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William
Patterson -> Robert "R"
-> Thomas -> Sarah
Thomas Patterson's Children:
This
Page Was Last Updated On March 15, 2005
Sarah PATTERSON (and Joseph Black, son of Mathew Black)
 Who was Sarah "Sary" Patterson? She was recorded in the minutes of Newfound Baptist Church (NBC) in 1804, a church located in Leicester, NC (Buncombe County). I believe she was the daughter of Thomas Patterson, and sister of John and Robert Patterson. I also believe she married Joseph Black, the son of Mathew Black of Burke, and therefore brother of Reuben Black. The following details will hopefully add credibility to this theory.
In 1810, Buncombe Co NC, there were 2 Joseph Black households (HH). Both were listed as being 26-44 years old, however, one was clearly older than the other, or at least had been married a little longer than the other. Considering the fact that there was even a third (older) Joseph Black than these two, let’s refer to them as follows: Joseph Black (I) was born ca 1740-45 and lived in York Co SC.
The Joseph Black (II) on page 264 was listed as 20010-22010 indicating that he had been married for over 10 years, based on the ages of his daughters. He was the same Joseph Black that was a head of HH in Buncombe in 1800. This Joseph was also listed as 26-44 in 1800. Given the two census records, his approximate birth year was 1766-74.
The other Joseph Black (III) of 1810 was listed on page 261 as 10010-40100. His birth would have been ca. 1766-1785. I assume he would have been about 25-30 years old given the age of his children, which put his birth closer to 1780-85. He was NOT listed as a head of HH in 1800. Several (apparent) sons of Mathew Black of Burke Co NC migrated from Burke County to Buncombe in the early 1800s (between 1800/10). Most of them were there by 1802. Some of these include Reuben, Joseph, Robert, and may have also included another Matthew and a James.
By way of clarification, however, in 1800 Buncombe there were already a George Black, Joseph Black (II), another Robert (Robert Goin Black), plus a John Black. At this time, it is not totally clear who all of these Blacks were, but they all appear to have been either sons and grandsons of Robert and Majey Cravens Black of York Co SC (the Burke group), or sons of Joseph (I) and Sarah Patterson Black, also of York Co SC. The York SC Joseph and Robert apparently were brothers, as they both lived on Clarks Fork of Bullocks Creek.
Getting back to the two Josephs of Buncombe, the younger Joseph (III) appears to have married after 1800 and no later than 1805, given the fact that he had 4 daughters and a son by 1810. This is the Joseph Black (assumed to be the son of Mathew of Burke) that I believe was married to Sary Patterson.
Sary was mentioned twice in the minutes of NBC in 1804, first as "Sister Patterson", secondly as "Sister Sary Patterson". Was she the daughter of Thomas Patterson, or not? Thomas was recorded in the 1800 Buncombe census with his wife (name unknown), and a daughter, age 16-25 (1775-84). Thomas appears to have only had one daughter, based on the 1790 (Dorchester, SC) and 1800 census records. The 1804 Sary Patterson would clearly be of the right age to be her.
The only Pattersons mentioned in the NBC minutes from 1802 – 1811 were John and Margaret (Black) Patterson, their son Joseph (Black) Patterson, Robert and Elizabeth Patterson, and this Sary Patterson. Yes, other Pattersons in the area could have been married to a Sarah thus making the Patterson name her married name, but considering the options, they don’t pan out. The only two viable options would have been that Sary was either the unmarried daughter of Thomas or the wife of Thomas. Of course, his wife and daughter could have BOTH been named Sarah for that matter.
Furthermore, Thomas’ mother was named Sarah, and he had a sister named Sarah. Thomas’ parents were Robert Patterson and Sarah ____ who were married in Sussex Co DE in 1737-38. They died in York Co SC in 1775 and 1790, respectively. The interesting thing about the time period in which Robert Patterson and Sarah _____ met was that in 1732, Robert Patterson bought 106 acres of land as a single man. The same day, a Thomas Black bought an adjoining tract of land containing 106 acres, from the same seller. In 1738 when Robert Patterson sold his land, he was then married to Sarah. Their oldest son was Thomas Patterson. Hmmm, was Thomas Black the father of Sarah _____ Patterson?
Thomas’ sister Sarah was born ca. 1740-45, and married the older Joseph Black (I), who was b. ca. 1740-45. They appear to have been the parents of Margaret Black, who married John Patterson, thus making John and Margaret 1st cousins. It doesn’t take long for all of these Josephs and Sarahs to get confusing!
Sary Patterson of NBC was never named as such after 1804. However, the 1807 membership roll (which was compiled in 1853 by church members, mostly going on their memory), describes three Sarah Blacks in membership at NBC – around 1807. That membership roll has been proven to be guess work. It is fairly reliable, but not 100%. Nonetheless, the fact that it mentions three Sarah Blacks indicates that there were at least that many of them (of age) in 1807. It doesn’t list a Joseph Black, but the monthly records from those same years DO list a Joseph Black on multiple occasions.
On more than one occasion, Joseph Black is described as needing to be contacted (or cited), and John Patterson, or John and Robert Patterson both, are called on to cite Joseph Black to come to the next meeting. That would tend to indicate a familial relationship of some kind. However, be aware that the "other" Joseph Black (II) which was a head of HH in both the 1800 and 1810 census records appears to have been the brother of Margaret Black Patterson. That would make him a brother-in-law to John Patterson also, but NOT to Robert Patterson.
Again, I lean toward believing that the Joseph Black cited by John and Robert Patterson to have been a brother-in-law to BOTH of them, due to him having married their sister, Sary Patterson. If this is true, then it means that my John Patterson had two brothers-in-law named Joseph Black (one married his sister, the other was his wife’s brother). He also had a third (the oldest) Joseph Black (I) as his father-in-law AND uncle. Yikes!!!
We need more evidence than this though to hold any strong inclination that Sary Patterson was indeed the wife of any Joseph Black. One of those three Sarah Blacks on the 1807 NBC membership roll was actually listed as "Sary Blacke", as opposed to "Sarah" as the other two were listed. Additionally, Joseph Black was listed as "Joseph Blacke" in the monthly minutes on at least one occasion.
As far as deed records are concerned, on 12/31/1810, Robert Patterson (son of Thomas) sold his 100 acres on "Turkey Creek, upper side of Turkey Creek, west side of French Broad River (FBR)" to a Joseph Black. This was witnessed by John Patterson and James Patterson. A year and a half later, Joseph Black sold it on 7/5/1812 to Robert Haley (thanks to Pat Saupe for pointing out that Robert Haley was married to Elizabeth Ponder, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Patterson Ponder). These two deeds were probated on 8/5/1812 and 8/6/1812, respectively.
Just two or three days prior to those probates, on 8/3/1812, Joseph Black was a witness to a transaction where Katie (Acton) Roberts (having moved from Buncombe to Jefferson Co TN) sold 50 acres to James Patterson. This was a tract that was described as including Thomas Patterson’s improvements. Jeremiah Holiday was the other witness. It was probated on 5/12/1814. The next time that same property changed hands was in 1816 when it was sold by James Patterson to Daniel Black and was witnessed by John and Reuben Black. It was again sold in 1817 to a Mathew Black. It is my belief that all of these Blacks named here were sons of Mathew of Burke, along with the Joseph Black in question. However, it is possible that one or more could have been of the other Joseph Black (I) family.
On 3/30/1818 Reuben Black sold two tracts of land (20 and 70 acres) to Mathew Black. In both cases, the witnesses were John Black and Joseph Black. This shows the Burke clan connection as Reuben was most definitely from Burke, and was known to have had brothers named John, Joseph, Robert, and probably Mathew.
John Patterson (son of Thomas and assumed sister of Sary Patterson Black) had many land dealings with the Burke Co Black clan. However, his wife Margaret doesn’t appear to be a sister to any of them, but rather a cousin. On the other hand, if John’s sister Sary married Joseph of Burke that could explain the connection, or at least corroborate it.
Another land dealing in Buncombe involving Joseph Black was a tract of 300 acres which he received from the State of NC on 11/25/1818. This was located on Sandy Mush Creek. John Patterson lived on land at the mouths of Newfound and Sandy Mush creeks. Daniel Ponder and Jonathan Hicks did, too. Both of them were relatives of the Pattersons and both were members of NBC. Many of the Freemans (Aaron, Joshua, Jesse) lived on Sandy Mush, and were also in attendance at NBC. Mathew Black also received 100 acres from the Sheriff of Buncombe in 1818, and was listed in the minutes of NBC on at least one occasion.
Joseph Black sold his 300 acres on Sandy Mush on 7/26/1819 to Zechariah Candler. This tract bordered Jesse Freeman, James Ensley, and Robert Haley. It was witnessed by Joseph Patterson and John Ponder. Joseph Patterson was named Joseph Black Patterson. He was the son of John and Margaret Black Patterson. John Ponder was the son of Daniel and Elizabeth Patterson Ponder. All of these were NBC members, and originally from York Co SC.
While I can’t prove which Joseph Black was which in the Buncombe deeds, they could have represented both Josephs (II and III) in some combination. Yet, with the Burke connection very prominent, I would tend to think the Joseph involved with them was "their" Joseph. Given the geographical proximity to the other NBC members, again I would think this Joseph very likely to have been a member of NBC as well. Given that there WAS a Sary Patterson in 1804 and a Sary Black in 1807, both being recorded in the NBC records, that holds some credibility in my mind. Furthermore, I have never been able to "identify" Thomas Patterson’s daughter (from the 1800 census) on any of the 1810 census Patterson HH’s. The assumption was that she had married by 1810. Thomas appears to have died between 1807 and 1810, and his widow appears to be living in John Patterson’s HH in 1810.
What happened to the "Burke Blacks" which lived in Buncombe from ca 1802 – 1820 (and later)? Many of them moved up (NW) the French Broad River a little ways to Cocke Co TN, just across the state line. In fact, many families from the NBC congregation moved to Cocke Co TN between 1807 and 1825. Reuben and John Black moved to Cocke Co TN. A Joseph Black was there also by the 1830’s at the latest, possibly even by the 1820’s. He is believed to be the younger brother of Reuben Black. This Reuben and Joseph were indeed the same ones from the early Buncombe records mentioned previously. So, what was the census record for this Joseph Black in 1850?
The 1850 Cocke Co TN census shows Joseph Black as 70 years old and born in NC. That would put his birth at 1779-80. I mentioned at the top that the "younger" Joseph Black (III) of Buncombe in 1810 was most likely born 1780-85. As for being born in NC, that’s quite possible as well. He would have either been born in Burke Co NC, or possibly upstate SC. This Joseph certainly fits.
In 1850, his wife as listed as Sally (nickname for Sarah), age 64, birthplace "Unknown". This would give her a birth year of 1785-86. Again, this certainly fits the time frame for Sary Patterson.
There is also a younger Sally listed in their 1850 HH, age 43, born NC. I wonder if this is one of the "4" daughters listed for them in 1810 Buncombe? I would honestly be shocked if they, of all people, didn’t name a daughter Sarah!
Lastly, a fourth member of the family in 1850 was listed, that being a two-month old female named Mary E. Black, born in TN. This census was taken in October of 1850, by the way.
The 1830, 1840, and 1850 Cocke Co TN census records indicate that Joseph and Sally had at least 3 sons and 6 daughters, if not more. The 1830 Cocke Co TN census recorded Joseph Black’s family as 00111001-1130201. This shows Joseph age 50-59 (50 would be a 1780 birth year), plus 3 younger males at 20-29, 15-19, and 10-14. Sally was listed as 40-49 (1781-1790) which would certainly match. Five younger females were shown as (2) 20-29, (3) 10-14, 5-9, and 0-4. If they had 4 daughters in 1810 already, then there should have been 4 daughters age 20-29, not 2. If they are the same family, then they must have had at least 8 daughters, and not just 6.
Census analysis has (for some time now) indicated that a Thomas Black was most likely their oldest son, but that has not yet been proven. Given the possibility that Sally was Sarah Patterson Black, the name Thomas really takes on new significance for me. Many of these families named their oldest son after the wife’s father. This whole time I have been suggesting that Sary Patterson was the wife of Joseph Black and the daughter of Thomas Patterson.
The above reasons are why I believe the daughter of Thomas Patterson was Sarah Patterson, sister of John and Robert Patterson of Buncombe. I believe she married Joseph Black (III), son of Mathew Black of Burke Co NC, and that they moved to Cocke Co TN in the 1820’s or 1830’s. They were still living in 1850.
Please let me
know of any additions or corrections that you would like to contribute
to this heritage. Thanks.
Wes Patterson
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