Location of Robert Patterson's Sussex Co DE Land

Robert Patterson of Pemberton’s Branch of Broadkill River, Sussex Co DE

In trying to pinpoint the exact location of Robert Patterson’s 106 acre tract in Sussex Co DE, what details do we know? Let’s take a look at the deeds concerning this tract and see what we can glean from them.

G7-030. 7 November 1732 Matthew Ozbon Jr. of Sussex County, Delaware to Robert Patterson yeoman, of same for 50 pounds, 106 acres on the South side of Pemberton’s Branch, one of the branches that runs into the Broadkill Creek below the county road. Tract was taken up and surveyed for Matthew Ozbon by commissioners warrant granted to Robert Lodge, carpenter of Sussex by proprietors in Philadelphia on 8 December 1718. Robert Lodge sold to Matthew Ozbon dated 2nd day 10th month of 1719. Land was surveyed by Matthew Ozbon and found to contain 212 acres of which half is sold to Robert Patterson. Bounded by Pemberton’s Branch, by a small branch below the county road. Witnesses: Phil. Russel, Robt. Shankland. Acknowledged: 7 February 1733.

G7-032. 7 November 1732 Matthew Ozbon Jr. of Sussex County, Delaware to Thomas Black yeoman, of same for 15 pounds, 106 acres on the South side of Pemberton’s Branch, one of the branches that runs into the Broadkill Creek below the county road. Tract was taken up and surveyed for Matthew Ozbon by commissioners warrant granted to Robert Lodge, carpenter of Sussex by proprietors in Philadelphia on 8 December 1718. Robert Lodge sold to Matthew Ozbon dated 2nd day 10th month of 1719. Land was surveyed by Matthew Ozbon and found to contain 212 acres of which half is sold to Thomas Black. Bounded by Robert Patterson. Witnesses: Phil. Russel, Robt. Shankland. Acknowledged: 7 February 1733.

G7-287. 7 March 1738 Robert Patterson, yeoman of Sussex County and his wife, Sarah, spinster to John Isaac and Jonathan Dunton, late of Summerset County, now of Sussex for 40 pounds, 106 acres on the South side of Pembertons Branch below the County Road and was taken up and surveyed for Matthew Ozburn Jr. by commissioners warrant granted to Robert Lodge, carpenter of Sussex by proprietors in Philadelphia on 8 December 1718. Robert Lodge sold to Matthew Ozburn dated 2nd day 10th month of 1719. Land was surveyed by Matthew Ozburn and found to contain 212 acres of which half is sold to Robert Patterson. Land is bounded by Pembertons Branch below the road, and by the dividing line. Signed: Robart Patterson (his "R" mark), Sarah Patterson (her "S" mark). Witnesses: Jeremiah Claypoole, James Smith. Acknowledged: 6 March 1738

JONATHAN LEWIS m. Mary Brice, 9 Apr 1760. Mary was widow of James Brice and dau. of Thomas Black.

On 16 Feb 1763 Orphans' Court recorded the inventory of the estate of James Brice, filed by Jonathan Lewis who m. Mary admx. of James Brice. . . . Petition to sell land in Broad Kill Hundred.

On 31 Jan 1763 Jonathan Lewis and his wife Mary, Elias Mason and his wife Sarah for (pounds) 75 sold to John Clowes, Jr., merchant, 2 tracts on s. side of Pemberton's Branch, one of which was granted by virtue of a warrant to Robert Lodge and he assigned over his right thereof to Matthew Ozburn, Jr., for whom it was conveyed. The southern 1/2 part of the tract on 7 Nov 1732 became the right of Thomas Black and he d. intestate and the land became the right of Mary and Sarah, daus and only surviving heirs of afsd. Thomas Black, 106 a.; the other tract was granted to Agness Black, sister to afsd. Mary and Sarah by virtue of a warrant adj. afsd. tract and the said Agness d. without issue and the land became the right of the afsd. Mary and Sarah.

First of all, we can determine that the southern boundary line of Patterson’s tract was described as the “dividing line”. What did it divide? It doesn’t specifically say. However, we see from the legacy of Thomas Black’s half of the original 212 acre tract, that Black’s land was the “southern half” of the divided tract. This suggests the “dividing line” was the line that divided the 212 acre tract in half, with Patterson to the north and Black to the south.

The following map highlights the town of Milton, DE. We can see that the Broadkill River flows from west to east directly through the town of Milton and dumps into the Delaware River a few miles to the east. This map was captured using Yahoo maps. All of the following maps may be clicked on to see a larger version of it.

The following map was captured using Google maps in Terrain mode. This tool allows us to see the waterways better, as they flow east to the town of Milton. We can see that the larger body of water just to the west of Milton is called Wagamons Pond, fed by streams from the west and south. Pemberton Branch is the main branch coming from the west and is the branch we are most interested in.

The following map is the same but zoomed out further to see the names of the various branches better, such as Brittingham Branch to the west. We now know that’s the one that flows into Pemberton Branch in the previous map. Likewise, we can see that Ingrams Branch flows north into Diamond Pond which in turn feeds into Wagamons Pond from the south.

The following map is captured from Google Maps but in Traffic mode instead of Terrain mode. The benefit of this mode is that at certain zoom levels we can see tract boundaries. Now we know they are modern tract boundaries, but in some cases the boundaries are still similar to that of two or three centuries ago. So occasionally we can get lucky and see meaningful patterns. That’s where the program DeedMapper comes in. If you have previously mapped out the metes and bounds of a tract of land using DeedMapper, you will know the shape of the tract you are looking for. Before we go any further on that subject though, look at the following map and notice the numbered markings.

Patterson’s tract had five corners, three of which involved a branch. #1 denotes the “corner white oak Pemberton’s Branch”. Then going NE (N75E 167P) “down the sd branch on the several courses”. This means that going NE “down” the branch – down stream – in other words EAST. When a line follows the course of the branch it is not a straight line. However, the next corner it goes to if drawn in a straight line would be North 75 degrees East. That means face due north, then rotate to the right or east 75 degrees. The distance was 167 poles (one pole = 16.5 feet) or 2755.5 feet. That would be the right distance to corner #2 in the above map.

#2 denotes a “corner red oak sapling standing on the sd branch on the west side of the mouth of a small branch”. First notice it doesn’t say Pemberton Branch, but rather a small branch. The head of this small branch begins at #3 just below the road and flows north to #2 where its mouth is at Pemberton Branch. So on the west side of the mouth is where corner #2 is located. The next line then follows the small branch “up the sd branch on the several courses”. It goes “up” the branch – in other words, south. It goes to corner #3 which is located S12W 48P (792 feet).

#3 denotes a “corner white oak standing on the SE side of the sd branch below the road”. This corner is on the SE side of the small branch and “below” the road, or south of the road – Sand Hill Road, that is. Take a look at the following image of the tract from DeedMapper.

Remember the blue lines are the waterways and simply denote the straight path from corner #1 to #2 and from #2 to #3, but in fact the boundaries of the tract were not straight on those blue lines, but rather followed the course of the branches.

Notice the following map, same as previous Google map but zoomed closer. The angle of the modern tract below corner #3 runs SW at the same angle as the DeedMapper image. Same goes for the western boundary of the tract that no doubt followed the line that is now Sandhill Rd running SW from corner #1. Also notice the faint white line running SW from corner #3, separating the two darker sections. This signifies a separation of tracts. This matches how Patterson’s tract should have looked. Furthermore, Patterson’s line from corner #3 running SW to corner #4 was 110.5 Poles or 1823.25 feet. Corner #4 would have terminated near Gravel Hill Rd. Corner #5 would have been along the Sandhill Rd about the point where you see “Rd 319” on the following map.

Basically, it appears to me that the modern road (yellow road in previous map) called County Rd 248 or Gravel Hill Rd or Hwy 30 runs south crossing onto the northern line of Patterson’s old tract and leaves his tract at or around the SE corner of it.

So here is a blend of two mapping programs (Yahoo and Google) and multiple modes in each (Traffic and Terrain), plus the DeedMapper program working together to help pinpoint on modern maps the specific location of a tract of land from almost 300 years ago.

Amazing! I love technology.

WP

Productive Diversions

Sometimes I get so deep in research on a particular topic that the end result is I'm so deep I can't see much. It's like the old saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees." Apparently that applies to family trees as well.

I've learned over the years I have to force myself to switch gears and go work on a different tangent, some other avenue of research. It may be about the same person, but a different part of his life or at a different location.

This is precisely what I've done the last couple of days regarding my ancestor Robert Patterson (d. 1775 SC). Much time and effort has been spent of late on his years on Linville Creek in VA. A lot of progress has been made and I'm getting closer to pinpointing exactly where he lived. But it's time for a break.

So I've switched over to his time prior to that - in Sussex Co DE. In 1732 Robert Patterson bought 106 acres on Pemberton's Branch (of Broadkill River). Past research has allowed me to get fairly close to where this was, but like Linville Creek VA of late, the road blocks appeared. So the last couple of days I've picked that up again as a diversion, to clear my mind of VA and focus on something new.

SUCCESS!

I am in the process of documenting my findings and will publish them in my next post. But I can say with great confidence that I have identified the exact location of Patterson's 106 acre tract in DE. He sold it in 1738 when they were preparing to move to VA. Between his buying and selling deeds, plus future dispositions of the land, coupled with the advancements of modern mapping tools on Yahoo and Google, I have located the spot where it stood. And don't forget the best tool of all - DeedMapper. With the latter program I know the shape of the tract which is critical to finding it on modern maps.

So why couldn't I find it before? Who knows? But this is an example of a PRODUCTIVE DIVERSION. You'd be surprised at how often this works for me.

WP

Joseph Harrison of Sussex Co DE & Augusta Co VA

In July 2010 Harald Reksten was working the Sussex Co DE Court Records. He abstracted a set of records and emailed them to me with the following message:

While looking at the court records I came across these entries about Joseph Harrison that I copied from the microfilm. These records are not published so no one would know about them unless they looked at the microfilm. Notice the references to Joseph Harrison as early as 1725. Makes me think the Joseph Harrison that died in the 1740s Augusta was not a grandson of Isaiah. Also this Joseph could have had quite a few children since he is involved in court cases as early as 1725. Makes me think he is at least the oldest son of old Isaiah's 2nd marriage.

The Isaiah Harrison in question is the old Isaiah Sr who was first married to Elizabeth Wright and then secondly to Abigail Smith. Joseph Harrison died in 1748 Augusta Co VA. Other members of the Isaiah clan were part of the estate settlement in 1748, but Joseph has never been conclusively placed within the Isaiah family. Harald and I believe Joseph was another son, by the second wife.

The Harrisons and Pattersons migrated from Sussex Co DE to Augusta Co VA in the late 1730's. Other families who migrated from DE to VA that were associated with them were the Blacks, Cravens, Stewarts, Ponders, Hoods and others. My Robert Patterson had a sister named Elizabeth who married Jeremiah Harrison (son of Isaiah) in DE. Additionally, Robert Patterson's son, Thomas Patterson (my 5-greats-grandpa) married a Margaret Harrison.

I used to think she was a daughter of Joseph, and then I thought she was a daughter of Samuel. Samuel and Joseph Harrison were brothers. Both of these theories have proven to not hold water,  however. As of 2018, I believe she was a grand-daughter of Gideon Harrison (son of Isaiah), who died in Sussex Co., DE in 1729.

FEBRUARY 1724(5) (Microfilm)
108. 2 February 1724(5) Preservd Coggshall vs Samuel Black. Continued Withdrawn.
109. 2 February 1724(5) Christ. Tophan agt Joseph Harrison. T.C. Sherd amoried – unto the Deft – appear the first day of next Term.

MAY 1725 (Microfilm)
115. 4 May 1725 Christopher Topham agt Joseph Harrison. The said Tophaim appeared for himself T.C. Sheriff amoried ¾ unless ye Deft. appear the first day this Term with Drawer in Costs.
116. 4 May 1725 Wm. PettyJohn vs Isaiah Harrison. David French for ye plantiff appeared T.C. Isaiah Harrison appeared by his attorney Francis Allen. Continued.

My Favorite Genealogy Books and Other Recommended Reads

Ground-breaking. Informative. Essential.

These words come to mind when I considering certain books in my office. Not just any books, mind you. Books that enlarged the world that is genealogy for me. The world I spend many waking hours speculating on my ancestors, imagining their conditions, their ambitions, their experiences. These books helped shape reality in regards to my ancestors. They have closed the gap between imagination and truth.

18th century America - the frontier. Several books reside on my shelf that cover various aspects of frontier migrations of the 1700's, such as:

Settlers by the Long Grey Trail: A Contribution to the History and Genealogy of Colonial Families of Rockingham County, Virginia (by J. Houston Harrison) [Amazon]

Carolina Cradle: Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier, 1747-1762 (by Robert W. Ramsey) [Amazon]

Abigail - Daughter of Robert & Sarah Patterson

Not too many researchers know about Abigail Patterson, a child who was baptized in 1740 in Augusta Co VA on the frontier. And those who have seen that record, assume she was the daughter of the wrong Robert Patterson.

However, in March of 2009 it was discovered this young girl was actually the daughter of Robert and Sarah Patterson, of Linville Creek. In fact, this is the only known record of an Abigail Patterson as the daughter of Robert. I would suggest we'd never have caught onto her were it not for the fact that someone else was baptized the same day. Someone we do recognize. Her Uncle Jeremiah Harrison.

Rev. John Craig was the first resident Presbyterian minister in Augusta Co VA. He was there from 1740-1749, and baptized a lot of people both children and adults. He kept meticulous records of these baptisms, for which we are truly grateful.

3 Nov 1740 Abigail Patterson & Jeremiah Herison (sic)

You may click on the image to see a larger version of it. Notice on November 3, 1740 there were two individuals baptized. Robert Patterson brought his child Abigail, and then Jeremiah Herison (Harrison) was also baptized. It also denotes the fact that Harrison was "an adult person."

The first item of importance is that Jeremiah Harrison was married to Elizabeth Patterson, sister of Robert. More importantly, though, is the unusual notation as to the location of the baptisms. It says "near Halfway House."

The Halfway House

Author J. Houston Harrison wrote on pages 128-129 in his book Settlers by the Long Grey Trail the following details regarding Jeremiah Harrison and this "Halfway House":

"Jeremiah Harrison, besides his brothers, owned various tracts of land on Cook's and Linville's Creeks. From his first patent for 370 acres on the drafts of Cook's and Linville's Creek it appears that he settled in the section now traversed by the Raleigh Springs Turnpike; probably near the present juncture of this pike with the road leading to Mt. Clinton. Just to the east of this juncture the pike crosses the northernmost branch of Cook's Creek while a little to the west the Mt. Clinton road crosses the southernmost branch of Linville's Creek. In the old church book of the Rev. John Craig, the first resident Presbyterian minister in Augusta, Jeremiah is spoken of as living at the 'Half Way House'. His name occurs on a petition for a road filed at Augusta court in 1753-54, by the 'Inhabitants of North Mountain, at the head of Muddy Creek'. The above juncture of roads is approximately midway between Harrisonburg and Mt. Clinton, and Jeremiah was probably about half way between Thomas Harrison's and the Muddy Creek community."

Thomas Harrison was Jeremiah's brother. Thomas' land became the town of Harrisonburg, which was named for him. So half way between Thomas Harrison's (the town of Harrisonburg) and the Muddy Creek community (a few miles west). See the following map which shows the town of Harrisonburg, as well as Rawley Pike (Raleigh Springs Turnpike) and Mt Clinton Pike, etc.

Robert Patterson, father of little Abigail, also lived "on the waters of Cook's and Linville's Creeks". Therefore he lived fairly close to his brother-in-law Jeremiah.

The fact that only a handful of baptisms during the 1740's were actually performed "near Halfway House", and two of them were the same day, I'd say there's no doubt this Robert Patterson was of the Linville Creek variety.

While we don't know exactly how old Abigail was, we do know that some infants as young as a few weeks old were baptized by Rev. Craig. Others I'm sure were a few years old, and as we've already seen, he baptized many adults as well. Did she die young? Could be. Did she get married in VA prior to the clan's move to the Carolinas? It's possible. What we do know is that her father Robert did not mention her in his will in 1775 in York Co SC. He did say something about "all my children is single" at one point, but that hardly sheds any light on the matter. However, it could be the one inclusive statement regarding Abigail if she was still living.

There was an Abigail Patterson in York Co SC as late as 1797. It's the only time we see the name there in SC. See the following deed:

E-502. 13 July 1797 Peter Patterson of York County to Malcolm Henry of same for £150 sterling, 150 acres on the waters of Clarks fork of Bullocks Creek being Pattersons branch of Clarks fork and also 80 acres adjoining it near Peter Patterson's lower field, the ridge road above Jacob Peters School House, Robert Love's corner at cross road and -------Ponder; also 62 acres on both sides of Clarks fork adjoining and originally granted to Robert Patterson Senior, deceased. Signed: Peter Patterson (Seal).  Witnesses: Robert Love, William Henry, Abigail Patterson.  Proved: 8 April 1801 by the oath of William Henry before Saml Watson J.P.

Who was this Abigail Patterson? She was not Peter's wife as it says nothing about being examined privately regarding releasing her dower. Was she Peter's daughter? Was she Peter's sister? Keep in mind that Peter was a son of Robert Patterson and therefore a younger brother of the Abigail who was baptized in 1740. Their father Robert had died in 1775. Their mother Sarah died in 1790. It seems that another sister, Sarah Patterson Black, lived on some of the family land during the 1790's also. It could be this was the same Abigail from 1740, and she never married. We may never know for sure, but I have to consider the possibility.

Just how many children DID Robert Patterson have?

WP

Makin' a List, Checkin' It Twice

No. This is not a Christmas story. But the carole is right, you know.

Did you ever have that teacher who kept insisting you show your work? Did you ever have points counted off your math test because you didn't show how you obtained your answers? Even though you got the correct answer? How many times were you told to check and re-check your work to make sure you didn't make a mistake? Even worse, how many times did you re-check your work and find a mistake you made? Yeah, me too.

I call it "The Discipline of Documentation".

It's not just some dumb thing teachers and parents make kids do as punishment. There's value in showing your work. There are benefits to double checking your conclusions, your plans, your grocery lists, your checkbook register.


It's life. We know it's true. I would suggest it's just as true in the world of genealogy research. But not just for reasons you might assume. Yes, there are mistakes you need to catch. But more importantly, I have found on many occasions that when I go through the discipline of documenting my work, I learn something new that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

It's like the football player who goes through the discipline of practice. Over and over and over. He begins to see patterns in the way his opponent is defending him. At that moment he is then able to see ways he can beat his opponent. Strategies unfold that would not have been realized without going through the discipline of practice. Repetition. Streamlining. Efficiency.

As I have recently been rebuilding the Timeline of Recorded Events for Robert Patterson (my 6-greats-grandfather), it has taken me through this discipline of documentation once again. It can be very tedious. It can be time-consuming. But it's worth it.

Here are some benefits I have found in taking the time to show your work, document your sources, and double-and-triple-checking your information:

1. Erroneous Inclusions: I built my initial list on paper. Hand-written. There were 55 events for which I had vague references scribbled in my notebook. As you can imagine, with that many items on the list they can run together. As I began to enter them into a Word document, the repetitive process began to take place. I began to get them in order. I even found one item that was for the wrong Robert Patterson (Jr. instead of Sr.). This process of double checking my work and showing my sources helped me find one record I should not have included.
    
2. Duplications: And yes, I did accidentally include one event twice by mistake. Again, not a difficult mistake to make, and certainly one that should be caught before presenting your work.
    
3. Omissions: Here's the fun one. I had my list built. I got it transferred from paper to the electronic version. I then went through my source documents to double check my documentation (book number, page number, record type - was it a Land Entry or a Survey or a Land Grant or a Deed, etc.). The process of going through the source files again brought three more records to my attention that I had missed previously. Discipline pays off.
    
4. Clarifications: One court case Robert Patterson was involved in was listed as "April and June 1746". Initially I put this down as two events. One for April and one for June. Makes sense, right? It did to me as this case continued on for almost a year. But when I checked the source information, I learned that this particular event was just one event. It was recorded in a block of court minutes that was actually one recording for both sessions - April and June 1746. In other words, there weren't two sets of minutes recorded, one for each session. There was just one set of minutes recorded for both sessions. So this court case was heard one time, in either April or June 1746, but not both.
    
5. Presentation Issues: It's important to present your work in a professional manner. If it's worth presenting, do it right. If your work is sloppy no one will read past the first paragraph. Correct spelling is necessary. Good grammar is important. Consistent formatting is pleasing to the eye and will not distract the reader from the message of what's being presented.

You can probably think of other benefits that I have not listed here. If you think of any, please leave a comment below.

Yes, it takes work. Yes, it can be tedious and time-consuming. But it's worth it. You find more nuggets in the process of just doing it right. It makes your work trustworthy. People will share more information with you because they see your professionalism. But more importantly, you'll find great satisfaction in producing a piece of work that will stand the test of time.

Have you made your list? Did you check it twice? Can I look at your work and see how you came to your conclusions?

WP

There Were Five Brothers

"My great-great-grandfather came to Georgia in the 1700's. June's got that he must have been the first Patterson to come to Ga. He came from N.C. That's where my Dad said 5 brothers came from the old country landed in N.C. They went to different places. Dad said they were Scotch Irish."
~ Aunt Nellie Patterson Mason, September 1982

I was fourteen years old when I received this second letter from Aunt Nellie. My grandpa Patterson had died in 1975 when I was seven years old, so I had missed out on any opportunities to discuss my Patterson heritage with him. My parents were missionaries in the SE Asian country of Bangladesh (beginning in 1979), so living 12,000 miles away from any other family members only added to my thirst for knowledge concerning my Patterson heritage.

At my dad's urging, I had written Aunt Nellie, the younger sister of my Grandpa. I had met her in person a few times and have fond memories of her to this day. Where Aunt Nellie said "Dad", she was speaking of Elijah Patterson (b 1871). Where she said "great-great-grandfather", she was speaking of John Patterson (b 1765 and married Margaret Black). It seems impossible that it's been 29 years since I received the above letter. And yet, I now feel as though I've come full circle.

The last 15 years have changed everything. Many brick walls in our on-going family tree search have come tumbling down. We know that old John Patterson that my Aunt Nellie referred to, was born in 1765 in what is now York Co SC. But at the time of his birth, it was considered Mecklenburg Co NC.

We know that John's father was Thomas Patterson, oldest son of Robert and Sarah Patterson. We know that Robert was born in the early 1700's. Some say 1705-10, I like to say circa 1711, but both are possible dates for reasons I won't entertain here. Robert was living in Sussex Co DE in the 1730's where some of his oldest children were born, perhaps. Most of his children were born in the Shenandoah Valley of VA, where all of them were raised.

In the early 1760's it seems that most of this Patterson clan and other relation migrated to the Kings Mountain region of the Carolinas - modern day York Co SC. But again, it was North Carolina at the time, so Aunt Nellie's version of the story is accurate.

They were Scotch-Irish (aka Scots-Irish, aka Ulster Scots), so again, Aunt Nellie's recollection was spot on.

For years now we only knew of four sons of Robert and Sarah Patterson. Recent developments have proven there was at least a fifth, James Patterson, who died in 1774 or 1775 just before Robert Patterson penned his Last Will & Testament in July 1775, leaving James out of the Will for obvious reasons.

So, there were five brothers. Aunt Nellie was right.

My chief goals in life (in regards to genealogy research, that is) when I first began this quest some 30 years ago were to find out 1) how many brothers there were, 2) what their names were, 3) which one I descend from, 4) when they "arrived", and 5) where they went.

Many stories I heard about these brothers listed different states they moved to, but there was always one that was a mystery. They weren't sure what happened to the fifth brother. While Aunt Nellie didn't say anything to that affect, I heard this from more than one relative.

This blog post is a special one for me. It's post #100 for this blog. Nothing earth-shattering, mind you. But still a special one. That's why I'm writing about this 29 year old letter. That's why I'm remembering Aunt Nellie, and the stories I heard as a youngster about my Patterson heritage. I'm returning to my roots - MY roots. My early years growing up in the 1970's and '80's.

Answers

1) There were five brothers.

2) Their names were Thomas, James, Robert Jr, Peter and William.

3) I descend from Thomas, the father of old John Patterson who moved to GA.

4) Thomas may have been born in DE or VA, I'm not yet sure which. The rest were born in VA near Harrisonburg on Linville Creek. That is where they and their sisters were raised. There were no less than five sisters, as well.

5) Thomas eventually ended up in North Carolina. James died a young man in South Carolina. Robert Jr died in Tennessee. Peter died in South Carolina also. And William? Well, we still don't know what happened to him. Last known record shows he was a Loyalist during the Revolutionary War, in South Carolina. He may have died during that war. He may have moved away as so many Loyalists did. We just don't know.

So, while the five brothers didn't immigrate from the "old country" per se, they did migrate to the Carolinas (from VA) in the 1760's.

And, while John Patterson didn't actually move to GA in the 1700's, he did move to NC in the 1790's and then moved down into GA "from N.C." in the 1820's.

Aunt Nellie passed away in 1996. It's taken almost 30 years for final confirmation on many pieces of her story, but I'm just grateful to have had her story, in her own writing. Thank you, Aunt Nellie. And, thank you June Walker Brown, another Patterson cousin whom Aunt Nellie was quoting at one point. Sometimes family legends can be right after all!

WP