William and Margaret Donnell Patterson. This Robert was clearly born before 1715, and may have been born as early as 1700 - 1705, however "circa 1710" is the safest date to put for his birth. The complicated maze of unlocking the truth to his birth year must first begin in the year 1744.
Robert Patterson had been living on property near Linville Creek (LC) for a short time, perhaps a few years. His mother had acquired a land patent in Orange Co., VA under the name of “Mary Adams”. This deserves an explanation.
Robert’s mother was named Margaret Donnell4,5 according to most genealogy records this writer has seen. However, some official document stating such, would go a long way to proving that her maiden name was, in fact, Donnell. Perhaps her first or middle name was Mary, as well.
Margaret first married William Patterson, and by him gave birth to Robert Patterson. There appears to have been two more daughters born to this marriage. One of the daughters' name is unknown. It is assumed that this unknown daughter was the mother of Margaret Dollinson, a grand daughter of Margaret Adams named in the 1744 will. The second daughter (order of birth is unclear) was Elizabeth. This writer believes there is sufficient evidence to indicate that these three children were all Pattersons. The three children of William and Margaret would have been born most likely between 1710 and 1715, although possibly a little earlier.
There seems to be a gap between the birth years of these three children, and the two younger children born to Margaret by her second husband John Adams. William Patterson must have died between 1715 and 1720, with his widow Margaret marrying Mr. Adams soon thereafter. John and Margaret Adams appear to have had two children, Jane and Samuel, in the early 1720's before John Adams also died. Margaret Adams (Addams) was in Sussex Co DE by 1727, and nothing is known of her husband John Adams as of that date, so it is presumed he was dead by then.
In 1744 Margaret Adams wrote her Will in which she named four children (Robert Patterson, Jane Love, Elizabeth, and Samuel Adams) and three grandchildren (Mary Patterson - daughter of Robert Patterson, Margaret Dollinson, and Esther Harrison). Margaret’s Will was not probated until March 15, 1770. Two months later, in May of 1770, Margaret’s grandson Samuel Adams, Jr. (who was living in NC at the time) gave power of attorney to his 1st cousin’s husband Joseph Dictum (husband of Rachel Love) regarding the legacy that he inherited from his father, Samuel Adams (who had died in Augusta Co., VA in 1748).
Page 315.--15th May, 1770. Samuel Adams, of North Carolina, to Joseph Dictum, power of attorney to convey 340 acres on Linvel's Creek, devised by Margaret Adams and from him descended to Samuel as eldest son and heir, having been patented in the name of Mary Adams. Title yet to be made to Samuel.
This record indicates that Margaret’s original land patent in the former Orange Co., VA was under the name of Mary Adams. This might also explain why her son Robert Patterson named his first daughter Mary Patterson. The land indicated above was the said land on LC. Linville Creek is the key to identifying Robert (A) Patterson from the rest of the Robert Pattersons of Augusta Co., VA during the 1740’s through the 1760’s.
There were other records that identify Robert Patterson, son of Margaret Donnell Patterson Adams with the LC area of Augusta Co., VA.
William Wright vs. Thomas Linville.--Writ 11th March, 1745. Thomas Linville told Robert Patterson that he had paid to William Wright a certain sum of money which was due to said Wright's father. Order by William Wright's, 10th December, 1744, to Robert Patterson to collect the account.
Thomas Linville lived in that area of Augusta that later became Rockingham Co. Specifically, Linville Creek was named after him. This writer suggests that the Robert Patterson mentioned in this item was Robert (A) because of the location of the other individuals. Thomas Linville left the area in the latter 1740’s to move to Rowan Co., NC. There were other individuals from this area who followed suit, such as members of the Samuel and Lydia Stewart family. Samuel Harrison did so as well, but later returned to Augusta Co., VA. Samuel Harrison’s older brother, Isaiah Harrison, Jr. is also known to have left the colony of VA for NC by the end of the 1740’s.6
These Harrisons, plus the families of Samuel and Lydia Stewart, the Cravens family, and many of the Blacks of Augusta Co., VA lived in this LC area or close by. Just to the east of LC is the town of Harrisonburg, named after Thomas Harrison, brother of Isaiah Harrison, Jr. In that town is a creek called Black’s Run, named after the Black families who lived in that area, such as Mathew and Mary Black, and their son Robert Black and his wife Madge (Maggie) Cravens. There is also another Black’s Run (possibly the beginning of the same creek) that is west of the town of Harrisonburg, and its waters actually flow into the same waters as Patterson Creek before they both eventually flow into Linville Creek.
Many of these same Cravens, Harrisons, and Blacks moved to Craven Co., SC in the 1760’s. During that time, parts of Craven Co., SC was also known as Mecklenburg Co., NC and then later Tryon Co., NC. By the 1770’s it was settled that it was York Co., SC. This writer mentions these facts because many of the LC families are documented to have moved to one of the above Carolina locations or the other, but in each case they were going to the exact same location – Clark’s Fork of Bullocks Creek which is in modern day York Co., SC.
Biographical
Sketch of Robert Patterson of Craven Co., SC
© 2003, Charles Wesley (Wes) Patterson, Sr.
Page 3 of 17
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Notes