Wednesday, December 26, 2018

John and Margaret Black Patterson in York Co SC in 1790 After All

John and Margaret Black Patterson appear to have been in York Co., SC in 1790 after all


Last revised: 26 Dec 2018

For years we have searched for John Patterson and his young family with wife and one-year-old son, Joseph B. Patterson in the 1790 census. Thirty years ago I was given family group sheets listing my GGGG-Grandparents as living in Pendleton District, SC in 1790. About a decade ago, Marty Grant showed credible evidence to indicate the John Patterson on page 8 of that census (1-1-1-0-0) more accurately fits with the Patterson / Chapman family group, not the Patterson / Black family group. I agreed with him then and still do.

So where were John and "Peggy", if not in Pendleton District? Family stories always stated they were from Camden District, which included York Co., among others. Overwhelming evidence has been discovered in the last 15 years that proves my John and Peggy were from York Co. having lived along Clarks Fork of Bullocks Creek. But no household was enumerated under the name of John Patterson in 1790 from there.

Other possibilities were looked into in Randolph Co., NC and Lancaster Co., SC, but those records end the end proved to not fit. Other records from York Co. in 1790 and following years place John and Peggy there, from 1790-1797, and most likely during the 1780's as well.

In 2017-18, extensive land records have been captured, perused, documented, and plotted on maps by yours truly, in an attempt to located where John Patterson's land was located along Clarks Fork. No records show him buying or inheriting or selling land there, but other records show tracts lying adjacent to his land. I was able to prove that the tract known as John Patterson's in 1792 and 1794, turns out to be the 150-acre tract previously owned by Robert and Esther Harrison Cravens from 1767-1774, then by James Patterson (uncle of John - and uncle of Peggy, too, for that matter) from 1774-1775/80. Thereafter, the land passed to the estate of Robert Patterson Sr. (grandfather of John), and in 1790 court records from York Co. show John Patterson and his uncle Peter Patterson administering the estate of James Patterson (deceased). That was in January 1790. A few months later, Peter then administers the estate of Robert Patterson, who had died in 1775, but his wife Sarah did not died until 1789/90, and the estate was undergoing its final probate in 1790.

It is my belief that the land was inherited by James' father's estate as James had no heirs. Since Robert was deceased also, it apparently would have passed to the eldest son, Thomas, but appears to have passed to Thomas' eldest son, John. 

All of this was happening around 1790. We should see John Patterson and his wife Peggy, and their one-year-old son, Joseph Black Patterson, in the census there. Peggy Black Patterson's sister was Susannah Black. Susannah had married James Kincaid in the early 1780's and by 1790 had 3 sons and 2 daughters, all under the age of 10. These two families are known to have been very close for decades to come. In fact, one of Susannah's sons (Willliam D. Kincaid) married one of John and Peggy's daughters (Amy Jane Patterson). In fact, Amy lived from 1793-1889 and provided the details to her descendants that the family was from Camden District.

It is believed that Susannah and Peggy had at least one other sister and perhaps three or more younger brothers, the oldest of which was George. George Black lived near the Pattersons and Kincaids later in Buncombe Co., NC for many years. The same can be said for their uncle, Daniel Ponder.

Susannah and Peggy Black's mother was Sarah Patterson. John Patterson's father was Thomas Patterson. And Daniel Ponder's wife was Elizabeth Patterson. Sarah, Thomas, and Elizabeth were all siblings.

When we take a closer look at the 1790 census from Camden District, York Co., SC here is what we find. Six households are listed on page 195 (Left side column on page), and line numbers 18-23 on that page. The three columns with numbers represent 1) males age 16+, then 2) males under age 16, then 3) females all ages.

  • 195-L 18: Ponder, Dan'l..........1-3-4
  • 195-L 19: Palmer, Philip.........1-3-2
  • 195-L 20: Kinkade, Ja's..........2-4-6
  • 195-L 21: Wallace, Rob't.........1-3-2
  • 195-L 22: Black, George..........1-2-3
  • 195-L 23: Wilson, Joseph.......2-3-1

Daniel Ponder was listed first. He is enumerated with 3 sons (oldest son name not known, then John and Robert), and 4 females (wife Elizabeth, and 3 known daughters including Lydia and Elizabeth).

Nothing is remarkable about Palmer. No known relation to these families is known by this author.

Next was James Kincaid (aka Kinkade). I will return to this family shortly.

Next was Robert Wallace who later owned the land that John Patterson is known to have owned.

Next was George Black, presumed brother of Peggy Patterson and Susannah Kincaid. It is believed that George Black was born circa 1770, and that he married after 1800. Therefore this is not a wife and children for him. Perhaps these were his younger brothers, which could be the “2” in the under-16-column. Who were the three females? It is possible this was the old Joseph Black property which was nearby to the Cravens/John Patterson tract, and this could have been sisters and/or his mother, Sarah Patterson Black.

Next was Joseph Wilson. This man seems to have migrated to NC and then to north GA like the Pattersons and Blacks. It has been my belief for years that two of his daughters (yet to be born in 1790) would later marry two of John and Peggy Patterson’s sons. Joseph Black Patterson (b. 1789) married his second wife, Nancy Agnes Wilson, in 1830. Amos Patterson (b. 1803/04), youngest son of John and Peggy, married his wife, Elizabeth Wilson, in 1829. Amos and Elizabeth Wilson Patterson named one of their sons, John Joseph Patterson, named after his two grandfathers (John Patterson and Joseph Wilson).

Back to the James Kincaid household. In 1790, James and Susannah Black Kincaid had 3 sons under age 16 and two daughters. Their household should have been 1-3-3. Who were the others in his household? Again, Peggy and Susannah were close. Notice that there are two males over the age of 16 in this household. What if we combine the two families of John Patterson (1-1-1) and James Kincaid (1-3-3)? We should see at least 2-4-4. There are two additional females in this household, which could be any sort of scenario. There were several widows living along Clarks Fork in 1790. Sisters of wives. Any sort of scenario is possible. I believe John and Peggy and their son Joseph were living with the Kincaids right here on Clarks Fork in 1790, and near the rest of the Joseph Black family listed under the name of George Black as the oldest male in the household.

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Tracts along Clarks Fork of Bullocks Creek in York Co., SC; the "Robert Cravens" tract was the later John Patterson tract


In 1792 (label says 1791, but it was 1792) we see Samuel Swan’s deed for 270 acres adjacent on the west side of John Patterson. Then in 1794 we see Robert Patterson (Jr.) obtaining 140 acres adjacent on the east side of John Patterson and the south side of Peter Patterson. A section of this latter tract was later sold in 1802 and made reference to a stake in John Patterson’s line. Did John still own it in 1802? That is the same year he first bought land in Buncombe. Perhaps he sold in SC and bought in NC about the same time. The Wallaces later sold this latter piece of land again in 1816, at which time they made reference to the tract on its western line as having been originally granted to Robert Cravens.

This Cravens tract that John Patterson owned, was sold by Robert Wallace in 1802. Did he sell it for John Patterson that year, as an agent perhaps?

Back to the 1790 census. We now see these key players involved in this tract (John Patterson, Robert Wallace, Philip Palmer), plus Daniel Ponder, who also lived nearby this tract by 1790, living next to each other in the census enumerations. Add George Black and James Kincaid, you have the Joseph Black clan, which includes John Patterson and his wife, Peggy Black (Patterson).

I believe this is proof enough to confirm that John and Peggy Black Patterson was living in York Co., SC in 1790, and were enumerated in the census there after all, just under the name of James Kincaid, their relative.

Wes Patterson 

2 comments:

  1. I will be spending alot of time reading here as John is my 5x ggf and Joseph Black my 4x ggf. Unsure which of Joseph Black's sons was my 3x ggf though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's great. I will definitely be in touch. There's a lot of info to share.

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