Note: Much
of this chapter, is full of conjecture. Please do not use
any of the information in this chapter without proper
documentation. In other words, if
something that you read in this chapter sounds likely to you, don’t
just graft it on to your family tree. Don’t post it on the
internet, don’t state it as fact in message board messages, don’t
publish it, etc.—UNLESS your find reliable sources to substantiate
the possibilities presented here.
Mix-Up
#1
The assumption that the Peter “Jr.” listed in the D.A.R.
magazine article as son of Peter Sr. of Paxtang is the same man as
the Peter Patterson of Fayette
Co.
The biggest “mix-up” of all, regarding
“our” Peter of Paxtang, involves the two sources cited at the
beginning of this paper: (1) the D.A.R. magazine article written by
Florence Espy, and (2) the section of Ellis’ History of Fayette
Co., PA, which
mentions “our” Peter and his three brothers. Because the D.A.R. magazine
article claims that a “Peter Sr.” settled in Paxtang and had a son
named Peter (“Jr.”) it appears that all researchers (until now!)
have assumed that the Peter “Jr.” of the D.A.R. article is the same
Peter mentioned by Ellis. This cannot be correct, as we
have proven.
Now, it hardly seems possible that
someone could have published an article in which nearly every single
spouse name was incorrect.
(Peter Patterson m. Ann Montgomery, Robert Patterson m.
Eleanor Porter, William Patterson m. Mary McCormick, James Patterson
m. Mary Stewart, Elizabeth Patterson m. Josiah Espy, Eleanor
Patterson m. Matthew Brown and Jane Patterson m. William
Montgomery.) In fact,
we have found evidence of some of these marriages.
Therefore, we think it logical to suppose that there was
perhaps a Peter Patterson (Sr.) who had the seven children listed in
this D.A.R. magazine article, and whose children did perhaps marry
the people as stated. However, we do not believe that this Peter
“Sr.” was of Paxtang. And, as stated above, we do not
believe that the Peter Jr. listed in the D.A.R. magazine
article as son of Peter Sr. is “our” Peter. The findings in this
paper therefore contradict information in all D.A.R. lineages which
claim descendancy from George and Mary “Polly” (Patterson)
Espy. These
lineages have Peter and Ann/Mary Montgomery as the parents of Mary
“Polly,” which we know is wrong. We believe that the D.A.R. magazine
article so-often cited in this work is the main reason why all the
D.A.R. lineages involving descent from Mary “Polly” Patterson and
George Espy are wrong. We believe the primary “red herring” is the
unproven (and, we believe, incorrect) statement found in the D.A.R.
magazine article that there was a Peter Patterson
Sr. of
Paxtang.
We allow the possibility that
there could have been
a Peter, son of an older Peter, who married an Ann
Montgomery—but we do not believe this Peter to be “our” Peter. And the same goes for the
rest of the children and their spouses. We do not deny the existence
of these Pattersons, we just don’t think (for the most part) that
they’re the siblings of “our” Peter. We say “for the most part”
because we believe that the William Patterson who m. Mary McCormick
was “our” Peter’s brother. However, we know that the
William who married Mary McCormick was NOT a brother to the alleged
Peter who allegedly m.Ann Montogomery. (Our sources are “solid”
regarding this; it’s pretty hard to argue with marriage records,
deeds, wills and
headstones!)
Also, we believe it is possible that the Elizabeth
Patterson who allegedly m. Josiah Espy could have been the
sister of “our” Peter, and we also believe it is possible
that an Eleanor Patterson m. Matthew Brown, and that this Eleanor
could have been “our” Peter’s sister. We say this about Elizabeth
and Eleanor only because we have not been able to find evidence that
proves that they were not “our” Peter’s
sisters. However, we
also have not been able to find evidence that proves they
were “our” Peter’s sisters. We do know, however, that
the James who was Peter’s brother married Flora Dale, not Mary
Stewart. And we know
that the Robert who was Peter’s brother m. Mary Stewart, not Eleanor
Porter. And we know, of
course, that our Peter m. Agnes McCormick and, later, a woman named
Mary—but he did not marry an Ann Montgomery, to our
knowledge.
We believe that the Peter Patterson of
Drumore (whose will was probated in 1786) could have had many
children, most of whom could have moved away with families of their
own by the time he wrote his will. Therefore perhaps this Peter
Sr. included only the names of his children who were still living
with him or who were living nearby: (Mary, Margaret,
Hannah and the unnamed dau. whom we knowto be Agnes). We believe that Peter
Patterson of Drumore could have also had children Peter,
Robert, William, James, Elizabeth, Eleanor and Jane, just as the
D.A.R. magazine article states, and that it was perhaps these
children, born of a
Peter Patterson of Drumore, not of Paxtang, who married the
people as stated in the magazine
article.
Further, we also believe that this Peter
Patterson of Drumore could have been a brother to “our”
Peter’s father, whose name was probably James Patterson. (See
previous chapter: “Who Was Peter’s Father?”) A James Patterson, also of
Drumore, died in 1785; his Will lists wife Mary and children: Sarah,
John, Mary, Robert, Jane, Elizabeth and James. We believe it’s possible
that this James Patterson of Drumore could have also had sons
William and Peter who were not listed in his Will because perhaps
they had already been given their inheritance. Our theory would make “our”
four Patterson brothers, plus their sister Mary, cousins to
the children listed in the D.A.R. magazine article. And, if true, that would
also mean that “our” Peter had sisters Sarah, Jane and Elizabeth, in
addition to his sister Mary. And, who knows, perhaps it was
this theoretical sister, Elizabeth, who m. Josiah Espy. And, if
our theory proves to be true, that would also mean that “our” Peter
had a brother John in addition to his brothers William,
James and Robert, of whom Ellis writes in History of Fayette
County.
We know from the will of Peter Patterson
of Drumore that this Peter had a daughter named Mary who m. John
Thompson. “Our” Peter’s sister, Mary, m. Elijah Stewart. Therefore “our” Peter’s
father cannot be Peter Patterson of Drumore.
We believe that researchers over the
years might have mixed up the two groups of children—one set of
children being the offspring of Peter (Sr.?). of Drumore,
and the other set of children being the offspring of James
of Drumore. In
this theory, both sets of children would have included a son named
Peter, and that certainly would have added to the confusion.
We suspect that previous
researchers could have mixed up some, but not all, of the children
in the two groups. That would explain why the William Patterson who
m. Mary McCormick, whom we know to be “our” Peter’s brother, is
claimed in both groups.
(The D.A.R. magazine article says
this William who m. Mary McCormick was son of Peter Sr., and we
maintain that he was “our” Peter’s brother, whom we believe NOT to
be a son of Peter Sr.)
Further, we believe that this mix-up
might have occurred because of the probably erroneous published
statement that the Peter “Sr.” who had the other group of
children was from Paxtang rather than, as we believe, from
Drumore. (The D.A.R. magazine article is the chief
culprit here.)
We believe that the only Peter who was
of Paxtang was “our” Peter, and the Peter Sr. who had the children
listed in the D.A.R. magazine article was not of Paxtang at all, but
that he was probably the Peter of Drumore Twp. We believe that once the
wrong information got published (stating that the Peter Sr. who had
the seven children listed in the D.A.R. magazine article was of
Paxtang) then this led to futher mix-ups. For example, a woman looking
for D.A.R. membership who knew she had an Rev. War ancestor named
Peter Patterson who lived in Paxtang, might then discover that
Cowden’s Co. was formed in Paxtang and (correctly) claim this Peter
as her ancestor.
However, this same theoretical D.A.R. wannabe might also have
read the D.A.R. magazine article, so in her lineage submitted to the
D.A.R. she would then have a Peter Patterson of Paxtang (correct)
who was in Cowden’s Co. (correct) who m. Ann Montgomery
(incorrect). This woman’s lineage would, in turn, get entered
in a D.A.R. lineage book, and the stage would be set for further
mix-ups.
As stated above, we do believe that it
is possible that there was a Peter Patterson who married an
Ann Montgomery (though we have not yet found any record of this
marriage). We just do
not believe that the alleged Peter who m. Ann Montgomery was of
Paxtang, nor do we believe that he was the Peter Patterson who was
in Capt. Cowden’s company.
The Peter Patterson who was in Cowden’s Company is “our”
Peter, and he did not marry Ann
Montgomery.
Regarding this Peter who m.
Ann Montgomery and the publication of the D.A.R. magazine article
which stated that he was of Paxtang: Because of this mix-up, we
believe an additional mix-up occurred. Once Patterson researchers
began sifting through records east of the mountains, and
saw a Peter Patterson and wife “Mary” on a Fayette Co. deed, some of
these researchers, we believe, then could have invented the
spouse name “Mary Montogmery” for our Peter. This would explain the
several spouse names listed for the same Peter Patterson of Paxtang
who was in Capt. Cowden’s Co in various D.A.R. lineages: some list
Ann Montgomery and some list Mary Montgomery. NONE of the D.A.R.
lineage books correctly name the wife of the Peter Patterson who was
in Capt. Cowden’s company-- the Peter who was the father of
Mary who m. George Espy.
There is one possible exception; one lineage lists Peter’s
wife as Nancy _________.
Agnes, we have learned, was sometimes a nickname for
Nancy. But then, of
course, somebody jumped on THAT and a “Nancy Montgomery” was
invented for one of the lineages.
Jeeesh.
Continuing on with the children as
listed in the D.A.R. magazine article: there is a record of
a Robert Patterson who m. Eleanor Porter. This marriage is listed in
D.A.R. Lineage Book, Vol. 38 p. 98. This Robert is said to
have been b. 1746 in Lancaster Co. and to have d. 1790 in
Westmoreland Co., PA. We allow for the posiblity that somewhere
there might have been
another Robert Patterson (1746-1790) who m. Eleanor Porter, but this Robert is
not our Peter’s brother.
75
We have found a William Montgomery from the
Rockbridge Co., VA area, who married a Jane Patterson. This Jane was from a VA
family of Pattersons. We think it significant that the D.A.R.
article listed two Patterson/Montgomery marriages: Peter Patterson
m. Ann Montgomery and Jane Patterson m. William Montgomery. In Montgomery genealogy we
have found a James Montgomery b. abt 1695; d. abt 1757 in Augusta
Co., VA; m. Ann ____ abt. 1715 in Ireland. James and Ann Montgomery had
son William b. 1727 in IRE; he d. 1780 in KY. This William m. Jane
Patterson abt. 1750 in Virginia. (Found on-line at ww.rootsweb.com/~tngiles/charts/montgom.htm ;
compiler is Marie Evans Davis-McQueen reeecans@gulftel.com ) If the James b. abt
1695 referred to above married a woman named Ann, we might guess
that they had a daughter who was named Ann after the mother. This could be the Ann
Montgomery who was said to have married Peter Patterson in the
D.A.R. magazine article.
If true, this would point to a
third Patterson listed in the D.A.R. article who was
living in the Augusta Co., VA area (from which Rockbridge Co. was
later formed) in the 1750’s. Could all of the children listed in
the D.A.R. article be VA Pattersons?
And they got mixed up with our PA Pattersons? More
research is needed to answer that question, but we think it
likely.
We think it’s possible that these VA
Pattersons could have been children of Peter Patterson of
Drumore. They could
have been born in the 1720’s, then moved from Drumore Twp.,
Lancaster Co. to the area that later became Rockbridge Co., VA.
Rockbridge Co., VA was originally part of Augusta Co., VA, and
Augusta Co., VA encompassed a huge area which at one early time,
interestingly, even included the present counties of Fayette and
Westmoreland in PA. At
any rate, we think it possible that a researcher could have been led
astray in the following sequence of research
steps:
-Somebody found the 3 VA Pattersons
(Robert, Peter, Jane)
-Somebody read the D.A.R. magazine
article which claimed that the name of the father of Robert, Peter
& Jane was Peter of
Paxtang
-Somebody found a Peter in Paxtang
(“our” Peter)
-Somebody therefore assumed this Peter
of Paxtang was older than we know he
was
-Somebody therefore assumed Robert,
Peter & Jane of VA were offspring of this Peter whom they’d
found living in Paxtang Twp. (They missed the Peter of Drumore
Twp.)
-D.A.R. lineages based on wrong
information in the magazine article were
published
-Even more researchers were led
astray
-Etc.
As stated in the Introduction to this
paper, we have found a marriage of a James Patterson to a Mary
Stewart. As also previously mentioned, this James Patterson would
have been much older than “our” Peter’s brother; this James fought
in the French and Indian War.
Regarding this mix-up, we also find it strange that we know
for sure that Peter’s brother Robert married a Mary
Stewart. We wonder
whether, in addition to the other mix-ups, could the author of the
D.A.R. magazine article simply have transposed some spouses? (William Patterson m.
Eleanor Porter, not Robert---and Robert m. Mary Stewart, not James,
etc.)
In Lytle family genealogy, there seems
to be universal agreement that the wife of Matthew Brown was Eleanor
Lytle, not Eleanor Patterson.
However, we have seen the name of Matthew Brown’s wife
listed as Eleanor Patterson in one source—and only one source--and
that source is D.A.R. Lineage Book, Vo. 25, p. 125, where the wife
of Matthew Brown is listed as “Eleanor Lytle
Patterson.” Everywhere else, Matthew Brown is said to have
married “Eleanor Lytle.” Further research needs to be
done here, especially as the journal of Rev. Cuthbertson records the
27 Jan 1761 marriage—in Paxtang!-- of a Matthew Brown to an Eleanor
McCormick.
There were several Matthew Browns living in the same area at
the same time (cousins) so the opportunities for “mixing up” the
various Matthew Browns are
numerous.
Finally, we have the Elizabeth Patterson
who was said to have m. Josiah Espy, and from whom our line is said
to descend (in addition to descent from “our” Peter’s daughter, Mary
“Polly” who m. George Espy, Elizabeth and Josiah Espy’s son). If the several
D.A.R.lineages are true, and if the Espy genealogy which
states that Elizabeth was dau. of Peter Sr. are correct (and both
sources have been seriously questioned in this paper)., then we
believethat the Eizabeth who m. Josiah Espy might have been “our”
Peter’s cousin, not his sister. In that case, Mary “Polly”
Patterson would have married her 2nd cousin, George Espy,
not her 1st cousin. However, IF our theory about James
being the father of our Peter is true, since this James lists a
daughter Elizabeth in his Will, perhaps our Peter did have
a sister Elizabeth who m. Josiah Espy—in which case Mary “Polly”
would have married her first cousin, George Espy. More
research is needed to straighten this
out.
There is much conjecture in the above section. We are merely posing
theories that require research and investigation. Please do not
incorporate any of this information into your research without
proper documentation.
Mix-Up
#2
James Patterson of Franklin Twp., Fayette Co.
(“our” Peter’s
brother)
and James Patterson of South
Huntingdon Twp., Westmoreland Co.
It appears that some researchers have
confused James Patterson, Peter’s brother, with another James Patterson who
resided in nearby S. Huntingdon Twp., Westmoreland Co. This James Patterson of S.
Huntingdon allegedly m. Agnes Finney. (Patterson &
Pattison Assn. Vol. 2
pp. 75-76). We
have seen the James Patterson who m. Agnes Finney listed as “our”
Peter’s brother in various internet postings, and this is an
error. It doesn’t help
matters that this James of S. Huntingdon had a son named Elijah—as
did “our” Peter’s brother, Robert, who ALSO lived in
Westmoreland County, in Rostraver Twp.! It ALSO doesn’t help that we
suspect the Finney family from which this James’ wife, Agnes Finney,
came, were the Finneys of Paxtang Twp., Dauphin Co.! The Stewarts, Finneys and
Pattersons of Paxtang intermarried and intermarried—there were
Elijah Stewarts, Elijah Pattersons AND Elijah Finneys; there were
Finney Stewarts and Finney Pattersons—all with Paxtang “roots”! So this James Patterson of
S. Huntingdon Twp., Westmoreland Co., is probably some close
relation to “our” Pattersons—but we just don’t at this time know
how he is related.
Perhaps James Patterson of South Huntingdon, Westmoreland
Co., is son of Peter of Drumore—in which case he would be “our”
Peter’s hypothetical cousin.
Mix-Up
#3
Four Elijah
Pattersons--
Two of whom were
listed on the 1830 Westmoreland Co.
census
Though it is not especially pertinent to our line, a brief
note about the various Elijah Pattersons might prevent future
Patterson researchers from stumbling into this “mix-up.”
First, as seen in Robert’s chapter, our Peter’s brother,
Robert, had a son named Elijah. We believe his son was named after
his wife’s brother, Elijah Stewart. This Elijah was mentioned in
Robert Patterson of Rostraver Twp.’s will. This is the Elijah Patterson
listed on the 1830 Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland
Co. census.
Second, James Patterson of S. Huntingdon Twp.,
Westmoreland Co., m. Agnes Finney and they had a son named
Elijah. This Elijah was
listed on the 1830 South
Huntingdon, Westmoreland Co. census. James Patterson of S.
Huntingdon d. intestate in 1813. We find son Elijah’s name in the 19
Feb 1817 Westmoreland Co. Orphans Court records. (Partitions & Orphans Court
Vol. 5, pp 61-62)
In the “petition of Elijah Patterson one of the sons and
heirs at law of James” we find that Elijah appeared in court and
stated that his father, James, d. intestate in 1813 and that this
James’ son, John, had also previously died leaving children Nancy,
Jane, Mary and James “yet in their minority”; Eliza Patterson had
been appointed their guardian.
This is a confusing document and we do not need to delve into
it further here; suffice it to say that this document confirms that
James of S. Huntingdon had son Elijah Patterson. We suspect Elijah to be
named after James’ wife, Agnes (Finney) Patterson, whose father or
brother (we can’t remember which*) was Elijah Finney.
These Finneys were of Paxtang Twp., Dauphin Co., PA.
Third, in Stewart genealogy we find that our Peter’s brother,
Robert, married Mary Stewart, who was the only daughter of Samuel
Stewart. These Stewarts had settled in the Paxtang/Hanover Twp. area
of Dauphin Co., PA.
Robert’s wife Mary Stewart had a brother, Samuel Jr., who had
a son named Charles.
Charles moved to Butler Co. OH where his daughter Margaret
was born. Margaret
Stewart is said to have m. Elijah Patterson “of Piqua, OH” on 31 Aug
1848. This Elijah was
b. 16 Feb 1809 and d. 9 July 1880. Who were the parents of this
third Elijah Patterson?
We do not know, but it’s possible that he was the son of
Elijah who was the son of our Peter’s brother, Robert. In other
words, he could have been the grandson of our Peter’s brother
Robert. This theoretical Elijah would be of the right generation to
have married Margaret
Stewart.
*We
are sure we will be forgiven for not remembering the details of
Elijah Finney after presenting this passage from Ayres’ history of
the Stewart family, as annotated by Minnehaha Finney. Ayres’ original text is not
italicized; Minnehaha Finney’s annotations are
italicized:
“Nancy Crame Stewart, born in Panchon [Paxtang] Twp. 1799, m.
Elijah Finney her cousin; the relationship came through Elijah
Stewart [see No. 3, Samuel
Stewart, the father of Elijah Stewart, was we know an older brother
of Hugh Stewart, who was the grandfather of Nancy Crane Stewart.
Note, M.F. James Finney, bro of Wm. Finney, my great grandfather,
and these two Finney men married Sarah Stewart and Margaret Stewart,
both daughters of Elijah Stewart, son of Samule Stewart, No. 2, and
Mary McClay…and Elijah Finney was the son of Elijah Stewart’s
daughter, Sarah (2) wife of James Finney, that is the grand-son of
Elijah Stewart and also the great grand-son of Samuel Stewart No. 3
(2) so Nancy Crane Stewart married her great uncle’s (Samuel
Stewart) great grand-son. Sort of round-about. M. F.] Wrap your
head around THAT!
76
Fourth we read in Biograhies of Westmoreland County
that a John Patterson
of Rostraver Twp.,
Westmoreland Co. had a son named Elijah Patterson. According to this source,
this Elijah was b. 1776 and d. 1830. He m. Mary McConnell. We think the author of this
book might have made an error when he wrote that the name of this
Elijah’s father was John;
we think this Elijah is the son of our Peter’s brother, Robert. Robert’s son Elijah
was bapt. by Cuthbertson in 1778; we know Robert and his son Elijah
settled in Rostraver Twp.; there is only one Elijah Patterson on the
1830 Rostraver Twp. census; therefore we believe the author of
Biographies of Westmoreland County erred when he wrote that
John was the father of this Elijah Patterson of Rostraver Twp. Besides, the author of
Biographies of Westmoreland Co. writes that this Elijah of
Rostraver Twp. named his first son Robert—a clue that this
Elijah was son of Robert, not of John.
Mix-Up
#4
Elizabeth, Eleanor & Jane
Patterson
We have spent a great deal of time looking for evidence of
the Elizabeth who allegedly m. Josiah Espy, of the Eleanor who
allegedly m. Matthew Brown, and of the Jane who allegedly m. William
Montogomery. However,
we cannot with assurance establish any women of these names who m.
these men as being the sisters of “our” Peter--nor can we positively
identify the parents of these women. Therefore, we have not
included in this paper any of the research found to date on these
three Patterson women.
Researchers reading this work would be wise to delete any
reference to these three from any family tree which includes “our”
Peter, until such time as their actual identities as Peter’s sisters
can be proven WITH
PRIMARY SOURCE RECORDS—NOT WITH INFORMATION FROM EITHER UNDOCUMENTED
FAMILY HISTORIES OR
FROM UNDOCUMENTED D.A.R.
LINEAGES.
