Absolutely nothing is known of William Patterson without circumstantial evidence, other than his name, that is. His name is derived from a 1770 document where his son Robert Patterson identifies both of his parents, plus his mother's second husband, John Addams. This document will be referenced later. However, much can be gleaned from studying the lives of Margaret's children (by both husbands). This writer believes that William and Margaret had two children, both being born circa 1709 and 1711, give or take a year or so. I don't believe William Patterson died before 1711, but it may have been between 1711 and 1713, approximately. That said, other children could have been born after 1711 and they, too, could have died, so it's safe to place William's death between 1711 and 1715.

Margaret, on the other hand, has much to tell us. We can piece together from various documents that her name was Mary Margaret, and she went by Margaret. Some researchers have used the name Donnell as her maiden name, but this is an inaccurate assumption based on erroneous information. Margaret Patterson-Addams was not a Donnell or McDonnell by birth, at least not for the reasons some have assumed. Margaret lived until 1769 or 1770, at which time she had been living a few miles west of Harrisonburg, Va (now Rockingham Co) for some 30 years. More will be discussed about Margaret below.

Elizabeth Patterson was born ca 1709, place yet unknown. Why 1709? A couple reasons. One, her husband was Jeremiah Harrison, and he was born ca 1707. Harrison researchers have placed his wife's birth year as ca 1710... an estimate. Of course, they also had her name as Catherine Addams, which is incorrect. More on that momentarily. Elizabeth's brother, Robert Patterson, appears to have been born ca 1711. It could have been anywhere between 1710 and 1715, but I feel confident with the 1711 mark for reasons I'll go into about him. If he was born in 1711, then I suspect it may have been a couple years earlier that Elizabeth was born, so I say ca 1709 for her.

Elizabeth was named on her mother's 1744 will as just Elizabeth. But in another document associated with that will, it is specified as Elizabeth Harrison. We also know that Esther Harrison was named as a granddaughter of Margaret Addams in the will, and we known that Esther was a daughter of Jeremiah Harrison, so we have to assume that Jeremiah was married to Elizabeth Patterson (Harrison). It isn't until 1757 that we have any record of Jeremiah and a name of his wife, which was recorded as Catherine Harrison. We do NOT know her maiden name, and it was NOT Addams as many have surmised. We must assume that Elizabeth died some time between 1744 and 1757, but we just don't when at this time. Old Jeremiah Harrison had 17 children. I believe the first 8 or 9 were by Elizabeth Patterson, and the remainder by his second wife Catherine _____.

Robert Patterson was born ca 1711, place yet unknown. I believe that he purchased his first parcel of land when he obtained yeoman status in Sussex Co, DE in 1732. This was the practice of others in that county during that period, including those from the Harrison family. We know that Margaret Addams remarried before 1720, to John Addams. In 1727 we have the first known record of anyone from this family. Margaret Addams witnessed a deed in Sussex Co, DE that year. So, we know that she (probably widowed for the second time by then) and her five children were living in DE by 1727.

Where did William Patterson die? Scotland? Northern Ireland? Ireland? Somewhere in the colonies (PA, NJ, DE, MD)? We just don't know. Did Margaret marry John Addams in the colonies? Or did they immigrate as the Addams family?

John Addams and Margaret Patterson married no later than 1720. They had a daughter, a son named Samuel, and then another daughter, Jane, by the mid 1720s at the latest. The older daughter's name is not known, but we do know that she married Andrew Donelson, who was born ca 1722. This daughter apparently was dead by 1744, but had children by then.

Also, not much is known regarding Samuel Addams, but he apparently was an adult by 1744, died by 1748, leaving at least one child, Samuel Addams Jr.

Jane Addams married Daniel Love, and much more is known about them. They had just married around 1744, apparently having had no children yet, but by 1750 had two daughters.

More information regarding the children of Margaret Patterson Addams can be found on their respective pages. For more information regarding Margaret Addams and the documents which contain many clues surrounding her family, and a timeline of those events, be sure to review the Timeline page.