Next Book - George Patterson of Ivylog, GA

A few weeks ago I began the early stages of my third volume in the Butterfly Biographies (BB) series. This next book will tackle the family of George Patterson (1800-1860) and his wives, Rebecca Chastain (1799-1845/7) and Sophia Dunagan (1825-1872/81). 

Volume 1 covered John Patterson, the father of George. Volume II covered Elijah Chastain, the father of Rebecca. Both of those fathers were 4X-Great-Grandfathers to me. George and Rebecca were my 3X-great-grandparents.

When I start a new book, the first thing I blaze through is the content in my FamilyTreeMaker database. That will end up being my guide for the rest of the book, so I make sure I have all details on all lineages correct, as much as possible. Volumes I & II covered a lot of the ancestors and cousins for George and Rebecca and was limited to 3 generations of descendants. Volume III for George will be able to focus on more details regarding his descendants. Therefore, I'm having to research and document all generational lines from George at least one generation further - coming forward in time. In fact, I'm taking the lines as far as I can to World War II descendants, and in some limited cases, even to recent decades. 

I always leave identifiable details blank in the book, however, for living persons. I do list their names, but not other details.

There will be 8 chapters on descendants of George Patterson, one for each of his children who had families of their own. My line is the 4th of the 8 lines - William Harden (Billy) Patterson, who lived from 1832 to 1884. Most of the 8 lines had numerous children and grandchildren, so it can take some time to research every single one of them in online resources, but that's the job!

So far, I have all lines for Jim, Mary and Kimsey completed. I'm currently on the 4th line, which is Billy. He had 12 children, and I'm finished with 10 of those 12 lines. So next I will finish Billy's remaining 2 lines, then finish up the last 4 of George's lines, that being Elizer, John A., Elijah M., and Margaret. Once I have those details completed in FamilyTreeMaker, I begin filling in the content in the book in Microsoft Word.

I was hoping that by the second and third volumes of this series I would be hitting my stride. I think that is starting to work out. I took a few months off this summer and didn't do any writing at all, which delayed Volume 2. However, once I picked it back up, I hit it pretty hard, and am happy to be able to say that the Printer/Publisher (Old Buncombe County Gen. Soc.) accepted it and published it without a single edit!!! Wow. 

OK. Back it...

Wes

Elijah Chastain - Father of 23 or More

Elijah Chastain was my 4X-Great-Grandpa. He was born in 1776 in Buckingham Co, VA and died in 1853 in Gilmer Co, GA. His daughter Rebecca Chastain was born in 1799 and she was his 3rd child - of 21 (at least). She married George Patterson in the early to mid 1820's and they were my 3X-Great-Grandparents. 

(3/26/24 update: at least 22 children)

(4/10/24 update: 23+ children)

Elijah Chastain and 3rd wife Catherine Carson, ca. 1850. Photo courtesy of Connie Cordell

Elijah was a character. I know he had multiple children (each) by his first two wives during the same two or three year period beginning in 1800. By 1803 he was officially married the second time to Anna Middleton. His first wife, my ancestor, was Hannah Adams. This first marriage ended in divorce. Many have said the second marriage did too, but I can't find anything about Anna after 1810, including no children born to Elijah between 1810 and 1820. I think Anna may have died around 1810 or soon thereafter, but I just don't know for certain. (4/10/24 update: Elijah had at least two children born after 1810 with Anna - Artemesia was born in 1812 and James Witt was born in 1813).

Pattersons of Rabun Co GA - Timeline of Records from that county

Most of the following records are from online newspaper records - all but one. Also, almost all of them are from Rabun Co, but a couple are from Franklin and/or Clarke Co., GA as some of my Pattersons were there briefly. 

Key names from my family in Rabun were John Patterson, Joseph Patterson, George Patterson, Amos Patterson and Elijah Chastain. These were sons of John Patterson and Margaret Black, and most moved into Union Co GA by the early 1830's. Elijah Chastain was the brother-in-law of George Patterson (my 3x-G-GF). 

The 1830 Rabun Census included Joseph, John, and George Patterson (brothers), plus Roley Patterson was there too, but no known connection to him exists. I am still developing all of this, but here are the pertinent details, many of which have gone under the radar for decades for some of us. Notice the "Source" links to the online newspaper sources. My personal notes are after the "WP:" tags.

One final note - brothers Joseph, George and Amos owned land in Union Co fairly early in the mid and late 1830's. Brothers John Jr and Robert did not however. John Jr did acquire land in Union, just later than the others, and further west in the county in an area that later became the border area between Union Co and newly formed Fannin Co. Brother Robert moved further south into GA (married Franklin Co in 1835, possibly in Clarke Co in 1830) and then AL, AR, and finally Rusk Co., TX. Later, Amos joined Robert in TX. Joseph, John Jr., and George remained in Union Co GA along with their parents, John and Margaret. 

Wes

Timeline of Patterson Brothers in Rabun Co., GA prior to moving to Union Co GA:

1.      1828 Feb 22 – John Patterson, “NOTICE. GEORGIA, Rabun County, John Patterson of said county, and of Capt. Wood’s District, tolls before James Allen, Esq. Two mules, one a horse, a dark iron gray, supposed to be two years old last spring, branded on the front shoulder with the letter H 13 ½ hands high; the other a yellow bay mare, supposed to be two years old last spring, no brands perceivable, with a dark stripe across the shoulders, 13 hands high, appraised by Cleaveland Coffee and Hiram Gaines, the gray to sixty-five dollars, and the Bay to sixty. February 8. H. T. Mosely, Clerk.”
WP: John Patterson Jr., b. 1798, son of John and Margaret Black Patterson. Cleveland Coffee of Rabun Co., GA also a 4^th-Great-Grandpa of Wes Patterson. In the 1830 census of Rabun Co., GA, George Patterson was enumerated on page 226 line 1, and John Patterson was on page 230. However, Elizabeth Gains and Henry S. Gains were next to George Patterson on lines 2 and 3. Furthermore, the above appraisers were on page 225 lines 22 and 27, respectively, with line 27 being the last line. Therefore, Hiram Gains was enumerated next to George Patterson. Also, Hannah Chasteen and Elijah Chasteen were on the two lines prior to Hiram Gains. Hannah was George Patterson’s mother-in-law, Elijah was George’s brother-in-law. Clearly, the appraisal took place nearer to where George Patterson lived in 1830 than where John was living in 1830. Perhaps in 1828, John was living closer to George.
Source: Athenian, Feb. 22, 1828 -- page 3, http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/athnewspapers/id:ath1828-0031. Also ran Mar. 14, 1828 – page 3.
 

2.      1830 May 9 – John Patterson, Deed Book A, p. 240 (transcribed to Book R, p. 181) Deed dated 9 May 1830, recorded 5 Apr. 1831, from Jeremiah York, to Jeffrey York, Rabun Co., GA conveyed South half of Lot 43, First District, for $150. Witnesses: Elijah Brady and John Patterson. Signed: Jeremiah York.
WP: John Patterson Jr., b. 1798, son of John and Margaret Black Patterson. Lot 43 in First District was naturally next to Lot 42, which was occupied by the Pattersons. In later newspaper notices, Lot 42 was identified as Joseph Patterson’s, and later as John Patterson’s. Perhaps they shared it, considering that the lot contained 490 acres. However, in the 1830 census, Joseph and John were not enumerated next to each other. On page 230 of the census, witness Elijah Brady was recorded on line 7. Jeffrey York was on line 9 same page. John Patterson, the other witness, was on line 21 of the same page. The grantor, Jeremiah York, was on line 22 of the same page, right next to John Patterson. This confirms to me that John Patterson was living on Lot 42 of First District in 1830. Joseph Patterson was enumerated on page 234 of the census, and line 17 (out of 27 lines each page).

The Patterson-Ferrell Connection - Part 5

The Patterson-Ferrell Connection: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

The Patterson-Ferrell Connection to the Robert Patterson Family of York Co., SC - The DNA Proof!

Last Revised: 28 January 2019

As I stated in Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that by the time I got to Part 5, the case would have been made for connecting these families of Bedford/Warren/Cannon Counties, TN to the Robert Patterson who died in 1775 in York Co., SC. I hoped to establish those links in Parts 2-4 using traditional methods of research, involving deeds, wills, court records, church records, migration patterns, etc. I hope I have been successful in doing so. I believe I have.

In Part 5, however, I want to close the circle on this discussion by bringing us back to the DNA evidence that initiated this entire research effort to begin with. John W. Patterson had his DNA tested in 2014. He descends from Lee Patterson, as we discussed in Part 2. Lee was a son of John Patterson and Ann Ferrell. I believe that John Patterson, in turn, was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Patterson who lived in Buncombe Co., NC between 1795 and 1810. This Robert was the son of Thomas Patterson and Margaret Harrison. Thomas Patterson was the son of Robert and Sarah Patterson, this latter Robert being the one who was born ca. 1705/11 and died in 1775 in York Co., SC.

The DNA Results

Let it be known... I know enough about DNA evidence to be dangerous! That said, I can extrapolate a few things that I hope make sense.

Brothers Named East and West

About 30 years ago I remember my dad taking us to visit my grandpa Patterson's sister, Nellie Patterson Mason in north GA. My grandpa had already died a few years before that in 1975. Aunt Nellie was in her 70's already, but her mind was still sharp.

Being that I was always interested in family stories, and that my name is Wesley, Aunt Nellie was reminded of a pair of brothers she remembered visiting on occasion as a child. They were her 2nd cousins, although at the time she didn't remember exactly how they were related. But what stood out to her, and to me too, was the fact these brothers were called "East" and "West".

I'm sure that conversation was also in the context of her daddy, Elijah Patterson. "Lije" as he was called, had a twin named "Lishe". Lije and Lishe also had four more brothers named Lumpkin, Lewis, Alonzo and Bunyan. Plus, one of their six sisters was called "Jeff".

Over the years many a chuckle escaped my breath when these names were remembered. Being a city boy I was not accustomed to hearing names like this. But as the years went by I became more interested in finding out who these brothers were. East and West. I assumed they were Pattersons, but I couldn't remember. I assumed they were my cousins too, but I wasn't sure. So the fond memory slowly became a mystery that had to be unraveled.

About 8 or 10 years ago, while updating one of my Patterson branches with further details, I tripped across a record that indicated one of my cousins named John E. Patterson, was actually John East Patterson. So I began to dig further. I found another record that indicated his younger brother James, was actually James W. Patterson.

I dug more.

Then I found it. James W. was actually James Wesley Patterson, and he was called "West" Patterson. His older brother John East Patterson was actually called "East". I found them!

East and West Patterson were born in 1861 and 1870 respectively, in Fannin Co GA. They and their other siblings were children of George Washington Patterson and Margaret Ownbey. George was the son of John Patterson Jr and Sallie Hicks.

Aunt Nellie and I descend from John Jr's brother George Patterson, and his son William Harden "Bill" Patterson, and his son Lije Patterson, previously mentioned. So Lije and Lishe were 2nd cousins of East and West. That would make Aunt Nellie 2nd cousins once removed, which in turn would make me 2nd cousins thrice removed.

Mystery solved. But still a chuckle.

WP

Gov. Mike Huckabee's Buncombe Co NC Ancestors

Newfound Baptist Church is located in Buncombe County in the town of Leicester, about 8 miles NW of picturesque Asheville, NC. This church (NBC) is important to my family research due to the fact that so many ancestors and other relatives attended there from its founding in 1802. The survival of the church's monthly business meeting minutes has been a wonderful blessing to researchers over the years.

My gggg-grandparents attended NBC and raised their children in this church. John and Margaret Black Patterson were in their late 30's when the church began. Their son George (my ggg-gf) was born just a couple years prior to this, in 1800. We know our family attended the church through 1815. Other relatives attended longer also. Furthermore, one of the three Sarah Blacks listed on the 1807 membership list was most likely the mother of Margaret Black Patterson, and therefore my ggggg-grandmother. In fact, Sarah Black was Sarah Patterson Black, the aunt of John Patterson. Yes, that makes John and Margaret 1st cousins!

John Patterson was mentioned some 15 or more times in the church minutes from 1803-1815. For a time he was even the church clerk and would have been the one writing the minutes. Keep in mind however that all of the minutes prior to 1850 were re-written at that time to preserve them, so the existing minute books are only that old, and therefore not in John's hand. Nonetheless, John's wife was mentioned on four occasions, one of which recorded her as Peggy Patterson. No other known record documented her nickname to my knowledge, so already we see the importance of these church records.

Another family of interest is the Huckabee family. Three Huckabees were listed on the 1807 membership roll, including "Joshuay Huckkerby" and his wife "Jane Huckkerby", and their son "Berry Huckaby". Joshua Huckabee was recorded two more times as "Bro. Huckerby", on 19 Aug 1809 and 19 Dec 1812. Joshua and Jane Huckabee are not recorded again.

Berry Huckabee was recorded five more times under various spellings. Furthermore, his wife Elisabeth was mentioned three times.

• 20 May 1820, "Received Bery Huckkerby by ex [experience] into our church".
• 19 Aug 1825, "Bery Huckerby" was listed as a deligate to the conference.
• 19 Aug 1825, "Received Elisabeth Huckby by ex".
• 17 Dec 1825, "Berry Huckby and Elisabeth Huckby" applied for letters of dismissal and were granted such, along with several other members.
• 17 Mar 1827, "Appoints Bro. Bery Huckerby signing clerk", so obviously he was back in fellowship again.
• 17 Nov 1832, Received back into fellowship by "recantation" and then granted dismissals from membership for both "Berymon Huckaba and wife".

The Huckabee clan later moved to Georgia and Mississippi and then Arkansas.

Old Joshua Huckabee was born circa 1750 in VA.

His son Berryman "Berry" Huckabee was born in 1795 in VA.

His son William M. Huckabee was born 1817 in Buncombe Co NC.

His son Berryman William Huckabee was born 1851 in GA.

His son Lucius Elmore Huckabee was born 1876 in Arkansas. This man was the great-grandfather of Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Therefore, at Newfound Baptist Church in Leicester, NC during the early 1800's, Gov. Mike Huckabee's ggggg-grandparents (Joshua and Jane) and gggg-grandparents (Berry and Elisabeth) were in attendance at the same time my ancestors were. This is not meant as any claim to fame or any such notion. Simply an acknowledgment to the fact that we Americans have more in common than meets the eye on any given day. Trivial nuggets like this jump out at me and simply bring a twinkle to my eye.

It also makes me wonder how much more of this is out there, and we've simply missed it, usually because we don't know to look for it in the first place.

Small world.

Large family.

George Patterson died in 1860 - just discovered​!!!

John and Margaret Black Patterson's son named George Patterson was born in 1800. His 1st wife was Rebecca Chastain, his 2nd wife was Sophia Dunagan (m. 1850). I descend from George by his 1st wife. George and Sophia had 5 children by the 1860 census, in which they were enumerated on July 20, 1860.

James Neal, CC'd, last year sent me a PDF document containing 5 letters Sophia wrote to her Dunagan relatives between 1858 and 1862. These letters are quite enlightening, to say the least. However, hidden within the lines of these letters was one of the most important pieces of information I've been looking for, for many years. When did George Patterson die? All I've ever known was between 1860 and 1870.

I now know he died between July 20 and Dec 23, 1860. Letter #1 was written in Aug or Sept of 1858. Letter #2 was written May 2, 1859. Letter #3 is the key letter in pinpointing George's death. It is dated December 23, but no year. I'll come back to this. Letter #4 was written about August of 1861. And Letter #5 was written in late May or early June, 1862.

James and I had narrowed down Letter #3 to either 1859 or 1860. This week I have transcribed these letters, so it has been quite an exercise and has certainly made various details jump out at me. Tonight, the words "MY YEAR SUPPORT" jumped out at me in Letter #3. I realized that George was only mentioned in the first 2 letters (as the "old man"). Nothing was said of him in the last 3 letters. Letter 3 specifically talks about her cutting and carrying the wood by herself, and then having gone to town to see the ordinary about her "year support".

Sophia Patterson 1860 Letter

So, I googled 1860 GEORGIA A WOMAN'S "YEAR SUPPORT" - and what I found was that Georgia law allowed for a widow with minor children to receive financial help for 12 months following her deceased husband's death, until such necessary funds could be obtained from his estate. That means 2 things!

1. Letter #3 was written on Dec 23, 1860, and
2. George Patterson died between July 20 and Dec 23, 1860.

In case anyone wonders if it could have been written in 1861 or later, no it couldn't have. Letter #3 mentions Sophia's brother Ben and wanting him to come visit her. He enlisted in the CSA the next year on Aug 31, 1861 and died the following July 1862. 1860 is the only year this letter could have been written.

James, I can never thank you enough for sending me these letters from Sophia. It has "only" taken me 9 months to read these letters enough times for it to sink in and figure this out.

But WOW..... what a nugget to find buried within this 150 year old letter.

Wes

P.S. My descent from George is his son William Harden Patterson (b 1832), Joseph Elijah Patterson (b 1871), Clinton Willie Patterson (b 1904), Francis Oliver Patterson (b 1940), me (b 1968).

Hard times during Civil War Georgia

My great-great-grandpa was Billy Patterson - aka William Harden Patterson. He was a private during the Civil War as a member of the "horse company", initially serving in the Cavalry Battalion of Smith's Legion. His company was later merged into the newly formed 6th Regiment Ga Cavalry.

Billy's mother died when he was about 12 or 13 years old. When he was 18, his father George remarried, to a much younger woman named Sophia Dunagan. Sophia was only a few years older than Billy. During the late 1850's and early 1860's, Sophia wrote at least five letters to her parents - letters which have been preserved to this day. I am grateful that James Neal has shared these letters with me as they have given me greater insight into the daily goings-on within this Patterson clan in Union Co Ga during those dark days.

But more details exist than what's in the letters. The following story was shared initially by a man named Ewel Dunagan of Cullman, Alabama. The story highlights the tragedies many individuals and families faced during the Civil War - not just in war, but at home. Sophia's parents were Ira and Elizabeth Dunagan, and her brothers were Abner and Benjamin Dunagan. Again, thanks are in order for James Neal for sharing this link with me.

Wes Patterson

****************************

(full story obtained from: http://dunaganfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/home-guard-of-pickens-county.html)

In 1850 Ira and his family lived on the Fairmount Road leading out of Jasper in Pickens County [GA]. May 15, 1854, Ira served on the Superior Court Grand Jury, which was held under a huge oak tree before Jasper was a town. Ira was a farmer and a miller and people came from many miles around to his mill to get their corn ground into meal. Ira and Elizabeth had two sons and three daughters. Their sons Abner and Benjamin joined the Army of the CSA soon after the Civil War began. Abner was a farmer and was married to Lucinda Swofford of Union County. They had one son whose name was Andrew Jackson Dunagan who was about six years old when his father went to war. Benjamin was single and ran a grocery store when he had to enlist.

During the Civil War in the south there were men in every community assigned as "Home Guards." One night seven of these Home Guards went to Ira's house. They thought Ira had some money and wanted it. He had over three hundred dollars in gold and silver which he had placed in a gourd and hid in a hollow stump. He covered the stump with rocks like many people did in those days when there were a lot of rocks in their fields. They would pile these rocks in a pile and plow around it. Ira would not admit to the men that he had any money. They were sure he had some money and they planned to make him tell them where it was hidden. He was close to sixty years old.

They tied his feet with a rope and threw the end of the rope over the ceiling joist and had him swinging back and forth with his head down near the floor. Each man would knock Ira from one side of the room to the other, while two other men were pulling Elizabeth by her hair trying to get her to tell them where the money was hidden. Andrew Jackson Dunagan, Abner's son, was staying with his grandparents. He had gone to bed and was asleep when he was suddenly awaken[ed] by the noise. He ran into the room and was knocked over into a corner and told if he moved or said a word they would kill him. He was about eight years old.

The war had been going on for over two years when Abner decided he needed to go home to check on his family. He had been stationed in Memphis, TN, and was able to get a leave of absence for fifteen days. When Abner arrived home his parents told him about the incident and who the men were, because they knew each one of them by name. Abner stayed around for a few days, but abruptly left one day never to return taking his fathers only horse. Both Abner and his brother Benjamin were killed in the war.

After the war was over one of Ira's neighbors who had served in the same Confederate unit with Abner, told Abner's parents what had happened that eventful day when Abner had left so suddenly. He had killed all seven of the "Home Guard" who had violated his parents and son that fateful night. When Abner had left that day he had gone to the home of the last man he was to kill and asked the wife where he was and called for him by name. She said he was in the corn crib shucking corn. This is where Abner killed the man. After Abner returned to his unit it was later told that he had become very bitter and extremely hardened. He killed many men before he met with his own death.

Soon after the war came to an end, Ira and his family including Lucinda, Abner's widow and son Andrew Jackson Dunagan, moved to Winston County, Alabama. This is where Ira lived when he and Elizabeth died. They are buried in the Liberty Church Cemetery, in Winston County.

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William Harden "Bill" Patterson Family Photos

The William Harden "Bill" Patterson Family Photo Gallery
Last updated: 3 January 2020

Bill Patterson was born in April 1832 in the Indian Territory of what later became Union Co, GA. His parents were George Patterson and Rebecca Chastain. The Patterson clan settled in the part of Union Co that became known as Lower Young Cane, and also in nearby Ivy Log.

Click any picture to see a larger version (in most cases).

William Harden "Bill" Patterson
(courtesy Kenneth Patterson)

William Harden "Bill" Patterson
(taken from a slide that Frank Patterson made
of a framed photo in the possession of
Nellie Patterson Mason during the 1980's)

Bill married Elizabeth Akins, and together they had 12 children. The six sons were:

1. James Alonzo Patterson - Alonzo (1855-1940)
2. John Henry Lumpkin Patterson - Lump (1859-1953)
3. Lewis O. Patterson - Lew (1869-1959)
4. Joseph Elijah Patterson - Lije (1871-1957)
5. William Elisha Patterson - Lishe (1871-1963)
6. George Bunyan Patterson - Bunyan (1881-1969)

The six daughters were:

1. Sarah Florence Patterson - Florence (1857-1937)
2. Martha Elizabeth Patterson - Jeff (for Jefferson Davis) (1862-1957)
3. Rebecca Emeline Patterson - Emma (1865-1948)
4. Mary N. Patterson - Mollie (1867-1932)
5. Venetia Caledonia Patterson - Callie (1873-1967)
6. Lula L. J. Patterson - Lular (1878-1939)

Bill Patterson died in 1883. Some said he died of some sort of blood poisoning, others a tick bite. His widow Betty died in 1914.

More pictures of this family are coming to my attention, so I will begin posting all of these pictures here. Perhaps one day we can obtain a picture for each child, and also Bill's wife, Elizabeth. I would like to thank Phyllis Patterson Shook, Dave Huskey, Elaine Patterson Gibby (and her son Timothy Gibby), and June Walker Brown for many of the following pictures. As of 2015, we have pictures of Bill and Elizabeth, as well as all 6 of their sons and 4 of their 6 daughters. I am still hoping to find pictures of the other two daughters some day... Lula and Florence.

John & Margaret Patterson cemetery

Last Revised: 27 December 2018

After my latest trip to north GA I have become 99% certain that my gggg-grandparents are buried at Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery in Lower Young Cane, GA, just west of Blairsville (Union Co).

Bethlehem Cemetery, south of Ivylog, west of Blairsville, GA

I will never be able to prove it, for certain. But a considerable amount of evidence has come to light in regards to the locations of their children's farms during the 1830's and 40's, and where John and Margaret lived in relation to them during that time.

John and Margaret (J&M) did not own their own farm, by the way. So that effectively removes a family cemetery from the equation.

In 1840, the last census on which John was recorded, they were living next to Isabella Price. But Isabella wasn't even buried in a family cemetery, as she was later buried at Bethlehem Cemetery also. All of these family lots (Amos, George, Joseph, plus Isabella) in Lower Young Cane were within a mile or two of Bethlehem, and a couple were within a half mile. In fact, the lot which was the furthest away was Isabella's lot, but she was later buried at Bethlehem. Isabella was not a daughter of John and Margaret, but she was apparently close to them.

My g-gf was Elijah Patterson (1871-1957). He is buried at Bethlehem Cemetery (BC).

His parents were Bill and Betty Patterson (Wm H. Patterson, 1832-1883, and Elizabeth Akins Patterson, 1836-1914). Both Bill and Betty are buried at BC - next to Isabella Price.

Bill's father was George Patterson (1800-1860)... I now know that George died in 1860 sometime between July when the census was taken, and December when his widow Sophia wrote a letter to her family regarding his death. He was buried a couple miles north next to his wife Rebecca Chastain Patterson, who had died during the mid to late 1840's when they lived on a lot in Ivy Log. George later lived very close to BC, and I found out this week via telephone that George attended Bethlehem Church. Logically, he chose to be buried next to his wife, and therefore he is not at BC.

My gggg-gf was John Patterson (1762/65-1840's), father of George. John and his wife Margaret, are the first generation of Pattersons whom I do NOT know where they are buried. Bethlehem Church was established in 1848. Usually, churches were established by like-minded people in a growing locale, and quite often established near a cemetery already in use by the community or one of the families. I now know that John could have been born as early as 1762 and no later than 1765. I believe it was around 1762/63 time frame.

BC has at least 30 unmarked graves (field stones with no markings on them) in the heart of the cemetery. And the main Patterson (and Price and Gray) rows are located all around these unmarked graves at the entrance to the cemetery. White folk began moving into the area in the late 1820's and early 1830's, so none of these graves would likely pre-date 1830.

Where were John and Margaret Patterson buried? Where was their oldest son Joseph B. Patterson (1789-1860) buried? Where was Joseph's daughter, Peggy, and her husband, Gravet E. Foster, buried?

Harrison Influence at Newfound

This was an email I sent out to the Patterson research lists today. I started out with the intent of focusing on the Shatteen name, but ended up falling all over the predominant Harrison influence in the church at Newfound Baptist Church, which is located about 8 miles west of Asheville, NC in the modern town of Leicester, in Buncombe County. Here's the email I sent.

Barbara,

You mentioned a few weeks ago that the name Chastain was pronounced "Shatteen" in the early 1800s in western NC. Guess what I just tripped over today?

I am now in the final editing process on the minutes of Newfound Baptist Church in Buncombe Co NC (1802-1865, more specifically). This church began in 1802, and my Pattersons and Blacks and the Ponders, et al were all members and early founders of this meeting. Apparently the Harrisons were a big part, also, as we'll come to see in a moment.

Right off the bat it has a record of a "Brother Shatteen" in its early records, as follows:

March 20th Day 1803 the church of Christ at Newfound being called together with some of our Brethren from the mouth of Milles River Church also Brother Shatteen from our Sister church at Prathers Creek the minds of the Brethren to wit Thos Snelson, J _____ (Saw? Same?), Eton, Daniel Ponder, Nathan Smith, Jn Grantham to attend on the Saturday Beefore the 1 Sunday in May. ADJourned AD

This writing is extremely difficult to read on some pages, this being one of them. This was from page 4 of Book 1.

Daniel Ponder was the uncle of my John Patterson, who also attended this church. John Grantham was married to Elizabeth Harrison, daughter of Thomas Harrison of Buncombe. It seems we now know that John Patterson's mother was a Harrison. I think it very likely that John's mother, Margaret Harrison Patterson, was a sister of this Thomas Harrison. That is not proven, however.

And then we have Thomas Snelson, who was the first pastor of Newfound, from 1802-1815. His full name was John Thomas Snelson. His son Joseph Snelson married Rachel Harrison, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Hill Harrison. Joseph's father was Nathaniel Harrison (m. to Rachel ____), one of the witnesses to old Robert "R" Patterson's 1775 will in York Co SC. It is believed by many Harrison researchers, including myself now, that THIS Nathaniel Harrison was a brother to the aforementioned Thomas Harrison, and quite possibly also to Margaret Harrison Patterson, mother of my John Patterson. So Snelson was no longer the pastor after 1815. Interesting.... now that I think about it, 1815 was also the last time my John Patterson was in these minutes of the church.

Back to Shatteen.... The original typed transcription I have from the church says Shatteen was from Matheus Creek, but it was a guess at the handwriting. It looks more like Prathus or Prathers to me. I did a quick online search and found that there was a Prathers Creek in old Wilkes Co in the part that became Ashe Co in 1799, and then later in the 1820s or 30s it became Alleghany Co. I'm not sure which Shatteen would have lived there in 1803, but I'm convinced this sister church was Prathers Creek.

Again, my John Patterson's son, George (b 1800), later married Rebecca Chastain, daughter of Elijah Chastain. Elijah was a scoundrel and womanizer though, so I know he wasn't the pastor mentioned in 1803.

Any thoughts, Barbara - or anyone else?

Wes Patterson
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I couldn't attach any images to the emails sent to the lists, but here on my blog I can. The following image is that of pages 4 and 5 of Book 1 from the minutes of Newfound Baptist Church. Look toward the bottom left of the image, which is page 4:

Richard Morrow's ironic connection with the Pattersons and Chastains

Richard Morrow was a man of means in the late 1700's and early 1800's. He bought and sold a large quantity of acreage over the years, in multiple locations. As far as I can tell, I am not related to him at all. However, I am connected to him by association in what seems to be an unusual way.

Richard received a NC grant (#800) for 100 acres in 1800 on a stream called Jenkins Branch, which is about 8 miles NW of Asheville, NC in Buncombe County. This was recorded in Buncombe Deed Book S1-6 on page 267, dated 1 Sept 1800. This was near lands already being lived on by my Pattersons, Blacks, Ponders, Harrisons, et al.

Then in January of 1802, Richard Morrow bought 790 acres from William Bryson (bk A pg 383) on the Tuckaseigee River (recorded 18 Sept 1807). This location is in modern day Jackson Co, but was Buncombe at the time, and very shortly thereafter, it was Haywood Co. Over the next few years, Richard Morrow obtained 5 more tracts on the same river, all land grants from NC totaling 650 more acres.

Having purchased land on the Tuckaseigee River in January 1802, Richard then sold his 100 acres on Jenkins Branch to my gggg-grandfather, John Patterson, on 2 August 1802 (Bk 4, pg 657). The witnesses for this sale were Daniel Ponder, James Morrow, and Andrew Patterson. Ponder was John's uncle; James Morrow is believed to have married John's daughter Elizabeth before 1810, but this is not yet proven; and Andrew Patterson's relation to John is yet unknown, but Andrew "may have been" John's nephew.

More importantly for the purposes of this paper, it should be noted that John Patterson's son, George Patterson, was born in 1800 in this general vicinity of Jenkins Branch. The relevance of this notation will be more apparent momentarily. This is where George grew up. George was my ggg-grandfather.

Back to Richard, we now see that he has made his move to what would soon become Haywood Co NC, along the Tuckaseigee River. We begin to learn that this land is on both sides of Caney Fork of Tuckaseigee River in 1807, when Richard began selling parts of it to various people, particularly members of the Chastain family. In March 1807, he sold 144 acres to Benjamin Chestine; then in September 1807 he sold 100 acres to Edward Chestain, and another tract (acreage unknown) to Elijah Chestain. In January 1810 he sold another tract to Eligah Chastain, and lastly he sold 50 acres to Abner Chastain in October 1815.

Both tracts he sold to Elijah Chastain were on Caney Fork. It should be noted that Elijah had a daughter named Rebecca Chastain who was born in 1799, making her eight years old when her dad bought his first tract of land from Richard Morrow. There is a Chastine Creek, a branch of Caney Fork, which is a branch of Tuckasegee River. Use this link for google maps, then switch to Terrain view. You can zoom out for perspective.

John Patterson, still in Buncombe, began selling the larger pieces of his land in 1815, the last 100 acres being sold in 1820 to James Black. An 1818 deed described John Patterson as "of Buncombe"; however, this 1820 deed showed he was then "of Haywood", thus having moved sometime between 1818 and 1820. John bought a tract of land on the Pigeon River in 1824, but nothing else is known as to where he lived in the meantime (perhaps on the land he bought?). The Pigeon River flows north through Waynesville, NC and up into Tennessee. West of there and over the next mountain range, is the Tuckasegee River, which flows north through Sylva, NC and up into Tennessee. At this time, I'm not sure how the Chastains and Pattersons met up, but apparently they did.

Around this time, perhaps no later than 1825 but as early as 1822 possibly, love was in the air, leading to a marriage between George Patterson and Rebecca Chastain. Obviously, they met each other in Haywood County (both locations were then in Haywood), they fell in love, got married, and perhaps their oldest child (or two) were born in Haywood. By 1827 or so they moved south into Georgia, where they were enumerated on the 1830 census (Rabun Co). By 1834 they were in Union County Ga, just north of modern day Blairsville, on the east bank of Nottley Lake (which didn't exist then).

So, what is the ironic connection? Most people would never care, but for those of us who descend from George and Rebecca, it is interesting to note that George grew up on Jenkins Branch in Buncombe Co on land his father bought in 1802 from Richard Morrow. Likewise, Rebecca grew up on Caney Fork in Buncombe / Haywood Co on land her father bought in 1807 from the same man - Richard Morrow.

Thanks, Richard! Thanks for providing the land for the childhood homes of my ggg-grandparents! That's pretty ironic to me - some 200 years later.

Wes Patterson
26 March 2010