Robert Patterson Fast Links:
This Page Was Last Updated
on March 1, 2004.
Harald Reksten was gracious
enough to give me permission to take his findings on the 1775
will of Robert "R" Patterson of Craven/York Co., SC
and publish it on my web site. The following notes are 100% those
of Harald's writing, and have not been manipulated by me in any
way, other than in formatting for the Internet. If you have any
questions regarding these notes, please contact Harald Reksten
at  .
If I, Wes Patterson, have any comments to make, I will do so as
follows "[WP note: _____]". Thanks again, Harald. We
all appreciate your hard work in uncovering the original document
and going to the trouble to get permission to take pictures of
it, and then to share these findings with us. Thanks a million!
Wes Patterson
October 15, 2002
Harald made some updates to his
write-up on this will in late February, 2004. This was after
Gloria Buckles Reid
contacted Harald with the suggestion that the text after John Black's signature
actually should read "his hand and pen" instead of "husband
and pen".
WP, March 1, 2004
WILL OF ROBERT
PATTERSON 17751
Many years ago
I corresponded with Pat Saupe2
about the Pattersons and Ponders from York County, South Carolina. Scores of
people have seen a transcription of the will of Robert Patterson probated in
York County, South Carolina in 1791, but written in 1775. But few people have
really analyzed the will in detail. Pat made me aware that the Will of Robert
Patterson, although full of information itself, contains genealogical information
written by others on the back of the will. Some of this information may relate
to the husbands (not mentioned in the will) of the three daughters of Robert
Patterson. The citation below is from personal correspondence with Pat in 1990
regarding the possibility that one of the Patterson daughters (Elizabeth) married
a Ponder.
My first reason for feeling
Elizabeth was a Patterson, is the amount of Ponder males
carrying Patterson in their names – like Patterson Ponder,
Patterson Daniel Ponder, Joseph Patterson Ponder – not
in just one line, but in the lines of each of the sons.
The second reason, was
Daniel Ponder’s name being written many times on the back of
Robert Patterson’s will. In one place, it says Daniel Ponder
and John Black. Following John Black’s name, is husband3
and ------, the latter part being broken off from age. Nathaniel Harryson’s
name is also on the back. Is it possible these are the three son-in-laws?
The will of Robert
Patterson, now located at the South Carolina Archives4,
is a fascinating document that is divided into three distinct parts each written
on a distinct section of the same original physical set of four pages of paper.
Each distinct part has its own style of handwriting and is written at a separate
time thus representing three distinct phases of the distribution of the wealth
of Robert Patterson.
The first part
is the will itself written in 1775. This document is very readable and can be
copied by the South Carolina Archives. In fact the South Carolina Archives maintains
a type written copy of the will that has been personally verified to be an exact
copy of the original5.
The second part is the first probate of the will in 1775 after Robert Patterson
died. The third part was written in 1791 after Robert Patterson’s wife
Sarah died. A lot changed between 1775 and 1791 so it is this third part that
is the most confusing. Since the later two parts of the Will of Robert Patterson
can not be legibly copied by a normal copying machine due to the very light
handwriting a camera was used to make copies of the entire document. Selected
pictures are included in this expose that attempt to shed light on the hard
to read parts of the will.
PART I –
THE WILL ITSELF
The will of Robert
Patterson is abstracted below and is very clear. Therefore there is no need
to include pictures of the will other than the identification of the mark of
Robert Patterson. An exact transcription of the will is given below.
In
the name of God Amen the Twenty First day of July 1775 I Robert Patterson
of Craven County farmer being very sick and weake in body but of perfect mind
and memory thanks be unto God, therefore calling to mind the mortality of my
body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do maeke and
ordain this my last will and testament, that is to say Principally and first
of all I give and recommend my Soul into the hands of almighty God that gave
it and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in decent Christian burial
at the discretion of my Executors nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection
I shal receive the same again by the mighty power of God: and as touching such
worldly estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give
demise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form
And
first of all I constituet make and ordain my beloved wife Sarah
and my beloved sons Robert and Peter to be
my whole and sole Executors of this my last Will and testament all and singular
my lands messuages and tenements whith all household goods dets and moveable
affects by them to be executed according to law and for them said Executors
to take care and see that all and every one of my beloved family shall have
there full share as I shall appoint
Imprimise
I give and bequeath to Sarah my dearly beloved wife her full
thirds of all my moveable affects and the homestead place till my son William
comes of age and half afterwards while she lives and her hors and saddle.
Item
I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas fifty pounds lawfull
mony of South Carolina to be leveed out of my estate and all my cloathes except
my fir hat and one gray three year old mare and colt to his son John.
I
likewise give and bequeath unto my daughter Sarah one cow and
calf, and what is between Joseph and me.
I
likewise give unto my son William the homestead place after
his mother's decease all only from where the line crosses the road that goes
to Peter's old place and straight & cors to the old saw
pit below the muddy branch and straight on to the outside line and from that
said line down to Peter.
I
likewise give and bequeath unto my sons Peter and Robert
each of them an equal part of my land and clams in the province of Virginia.
I
likewis give and bequeath unto my children all and every one of them is now
single with my daughter's Elisebeth and Lydia
each of them an equal part of the remainder of my movable affects by all and
every one of them freely to be possesed and enjoyed: and I do hereby utterly
disallow revoke and disannul all and every other formal testaments wills legacies
and bequeaths and Executors by me in any wise before named willed and bequeathed
ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament
in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year above
written
Signed
sealed published pronounced and declared by the said Robert Patterson
as his last will and testament in the presence of us the Subscribers Nathaniel
Harrison, James Dickie
Robrt
(R) Patterson
The
will is signed using Robert Patterson’s mark of R.
A picture was taken of this so that others can compare to
any other documents that might contain such a mark. If any
other document can be found then this would be powerful
evidence to relate Robert Patterson Sr, to his place of
emigration6. [WP
note: We need to look for the original document from Tryon
Co NC 1770 that documented Robert "R" Patterson's
mother Margaret Adams's death. That document may also have
the same "R".]
Robert Patterson’s
mark
PART II –
THE WILL IS PROBATED
The will is first
probated the 3rd of November 1775. So we can assume that Robert Patterson Sr.
died between 21 July 1775 and 3 November of the same year. He probably died
in October about three months after the will was first written. In a different
ink the following probate is written. This information was deciphered from the
original papers at the Archives although most of the information can be made
out in the picture that follows.
Personally
appered James Dickey and Nathaneal Harreson
before me and maketh oath as the Law Dericts that the order Presant and Seen
Robt. Petterson Dezed Sinc the within will as it now stands
as his last will and that he was in his proper Senses and that the other witnesses
to the same. Sworn by me this ---- third day of November 1775. Signed: James
Dickie, Nathaniel Harryn. Sam Swann, J.P.
The first probate in October 1775
I have also included
enlarged pictures that show the information from the previous picture in more
detail. These are included to make it easier to read the first probate. Notice
that Daniel Ponder’s name is written lightly below the first probate in
a different ink or pencil. Daniel Ponder’s name appears quite a few times
written in various places. He was not a witness to the will and both witnesses
did sign in October so it is confusing on why Daniel Ponder signed the will
so many times. Nathaniel Harryson’s name is also written a second time
upside down under Daniel Ponder’s name.
The top left hand side of the first probate in October 1775
The top right hand side of the first probate in October 1775
The bottom left hand side of the first probate in October 1775
The bottom right hand side of the first probate in October 1775
Notice that Joseph
B. is written in different ink or pencil under Daniel Ponder’s name in
the bottom right hand side of the first probate. The handwriting is extremely
light and does not show up with a normal copying machine. More will be said
about Joseph B(lack) later.
The next picture
shows the words “I promomus to pay or paus to the payee”.
It is not clear who is doing the promising or what is being promised.
But these words appear in a similar form on other parts of the
will so it is my opinion that this was just a “false start”
where an attempt was made to say something but the decision was
made to go to another section of the will where there was more
room.
Some dangling text from first probate in October 1775
The next picture
is fascinating and tells much about the will of Robert Patterson. The writing
is extremely light and perpendicular to the outside of the will where it states
Robert Patterson Will, Robt & Peter Patterson Ex(ecutors).
This writing can
not be copied using a copying machine and even when staring at
the writing in person it is extremely difficult to read it. But
if one looks at the picture below long enough I believe the names,
Joseph Black, John Patterson and Peter Patterson can be seen.
I have pictures of the rest of the writing but I did not include
them here since the pictures are so light.
Joseph Black, John Patterson, Peter Patterson
This is
how I interpret the writing:
Joseph
Black, John Patterson, Peter Patterson
personally have seen these presents that I Joseph Black have
seen said presents sold.
At first it is
not clear what is being said here but I believe it is an intent to document
that both John Patterson, son of Thomas Patterson and Joseph (Black) have received
what is entitled to them. Peter Patterson’s name appears because he is
one of the executors. Thus the Joseph named in the will must be Joseph Black
and Joseph Black must be the husband of Robert’s daughter Sarah Patterson.
You would think that Robert could have just said this but he was dying and everyone
knew who Joseph was in July 1775. It also makes sense that Joseph Black was
married to Sarah because she was not listed with the rest of the daughters.
Item
I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas fifty pounds lawfull
mony of South Carolina to be leveed out of my estate and all my cloathes except
my fir hat and one gray three year old mare and colt to his son John.
I
likewise give and bequeath unto my daughter Sarah one cow and
calf, and what is between Joseph and me.
PART III –
FINAL PROBATE AND REGISTRATION
The last part
of Robert Patterson’s will was written 16 years after the other parts
and indicate that Sarah Patterson, wife of Robert Patterson has died. It not
absolutely clear that all the writing on this page was done in 1791 or back
in 1775. But the bottom of the page gives the date that the will was recorded
in 1791 so my suspicion is that this page was not filled out until 1791.
This part of the
will is extremely confusing because it appears that an intent was made to make
sure that the estate was properly disposed of. Thus if someone has use of certain
land or items that were part of the estate but not directly accounted for in
the will then these issues had to be resolved.
My suspicion
is that Daniel Ponder and John Black both married the remaining daughters
[WP note: Elizabeth and Lydia, respectively] of Robert Patterson after the
will was probated in 1775. Thus they were not part of the original will.
By signing their names and promising to reimburse the estate (perhaps for
items from the estate their wives may not have been entitled to) the estate
can be fully closed and everyone will be happy. The following pictures show
the confusing information that was written for this purpose.
Final Probate Top
“Daniel
Ponder” is written in a different handwriting at the top. On the side
it says “Danl – promis to”. On the right below Daniel Ponder
is written “John Black husband and pen”. An enlarged picture is
given later that in the hopes that someone can figure out what “pen”
means. Next is a large icon (“Can”) that I can’t figure out.
“Nathaniel Harryson” signs again. Daniel Ponder is written another
three times as “Danl”, “Daniel Ponder”, and “Daniel
Ponder”.
Sometimes, due
to the difficulty of reading the old handwriting, and the fading of the ink
after 200 years, can make one imagine something that does not exist. The
enlargement of the part of the top of the page that mentions John Black is
shown below. Gloria Buckles Reid7
provided the proper interpretation for this phrase. It reads "John Black,
his hand and pen". It is simply a proper way to specify that this is the
legal signature of John Black.
Final Probate Reference to John Black
In the next picture
the final probate is continued. To the left is written “Daniel Ponder”,
“Da”, “promes to payor Cans” or “Caus”.
It is apparent to me that Daniel Ponder wanted to tell us something since his
name appears in more places in the will of Robert Patterson than anyone else.
Final Probate Middle
Final Probate Bottom
The bottom of
the page states: “State of S. Carolina York County Clerks Office”
on the left. Since York County did not exist in 1775 this had to be written
in 1791. On the left it says “Recorded in Book A R (sic) 32, pages 57-58-59
Feb. 4 1791. Jon Sutton DCC.
SUMMARY
From the will and probate of Robert Patterson the following conclusions are
drawn. His first daughter Sarah married Joseph Black before the will was written
and "Joseph" mentioned in the will was Joseph Black and not Joseph Patterson
as one might think based upon the fact that a Joseph Patterson lived nearby
in Bullock's Creek.
Daniel
Ponder was involved in the estate of Robert Patterson after
Robert's will was written. He signs the will more than anyone
else. It is probable he is married to daughter Elizabeth since
I have been told that other Ponder records indicate that name
of the wife of Daniel Ponder was Elizabeth.
John
Black also signed the will in a fashion intended to indicate
that he may have had some interest in the will. It is suggested
that he married one of the Patterson sisters after the will
was written. The remaining unmarried sister is Lydia so it
is possible John Black married Lydia Patterson. Further evidence
from the family of John Black may or may not prove this assertion.
Harald Reksten
August 5, 2002
(Revised: February 29, 2004)
Footnotes:
- Prepared
20 April 2003 by Harald Reksten, 35 Winding Hill Drive, Hockessin,
Delaware, 19707-2016, email .
- Personal
Correspondence dated 4 May 1990 from Saupe, Patricia, Rt 2,
Box 183, Moores Hill, Indiana 47032.
- The
wording is actually "his hand" rather than "husband".
This is discussed later in this article.
- South
Carolina Archives and History Center, 8301 Parkland Road, Columbia,
South Carolina 29223-4905.
- Verified
via a trip to the South Carolina Archives on 29 July, 2002.
- Sperry,
Kip, “Reading Early American Handwriting”, Genealogical
Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 1998. 289 pages.
- Personal Correspondence dated 28 February 2004, glreid@arkansas.net.
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