It is unknown if there were more children born to Robert and Sarah. Only the 2nd – 8th in the above list appeared by name in Robert’s Will. But it is known that there was a Mary Patterson and at least one more child (most likely from the above list) born to Robert by September 3, 1744 as they were mentioned by their grand mother Margaret Adams in her Will as “the children of Robert Patterson”. James Patterson was recorded in at least two Deeds on CFBC during the 1760’s and ‘70’s on land next to Robert Patterson Sr. Was he another son? If so, why wasn’t he mentioned the next year in Robert’s Will? There may have been others, but no other records seem to indicate additional children that may have survived childhood.

There are more specific details involving the children and grand children of Robert and Sarah Patterson that will not be covered in this writing, but rather in subsequent biographical sketches.

Finally, who was Sarah _____ Patterson? Who were her parents? When was she born? These are all questions that are hard (at best) to answer. This writer believes she was the only wife that Robert had. This is based primarily on the fact that their second daughter (second or third child overall) was named Sarah, and so the assumption is that the first daughter was named after a grandmother or aunt, and the second daughter was named after her mother, i.e. Sarah, wife of Robert. This in no way proves anything, but is a working theory. It is now known that Robert was married to a "Sarah" by 1738, according to the Sussex Co DE Land Book 7, which records their sale of the 106 acres they owned there. It seems quite certain that Robert was married only once.

With one wife as the basis for these calculations, it becomes a little easier to follow the logic in that if Sarah’s 1st child was born around 1740, then Sarah was probably born 1715 – 1725, more specifically ca. 1720. With Mary being the first child born to Sarah apparently, that name held some importance. At the same time, given that this is one of the most common names it makes it all the more difficult to trace – and more dangerous to guess. All evidence considered, the Adams family (and Robert Patterson, therefore) appear to have migrated with (or known of) the Harrisons, Cravens, Blacks, Stewarts, and Wrights, all of whom had migrated from the Sussex Co., DE area. Parts of these families had left DE and crossed the DE River into Salem Co., NJ during the 1730’s and early ‘40’s before then migrating west to the LC area of VA. Others from these families went straight from DE into PA and across the Great Wagon Road that way. This writer suspects that further research in those locations will yield invaluable clues as to the identity of Sarah _____ Patterson. Given the time frame (1730’s) it may also yield evidence as to which Harrison married Elizabeth Patterson, as well as the Dollinson who married the other daughter of Margaret Adams. Most of these families migrated across PA to get to the valley of VA, so some of the clues may lie with families who were in PA, not DE. Nonetheless, all evidence points to Sussex Co., DE and the surrounding counties.

Given the recent findings in the land books of Sussex Co DE by Harald Reksten, it is most certain that Robert and Sarah were married in Sussex Co DE by 1738. Robert Patterson had bought his land there in 1732, the same day that a Thomas Black bought the adjoining tract of land. It is known that Robert and Sarah's oldest son was named Thomas Patterson. Was he named after his maternal grand father? Was Thomas Black the father of Sarah _____ Patterson? Pure speculation at this point...