Patterson-Robert-Thomas

Thomas Patterson (b. 1738/42; d. after 1800)

Parents: Robert & Sarah Patterson

Siblings: Mary | Thomas | Abigail | Sarah | James | Peter | Robert | Elizabeth | Lydia | William


Children: John | Robert | Sarah


By Wes Patterson (Last Revised: 16 August 2018)

The Marriage of Thomas Patterson and Margaret Harrison

Thomas Patterson married Margaret Harrison on 24 Dec 1761 at the Peaked Mountain Church near Harrisonburg, Va in what was then Augusta Co - now Rockingham. More details about their marriage record is here. By 1762/63 they moved to the Clarks Fork of Bullocks Creek area of York Co SC, although it had been Craven Co during the 1750's, and during the 1760's and 70's it was claimed by NC under the counties of Anson, then Mecklenburg, and then Tryon. It became York Co SC again in the mid to late 1770's. The land where they lived on Clarks Fork is in and around the modern day Kings Mountain Military Park and Kings Mountain State Park, both of which are next to each other.

Margaret Harrison was of the Isaiah Harrison clan that originally lived on Long Island NY during the late 1600's and early 1700's. They moved to Sussex Co DE in 1721 and settled around the modern towns of Harbeson and Milton, DE. Starting in 1737, the Harrison clan began their migration to the Shenandoah Valley. Which branch of this family did Margaret descend from? That has not been proven yet. I have a post titled Who Was the Father of My Margaret Harrison? that I continue to place updates on regarding this topic.


In summary, at this time (2017) I believe Margaret Harrison to be descended from a son of Gideon Harrison (1694-1729), who in turn was a son of Isaiah Harrison (1660/66 - 1737/38). There is some evidence that the John and Mary Harrison who left Augusta Co VA in 1765 "may have been" a son of this Gideon. John Harrison "may have been" the father of Margaret Harrison, as well as her presumed brothers Nathaniel and Thomas, as well as a sister, Jane, who married William Cravens.

The Children of Thomas Patterson and Margaret Harrison

Thomas and Margaret had at least the following children. I am descended from John.

  1. John (b. 1762/65; d. 1840/50); m. Margaret "Peggy" Black
  2. Robert (b. 1766/71; d. 1820/22); m. Elizabeth ____
Thomas Patterson's son, Robert Patterson, was born between 1766 and 1771, based on census records from Buncombe NC 1800 and 1810. I previously thought the Robert Patterson in Haywood Co NC 1820 to be this Robert, but I no longer believe that. That one appears to be the son of John, and therefore a nephew of this Robert I am focusing on here. In 2015 I wrote a five-piece article on this blog about this family of Robert and Elizabeth Patterson, and their apparent move to Tennessee between 1810 and 1820.

I also used to believe that there was a James Patterson who died around 1789/1790 in York Co SC, based on a court record in January of 1790 where John Patterson and Peter Patterson took oaths and settled the estate of James Patterson. Based on that, and also based on the assumption that the older James Patterson of York Co SC (son of Robert Sr) had died by 1775, I assumed this to have been a brother of John. Keep in mind that Peter also had a son named James, but he was born in 1784. Recent evidence has come to light (in Jan. 2018) that now makes it seem as though James Patterson, son of Robert Sr, did not die by 1775, but after that. However, he may have died by 1783, and therefore his estate passed into the estate of his father, Robert Patterson Sr, which wasn't settled until 1790 when Robert's widow Sarah died. If this is true, then it would make sense that since the land James Patterson owned passed into the possession of John Patterson, and that John Patterson was involved in settling the estate of James Patterson, along with Peter who was an executor of Robert Sr's estate, that the resulting conclusion is the 1790 James Patterson deceased (by 1783) refers to the son of Robert Sr, and therefore this was no "other James Patterson" that must have been a son of Thomas.

Thomas Patterson's Daughter


Thomas may have married a second time in the 1770's but that is not known for sure. He did have another child, a daughter, according to the 1800 Buncombe Co NC census. So that daughter may have been a child of Margaret above, or perhaps by a second wife.

The name of this daughter is not certain. But based on church records from Newfound Baptist Church in the early 1800's, there was a Sarah "Sary" Patterson at one point early on, and soon followed by records of Sary Black, and Joseph Black. Using deeds and other pertinent records, as well as migration data of key families from this area who migrated to Cocke Co, TN in the 1820's and 1830's, it appears to be the same Joseph and Sary Black in Cocke Co TN in 1850. One of their sons was named Thomas Black. While not conclusive, there appears to be enough circumstantial evidence to indicate that this daughter of Thomas Patterson was named Sarah, went by the nickname of Sary, and married one of the Joseph Blacks of Buncombe, most likely the son of Matthew (as opposed to one who was the son of Joseph).
  1. ?Sarah "Sary" (b. ca 1784/86; d. 1850/60); m. Joseph Black
Thomas Patterson and his wife (if he was married twice, the second wife) were living in Buncombe Co NC in 1800 with their daughter. Nearby lived Thomas' two sons John and Robert Patterson, along with many other relatives living on neighboring tracts. For more details on the location where they lived and those deeds, see my page on Harrison and Patterson Farms on Jenkins Branch in Buncombe Co NC.

Thomas had lost his land no later than 1802 when the sheriff of Buncombe sold his land. I don't know if Thomas had died by that time leaving debts, or if he moved away, or what. My assumption is that he died between 1800 and 1802, but I do not know that for certain.

Wes

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