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James Patterson Sr (1708 - 1791)

James Patterson Sr
Born in County Antrim, Ulster, Irelandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 1731 in Lancaster Co, PAmap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 83 in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USAmap
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Profile last modified | Created 29 Jul 2011
This page has been accessed 2,272 times.

Contents

Biography

JAMES PATTERSON the elder was born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1708,[1] [2] emigrated to America in 1728, and settled in Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[3] James is considered the first of his family to settle in this country.[4] His birth and death dates and places come from Find A Grave, but no sources or photos are included.[5] (James's date of death is also supported by his will which suggests that at December 20, 1791, he expected to die soon: "I James Patterson...being warned of my disolution by the dispensations of Almighty God..."[6])

James married Mary Hamilton Montgomery[1]; she was born 1710 in Ireland and died 1777 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[7] Mary's Find A Grave memorial states she was from County Donegal, Ireland, but does not provide a source.[8] (See comments about Mary in Research Notes below.)

James and Mary Patterson had 10 children--five sons and five daughters. The sons were WILLIAM, JOHN, SAMUEL, JAMES, and THOMAS.[3] Find A Grave lists two sons born nearly 20 years apart, William Patterson (1732-1818) and Thomas Patterson (1754-1829).[9] In the research notes below, nine children are named (daughters listed as Hannah, Jane, Isabella, and Elizabeth; Mary has been omitted, but see will discussion below); William is the first and Thomas the last.

According to the 1790 U.S. Federal Census, James headed a household of 12 comprising two free white males over 16, one free white male under 16, five free white females, three slaves, and one other free person.[10]

James wrote his will December 20, 1791 in Little Britain Township. In it he named (in order of appearance) daughter Hannah; son William; son John; grandchildren James and Martha, whose father Samuel was deceased; daughter Isabel and her son John Brown; daughter Mary; son Thomas; daughter Jean; son James; and Thomas's son Nathan and his daughter Elizabeth.[6]

James died by December 30, 1791, when his will was proved, in Little Britain Township, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania.[1] He was buried in January of 1792 at the Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church/Chestnut Level, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[11]

Slaves

According to the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 1790 census, James owned three slaves. There was also "one other free person," presumably not white, in the household. Currently there is no way of knowing who that person was, but if by chance someone is ever able to identify the slaves, that other free person could be of interest.

James died shortly after the 1790 census. As noted above, an image of his will is available at Ancestry.com. Slaves are not mentioned. James left part of his estate to his heirs and ordered that some assets be sold. It is not clear from the will whether the slaves were sold or retained by the family.

Note: This section has been added per instructions on the WikiTree page "Documenting Unnamed Enslaved Persons".

Research Notes

Following a merge completed April 20, 2019, I have reorganized the biographical information in order to provide a clearer chronology. Also, I have moved certain information that may be incorrect from the Biography to the Research Notes section. - Julie Kelts

The following two paragraphs were added to this profile from a posting to genealogy.com entitled "Genealogy Report: Descendants of Arthur Patterson." They include the statement that James's father was named John Patterson, but it is not documented.

JAMES4 PATTERSON (JOHN3, ARTHUR2, ARTHUR1) was born 1708 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and died December 20, 1792 in Drumore Twsp, Lancaster County, Pa. He married MARY MONTGOMERY HAMILTON, daughter of JOSEPH MONTGOMERY HAMILTON. She was born 1710 in Ireland, and died 1777 in Lancaster County, Pa. Notes for JAMES PATTERSON: Mexico,Pennsylvania was founded by Captain James Patterson in 1751.

Children of JAMES PATTERSON and MARY HAMILTON are: 12. i. WILLIAM5 PATTERSON, b. March 14, 1732/33, Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pa.; d. June 29, 1818, Washington County, Pa. 13. ii. JOHN PATTERSON, b. 1734, Lancaster County, Pa; d. Ohio. 14. iii. HANNAH M PATTERSON, b. 1736, Lancaster County, Pa; d. 1804, Guilford, N.C.. 15. iv. SAMUEL PATTERSON, b. 1740, Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pa; d. Old Mingo Cemetary. 16. v. JANE PATTERSON, b. 1741. 17. vi. ISABELLA B. PATTERSON, b. 1743, Lancaster County, Pa. 18. vii. JR JAMES PATTERSON, b. November 1745, Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pa; d. August 17, 1825, Lancaster County, Pa. viii. ELIZABETH PATTERSON, b. 1752, Lancaster County, Pa; d. 1765, Lancaster County, Pa. 19. ix. THOMAS PATTERSON, b. February 1, 1754, Lancaster County, Pa; d. March 28, 1829, Lancaster County, Pa. [12]

The source of this paragraph is History of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Boyd Crumrine, L.H. Everts & Co., 1882; available on-line), pages 739-740: The first-named son, WILLIAM PATTERSON, was born in 1733. He was twice married. His first wife was ROSANNA SCOTT, who died April 5, 1769. By her had these children: MARY, MOSES, SAMUEL, THOMAS, and JAMES. April 10, 1770, WILLIAM married his second wife, ELIZABETH BROWN, by whom he had ten children, - JOHN, ROSANNA, WILLIAM, NATHANIEL, RACHEL, ELIZABETH, JOSIAH, HANNA, NATHAN, and ELEANOR. In 1779, WILLIAM removed with his family to Washington County, Pa., and settled in Cross Creek township (pg. 740) upon a farm now owned by his great-grandson, R. M. PATTERSON, where he died June 29, 1818. His wife, ELIZABETH BROWN, died about the year 1828. Their son, “Gen.” THOMAS PATTERSON, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., Oct. 1, 1764, and was fifteen years of age when he came with his parents to Washington County. He was a farmer and miller, was a prominent and influential citizen, representing Washington County for a number of years in the United States Congress, and died Nov. 17, 1841. About the year 1795 he married ELIZABETH FINLEY, of Westmoreland County, Pa. She died Jan. 6, 1837. They had twelve children. Two died in infancy. Those who grew to manhood and womanhood were WILLIAM, JAMES, SAMUEL, MARY, JOHN, THOMAS, FINLEY, ELIZABETH, MOSES, and ROSANNA.

One contributor to this profile speculated that James was " likely to be of Scottish ancestry since many fled Scotland for northern Ireland with a promise of a better living. Unfortunately, this was not the case, so then families set off for North America in hopes of a better life. James was one such and he eventually settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania."

Although some believe that James served in the American Revolutionary War (he is recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution [Patriotic Service] for the state of Pennsylvania[1]), it is more likely that it was actually his son who served. On July 1, 1777; James Patterson took the oath of allegiance to the state of Pennsylvania, in Little Britain Township.[13]

Previously, this profile stated that James's wife was the daughter of Joseph Hamilton Montgomery. Others believe that she was a widow, maiden name Hamilton, whose first husband was named Montgomery. As of 28 November 2021, Mary's profile states that she is the daughter of Hugh Montgomery. Although Find A Grave and other sources state that Mary died in 1777, that is probably wrong because in 1779 she and her husband deeded 207 acres in Little Britain to their son John.[14] We know Mary died some time before 1791, because she is not mentioned in her husband's will.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 21 Apr 2020), "Record of James Patterson", Ancestor # A086398.
  2. The County Antrim birthplace is also mentioned in the biographical notes of a great grandson as published in A Genealogical and Personal History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, page 513 (Ancestry source)[1]
  3. 3.0 3.1 Pg 739 History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men
  4. Pg 726; History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men
  5. Find A Grave
  6. 6.0 6.1 Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, Lancaster County, Will Books E-F 1784-1796 (Ancestry source, image 410 of 586 or Free Ancestry Image)
  7. Affiliated families; descendants of Arthur Patterson; retrieved from http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/n/o/r/Paige-A-Norman-WA/GENE4-0004.html
  8. Find A Grave
  9. Find A Grave
  10. 1790 United States Federal Census, Little Britain, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (Ancestry source, page 7 of 8) [2]
  11. Find A Grave: Memorial #65872370
  12. http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/n/o/r/Paige-A-Norman-WA/GENE4-0004.html
  13. Pg 461, Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution; 1775-1783; V13 Series 2; retrieved 3/1/2018 from https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE219994
  14. Abstracts of Lancaster County, PA Deed Records
  • First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; database and digital images, "1790 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010 Ancestry Record 5058 #320145: accessed 30 December 2018; citing Year: 1790; Census Place: Lttle Britain, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Series: M637; Roll: 8; Page: 77; Image: 767; Family History Library Film: 0568148.
  • Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 30 December 2018), memorial page for James Patterson (1708–20 Dec 1791), Find A Grave: Memorial #65872370, citing Old Chestnut Level Presbyterian Cemetery, Quarryville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Ruth Dunlap (contributor 46996653).
  • History of Washington County, Pennsylvania: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men; edited by Boyd Crumrine. Illustrated. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts and Co., 1882. Author: Crumrine, Boyd, 1838-1916
  • Pennsylvania archives. Second series: printed under direction of the Secretary of the Commonwealth; Statement of Responsibility: edited by John B. Linn and Wm. H. Egle; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : E.K. Meyers, 1876-1890, 1896; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : C.M. Busch, Original Source: Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution, associated battalions and militia, 1775-1783; v. 13; Author(s): Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870; Linn, John Blair, 1831-1899; Egle, William Henry, 1830-1901; Reed, George Edward, 1846-1930; Montgomery, Thomas Lynch, 1862-1951;
  • Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church, Patton, Robert J, Jr. (2004), Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church and Cemeteries, Drumore Township,Lancaster Co, PA.
  • Patterson Genealogical Register, Andrews, James P. (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1867).
  • Montgomery Heritage Volume Three, Montgomery, Oral, (Name: Oral Montgomery; San Antonio, Texas; 1987), Series of Five volumes of typed manuscript from Oral Montgomery on his line plus some other Montgomery data. Books available at San Antonio Library
  • SAR Application 23463, (Name: Name: Sons of the American Revolution), James Patterson.
  • Genealogical History of the Montgomerys and their Descendants, Montgomery, David B, (Name: J P Cox; Location: Owensville, Indiana, 1903), Pages 303-306 based on letter of George M Black; Electronic Book .PDF 436 pages available at archive.org
  • Pennsylvania, Find A Grave Index, 1682-2012, Ancestry.com, (Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date:2012).
  • 1790 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), Year: 1790; Census Place: Caernarvon, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Series: M637; Roll: 8; Page: 124; Image: 815; Family History Library Film: 0568148; Record for James Patterson




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with James by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with James:

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Comments: 5

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This profile needs a slave section and to be added to the "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, slave owners" category. I could not update it today due to an error message that said there was an e-mail address in the text.

Update: I found the e-mail address and fixed that and added the slave section.

posted by [Living Kelts]
edited by [Living Kelts]
Patterson-3711 and Patterson-1556 do not represent the same person because: Patterson-1556 was born 1708, died 1791. Patterson-3711 born 1914, died 1998. Clearly not the same person.
posted by Mitchell Wilcox
Patterson-3711 and Patterson-1556 appear to represent the same person because: Seeking to merge away this empty Unsourced unconnected profile. Thank you.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Patterson-4907 and Patterson-1556 appear to represent the same person because: Duplicate
posted by [Living Daly]
James Patterson Sr. can't possibly be a child of Ann & Arthur as his dob is 12 years prior to their wedding, less than 10 years after Ann's dob and he has a birth location in Ireland. Please disconnect him.
posted by R Prior