DESCENDANTS OF
WILLIAM AND JANE (CORWIN)
PATTERSON;
THEIR SON DAVID WILSON AND ALICE
(ARMSTRONG) PATTERSON;
THEIR SON FRANCIS MARION AND TELIE
ORPHALINA (WHITING) PATTERSON;
OF WESTMORELAND
& FAYETTE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.
Information
found as of 9 May 2005
regarding:
Based on research
by:
Louise Patterson living in
2004 in Sewickley, PA;
Pat (Helmstadter) Kovacic, living in 2004
in South Huntingdon, PA;
Janet (Patterson) Hughes, died 1997, of
McKeesport, PA;
Jo Patterson living in 2004 in Joliet, IL
and Elkhart, IN;
Janice (Patterson) Rosenthal living in
2004 in Wilmette, IL
THIS IS A
WORK-IN-PROGRESS.
THERE WILL BE ANNUAL
UPDATES.
Contents
Pages
William Patterson………………………………….. 1 -
9
David Wilson Patterson, William’s son…………… 10-15
Francis Marion Patterson, David Wilson’s son…… 16-21
Lewis Whiting Patterson, Francis Marion’s son….. 22
Partial Family Tree of Descendants of
William and Jane (Corwin) Patterson…………….. 23-25
1
WILLIAM PATTERSON
William
Patterson was b. abt. 1784, either in PA or in Ireland. This birth year is estimated
from the 1850 Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA census where
William’s age was given as 66 years. On this 1850 census he is
listed as “b. in PA.” However on several 1880 censuses (see below)
several of his children claimed their father was “b. in IRE.” We are
currently investigating the many Patterson lines which settled in
this same part of Pennsylvania. At this time, having exhaustively
researched the descendants of four original Patterson settlers of
Westmoreland and Fayette counties (brothers Peter, William, James
and Robert—all b. bet. abt. 1724 and abt. 1736, who came to SW PA in
the 1780’s), we are able to state with relative certainty that
William was NOT directly related to these many Pattersons who were
living just miles away.
William was a miller by
occupation, and operated the Cedar Creek Mill in Rostraver Twp. He married Jane Corwin,
daughter of John and Agnes Corwin of Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland
Co., PA. William died
probably bet. 1850 and 1860, as he does not appear on the 1860
census. (This
contradicts information in Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia
of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where his death date is
erroneously listed as 1842.) His wife, Jane, died September, 1850,
age 63. She died just one month before the 1850 Rostraver Twp.,
Westmoreland Co. census, which was taken in October of 1850. (Jane’s death date is per
the U.S. census mortality index; this information provided by Joan
McHale, a descendant of Thompson Patterson, one of William’s
sons.) William and Jane
(Corwin) Patterson had twelve children:
James b. 1807-08
John b. 1810-12
William b. 1812-13
Robert b. abt. 1808? 1813? (this deduced from Old & New
Monongahela; per census b. abt. 1808?)
Thompson C. b. 1813-14
David Wilson b. 1818 (twin)
Jacob b. 1818 (twin)
Morris b. 1819-20
Harriet b. 1820-25
Samuel b. abt. 1825
Israel b. 3 Jan 1825
Jane b. 24 Dec 1827
NOTE: It is frustrating not to be
able to determine with certainty the birth order of William’s sons,
because this could provide a valuable clue as to the name of
William’s father. IF William and Jane
followed ‘Scotch-Irish’ naming patterns, then the name of the first
son would be the name of William’s father; the name of the second
son would be the name of Jane Corwin’s father (John); and the third
son would be named William. The biggest hurdle in establishing the
birth order of William and Jane’s first four sons is the uncertain
birth date of son Robert.
Census info suggests that he was born 1808. However, Van
Voorhis wrote in The Old and New Monongahela (published
1893): “…Robert Patterson, who will be 80 years old next St.
Patrick’s Day (17th of March).” This suggests that Robert
was born in 1812-13. However, a careful reading
of the Belle Vernon section of Van Voorhis’ book makes it clear that
Van Voorhis wrote his Belle Vernon chapter over the course of six years. (See, for
example, passages on pages 325, 335 and 347 where he wrote “…now
(1893)...”; “…at this date, December 1890…”; “…at this date, June
20th,
2
1887”;
“…present class leaders (July 14, 1887) are…” However, the passage quote
above about Robert approaching his 80th birthday was in
the context of a piece written about Mary (Smock) Corwin’s funeral,
which occurred 1888. Van Voorhis wrote that in “in the last few
months of her life” Mary Corwin related to the author many anecdotes
concerning Belle Vernon’s early history, among which was that she
remembered the birth of Robert Patterson [in Belle Vernon?]. It is here that the author
adds the info that Robert “will be 80 years old next St. Patrick’s
Day…” All in all, I
think that Van Voorhis might have written this
passage about Robert Patterson in 1888, which would put Robert’s
birth date at 1808, which then would agree with his census
info. If Robert were born
1808, then the birth order is either Robert or James first or
second, and John or William third or fourth. If Robert was the first
son, and if ‘Scotch-Irish’ naming
patterns were used, then the order would be: Robert, John, William
and James. This does
NOT conform very well to ages of these sons on censuses. So let’s consider another
possibility: of all the
sons, the birth date for John is the “iffiest.” John was listed first in the
Nelson’s piece—and writers of biographical pieces at that time
listed children in birth order more often than not. So, suppose John was the
first son (and also let’s suppose that William’s father was named
John). Then, already
having a son named John, Jane (Corwin) Patterson would not be able
to name the second son after her father, John Corwin. In such a case I do not know
how the name of the second son would be determined—perhaps after the
father’s oldest brother?
At any rate, to continue this hypothetical scenario, the
third son would be William and the fourth son would be James. The
Nelson’s article, below, gives the first sons names as John, James,
Robert, then William.
The information above on William, his wife and his
sons was found in the following sources:
On pp. 897-898 of Nelson's Biographical
Dictionary & Historical Reference of Fayette County
by Henry E. Shepherd
(S.B.Nelson, 1900) there is a 'sketch' of Calvin Patterson
[Thompson’s son], which gives more information about our specific
line of descent than any other source yet found:
CALVIN A.
PATTERSON, one of Belle Vernon's most substantial citizens, was born
January 9, 1847, in Belle
Vernon, Fayette county,
Pa. He is a son of Thompson C. [OUR
LINK!] and Hannah
(Stewart) Patterson.
The father [THOMPSON
C.] was born in
Westmoreland county, Pa., where
he attended the common schools.
[On the 1850 census
his name is spelled
'Thomson."] He was one of the following twelve
children: John, a cooper by
trade,
moved to the state of California, where he died; James, who was a
boat builder, resided at
Brownsville; Robert, who was in the mercantile business in Belle
Vernon, died in 1893; William, a stone mason, resided in Belle
Vernon; Thompson, a cooper by trade, lived and died in Belle Vernon, but for
many years was engaged in the drygoods business;
Harriet, never married, died in 1894; Wilson and Jacob, twins, were
coopers
(Wilson moved to Nebraska, where he died; Jacob
resided in Westmoreland county, where he
died); Morris, a cooper, died in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Israel, a farmer
and resident of Westmoreland county, died January 1892; Samuel, a
cooper, died in Westmoreland county; Thompson C. and Jane.
[That's 13 names, but we
have to assume that "Thompson" and "Thompson C." are the same
person.]
Jane, the youngest, who is a
resident of Belle Vernon, was born in Westmoreland county in 1828. In 1854 she married John
Beasley [Beazel/Beazell], who
was born in 1812. [Re. Jane: She is the
aunt referred to in Telie Orphalina Whiting-Patterson’s Civil War
widow
pension benefits
deposition: "…an Aunt, Mrs. Jane Beazel, Belle Vernon,
Pa…." Also, we know from Jane’s
obituary that she
married John Nelson Beazell (not Beasley) on 25 Nov 1852
by Rev. Hiram Miller.
Also, one tree found on ancestry.com
shows John Beazell's birth date as 4 Aug 1811--not 1812 as per this
article. We do not know which
is
correct.] They [Jane & John
Beazell] had seven children. The paternal grandfather of
Calvin A. Patterson
[that would be William!]
was a native of Ireland, and came to this country as a
3
young man.
He married Miss Jane Corwin, a daughter of John and Agnes Corwin,
of Westmoreland county, Pa. Thompson C. Patterson was a
farmer and a miller. He
married Hannah Stewart, who was
the daughter of James
Stewart. The wife of
James Stewart was a Miss Proctor, of Westmoreland
County. Six children
were born to Thompson C.
and Hannah (Stewart) Patterson: Hester Jane and Harriet died in
infancy;
Stewart, who was a soldier in the Union army,
and a member of the Ringgold Batallion, served
three years, was in several hard fought battles, married Miss Hester
Speers, of Fayette county, and died March 30, 1886; Calvin C.
Patterson, the subject of this sketch [ a typo?--the first
sentence says the sketch is about Calvin A.!]; Annetta [the 1850 census is hard to read, but
her name might be 'Arnetta'], who was the wife of James
Morgan, died August 19, 1889; and Harriet
Jane, wife of William Noble, resides in Homestead, Pa. Stewart, the oldest child,
left six children: Hannah, Carter, Blanche, Alonzo,
Franklin and John, three of whom attended
the Orphans' school for the children of soldiers at Uniontown. Mr. and Mrs.
Noble have only one child,
George. Calvin C.
[okay, maybe it is "C"--not "A"!] Patterson
attended the
public schools of Belle Vernon, and when at the age of seventeen, he
left school to learn the
trade of shoemaking, which he has followed diligently and
successfully ever since. Mr. Patterson's energy and
industry have been liberally rewarded by the accumulation of valuable property in his native town,
where he can spend the remainder of his life
in comfort and ease. He
is admired and respected by all who knew him, and his honesty of
character and business integrity have given him a name and a credit
that any man would be proud to possess. Mr. Patterson married Miss
Sarah Jane Brindle, a
daughter of
Jacob Brindle, of Belle Vernon, on August 15, 1869. Mr. Brindle came from
Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland county, to this town. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson had
seven children: Charles Austin, born August 3, 1870 (dead);
Oliver Q., born January 24, 1872, working at
the R.C. Schmertz glass factory; Walter T., born April 18, 1878,
clerk in a drygoods store; Bessie, born May 8, 1882; Katie, born
October 3, 1888, and one who died in
infancy. Mrs. Patterson
and daughter are members of the Christian church.
The Pattersons
are of Irish descent, and the
Stewarts of Scotch ancestry.
[End of 'sketch']
Some comments about the above
article:
1. The author never names Thompson
C.'s father; we can deduce it is William only by marrying
the information in this article with the
information
from a sketch of Israel, Thompson
C.'s brother, found in Biographies of Westmoreland County.
(See below).
2.
This article states that William, David Wilson's
father, "came to this country as a young man."
Yet in the 1850 census the William who is
most certainly David
Wilson's father is listed as
having been born in "PA." Could the word "country" be a typo?
Should the word have been
"county?" There are
certainly enough inaccuracies in this article to allow for the possibility that William was, in fact,
born in this country, in PA.
However, William’s son William, in the 1880 Washington Twp., Fayette Co., PA census is
enumerated as having a
father “b. in IRE.”
Likewise, in the 1880 Belle Vernon Borough, Washington Twp.,
Fayette Co., PA census William’s daughter
Jane is
enumerated as having a father “b. in
4
IRE.” At this
point we cannot be sure whether William was born in
Pennsylvania or in Ireland.
3.
This article refers to William's wife, Jane Corwin, as the
"daughter of John and Agnes Corwin of
Westmoreland county, Pa."
References to the Corwin family can
be found both in Franklin Ellis'
History of Fayette County and in The Old and New
Monongahela by John S. Van
Voorhis. Morris Corwin
was a cooper who came to Belle Vernon
from Westmoreland county in 1816.
He married in 1807 and died in 1835,
so that would make him in
approximately the same "generation" as Jane Corwin, William
Patterson's wife. We believe
Morris Corwin was Jane Corwin's brother, and we
think that William and Jane
Patterson named their son
Morris Patterson after “Uncle
Morris.”
It was perhaps “Uncle Morris” who
taught so many of William and Jane’s sons the trade
of coopering.
The following census info corroborates the
Nelson’s article:
Census
Information for CORWIN
1790 Census
John Corene
[Corwin] over 16 yrs of age living in Rostraver Twp.,
Westmoreland Co., PA with:
4 males age 0-16
3 females
1800 Census
The Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA census pages were
evidently omitted when the
U.S. Records Office microfilmed the 1800 census.
1810 Census
Agnes Curran
[Corwin] age 45+ living in Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland Co.,
PA with:
1 male age 10-16
1 female age 10-16
1820 Census
Widow Curran [Corwin] age 45+ living in Rostraver
Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA with:
1 female age
0-10
1 female age 26-45
1830 Census
There is no record of an Agnes or a Widow Curran/Corwin
etc.
From information found in The Old and New Monongahela
by John Van Voorhis (1893),
pp. 448-450, we know that Morris Corwin was married to
Mary "Polly" Smock in Brownsville in 1807
by "Esq. Elias Baillins." If this Elias Baillins could be identified with a
religious denomination, perhaps
it would be a clue to lead us to William and
Jane's religious
affiliation. At this point we do not know in
what church, if any, they worshipped. It does seem that many of the children of William and
Jane became members of the Methodist Episcopal
church.
5
And now for the source which names
David Wilson's father:
Biographical and Historical
Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, John M.
Gresham,
ed. On p. 622 is found a
“sketch” of Israel Patterson [David Wilson's brother]:
ISRAEL PATTERSON, a successful and well-respected
farmer of Rostraver township is a
son of William and Jane (Corwin)
Patterson and was born in Westmoreland
county, Pa., January 3, 1825. [This article names William as
the father; the previous article
did not.
However, the previous article did list David Wilson as Israel’s
brother, so we can deduce that William was David Wilson’s father.] His father,
William Patterson, was a
resident of Rostraver township during the greater part of his
life.
[Note that this article does
not state where William was born or even where he was prior to
arriving in Rostraver--but it does imply that
William
was not born in
Rostraver Township.] He was a miller by
occupation but gave considerable attention to farming.
In political opinion he
was a democrat of the Jacksonian
school. He owned a farm
on the bank of the Youghiogheny river, on which he died in
1842.
[This date is not correct. William is alive at the time of the 1850 census in
Rostraver. He is not
listed on the 1860 census, so we might
conclude that he
died between 1850 and 1860.
Maybe there was a "typo" and the death date
should have been
"1852" not "1842."
See
section on William below.]
He [William]
married Jane
Corwin, who bore him twelve children, of whom six are living.
Israel Patterson was reared on a farm,
where he was trained to agricultural pursuits. He received his education in
the subscription schools of that day. He made
choice [sic] of farming as a life pursuit and has been
a farmer ever since leaving school. He owns a large farm of two
hundred
and five acres of valuable land
in Rostraver township, where he is very comfortably situated for
enjoying life after many years
of honest labor.
[See reference to map
of this farm, below.]
While
attending to his farm he has engaged in raising and
dealing in stock
and has been successful in that line of
business. In politics he was ever been a stanch [sic] republican
from principle and has
served his township as
school director and road supervisor.
Mr. Patterson was married to Margaret Owens* of McKeesport, Allegheny county,
Pa.
[Israel's wife, Margaret, could be the
"…Aunt,
Mrs. Margaret Patterson of West Newton, Pa., she makes her home
with a son-in-law
Mr. Porter…." --which information was included in Telie
Orphalina Whiting-Patterson’s deposition when applying for Civil War
widow pension benefits. It's possible because Israel was dead by
13 Nov
1907, the date of Telie's deposition--he died in 1892--so maybe
Israel's wife left the farm and went into town to live out her last
years.]
To their [Israel's and
Margaret's] union
have been born six children: Charles C., Alfaretta, Anna ., Alfred
G., Hattie and Fanny.
Israel Patterson is a plain and unassuming man and has always
been a peace-loving and law-abiding citizen. [End of
'sketch.']
*Burial transcription has her name as
“Owings.”
Note: Regarding the statement (in the
Biographies of Westmoreland article on Israel Patterson) that
Israel's father "owned a farm on the bank of the Youghiogheny" this is backed up by looking
at a wonderful map of Rostraver Township
created in 1867. It's
part of the USgenweb/PA digital
map collection. On this map one can see, in
one of the 'bends' of the Youghiogheny, land identified as belonging to "I. Patterson."
Another source, "Early History,
Rostraver Township Bicentennial Celebration" by Rose Arone, Co-Chairman, 1973, tells us the name and
location of William’s mill:
6
Next to the farmer, the millright [sic] was the most
essential member of the community, and
mills were usually the starting points
for our earliest villages and post offices
when the latter were established. The pioneer had to go to the
mill perhaps more
frequently than any other place. There he waited for his
grist to be ground and took his flour home with him, the
miller having
first taken his
share as toll for grinding it. It was natural for a blacksmith to
locate his forge near by.
He could thus shoe the
horses while the grist was
being ground….* The
Cedar Creek Mill was one of three that were within the confines
of what is
now Rostraver
Township.
It was
operated for a
time by William Patterson, the grandfather of A. Guy
Patterson [So now we know
that
“Alfred G.” mentioned
in the above article is indeed the same
person
as “A. Guy”], and the last
man to run it was James Goodman. A short distance up Cedar
Creek was Old Concord
School, and
later Concord Methodist Church and the new
Concord School.
Thus the community around the Rostraver Post Office, whether
it was ever termed
a village or not, had all the earmarks of
one.
A note regarding this pamphlet quoted
above, written by Rose Arone in 1973 for the Rostraver bicentennial:
some of the facts match
word-for-word the information found
in a piece written in 1949 (the earlier of the two sources listed on this
page) by Piersoll, Winchell
& Carter, entitled "Early Days in
Rostraver,” which follows:
Mills in those days
were hospitable places.
In the office of the mill there was nearly always an
open fireplace, where the
farmers could gather to chat with each other and with
the miller while their grain was being ground, and the
children often
played around among the grain
sacks in the mill or watched the water fro the mill race turn the
big water wheel.
The Cedar
Creek Mill was one of three within the confines of what is now
Rostraver Township.
It was operated for a time by William
Patterson, the grandfather of A. Guy Patterson,
and the last man to run it was James Goodman, at least fifty years
ago.
7
Census Information for William
Patterson
1790 Census
NOTE: William would have been about 6
years old in 1790. Because we do not at this time
know the
name of William’s father, we cannot determine if William was a son
enumerated in
any of the
many PA Patterson households in 1790; nor do we know if William in
1790 was in
Ireland.
1800 Census
NOTE: It appears
that census information for Rostraver Twp was OMITTED when the
National
Records Office microfilmed the
1800 Westmoreland Co., PA census. To our
knowledge,
Rostraver cannot be found on
any 1800 census microfilm rolls anywhere. Since William
next appears in Rostraver Twp. in
1810 (see following) the omission of Rostraver in 1800
is a great hindrance to our
fact-gathering about William. The 1800 census might have
given
us a clue as to the name of
William’s father, if William’s father did in fact accompany William
to
America—if, in fact,
William was indeed a “native of
Ireland” as quoted above.
1810 Census
NOTE: The household of “our” William
could be either of the two below. I
(Janice Rosenthal) believe William #1 to be “our”
William, but more proof is
needed.
William Patterson
#1, age 26-45, is living in Rostraver Twp.,
Westmoreland Co., PA with:
4 males age 0-10
1 female age 26-45
William Patterson #2, age
16-25 is living in Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA
with:
1 male age 0-10
1 female age 16-25
Contrary
to all previous reports, I (Janice Rosenthal) believe household #1 to be
the
household of “our” William. Previously, I had
assumed that William #
was “ours.”
I had assumed
this because, originally, I had thought (based on census info for
William’s
children,
for years up to 1880) that by 1810 William and Jane (Corwin
Patterson had only
one
son. NOW, however, I
think that four sons were born by 1810. I say this because of
new census info
recently found for Washington Twp. Pattersons in 1830. (See
below.)
This new info
leads me to believe that William’s first four sons-- Robert, James,
John
and
William--were all born by 1810.
1820 Census
NOTE: I (Janice Rosenthal) have
thoroughly searched the census pages in both Washington Twp.,
Fayette Co. & in Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland Co. This is the
only household that could possibly be that of “our” William. There
is no William in Rostraver.
William Patterson, age 26-45, is living in
Washington Twp., Fayette Co., PA with:
4 males age 0-10
(Thompson, David Wilson, Jacob, Morris)
4 males age 10-16
(Robert, John, William, James)
1 female age 0-10
(Harriet)
1 female age 26-45 (wife Jane)
8
1830 Census
NOTE: There are two households which
could possibly be the household of “our” William. In the past I
(Janice Rosenthal) wrongly assumed that household #1 was that of
“our” William. (This is because household #2 had not been
indexed by ancestry.com!)
Now,
however, though both households are possibilities (until further
proof has been gathered) I strongly believe that household #2 is
that of “our” William and his family.
William
Patterson #1, age
40-50, is living in Washington Twp., Fayette Co., PA
with:
1 male age 0-5 (Israel?) Samuel, abt. age 5, is
missing.
2 males age 10-15 (David Wilson & Jacob?)
Morris, abt. age 10-11, is
missing.
1 male age 15-20
(Thompson?)
1 male age 20-30
(1 of the 4 oldest sons?) The other 3 sons are
missing.
1 female age 10-15
(Harriet?) Jane is
missing.
1 female age 40-50 (wife Jane?)
William
Patterson #2, age 50-60* living in Washington
Twp., Fayette Co., PA with:
1 male age 0-5
(Israel b. 3 Jan 1825)
2 males age 5-10
(Samuel b. abt. 1825 & Morris b. 1819-1820)
2 males age 10-15 ( David Wilson &
Jacob—twins—b. 8 Aug 1818)
1 male age 15-20
(Thompson b. 1813-14)
4 males age 20-30
(Robert, John, James, William—but censuses show Wm. b. abt.
1812-13?)
1 female age 0-5
(Jane b. 24 Dec 1827)
1 female age 15-20
(Harriet—but censuses show she was b. bet.
1820-25!)
1 female age 40-50 (wife Jane b. abt.
1787)
NOTE: This second household matches
nearly perfectly with the facts we’ve found (primarily from censuses
up to 1880) about the ages of William’s children. Prior to finding this
census, the only thing we had to go on for computing William’s age
was the 1850 Rostraver census which listed him as age 66, so b. abt.
1784. On this 1830
census, however, William is listed as age 50-60, so b. abt.
1770-1780. Either (or
both) of the two
censuses could contain errors, so we can’t tell which is
correct. In the
meantime we might estimate “our” William’s birth date as between
1780-1784.
1840 Census
William Patterson, age 50-60, is
living back in Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA
with:
2 males age 15-20 (Israel & Samuel?)
1 female 5-10 (Jane)
1 female 10-15 (Harriet)
1 female 50-60 (wife Jane)
9
1850 Census
William Patterson, age 66, miller, living in Rostraver
Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA with:
Harriet, age 30
Jane, age 23
Phylinda, age 14*
Samuel, age 25, cooper**
*Phylinda (spelled “Filena” in 1860 &
1870 but “Philena” in 1880 continues to live in Rostraver with
Harriet, who never married, until Harriet’s death sometime after
Nov. 1893. On the 1880
census, in Harriet Patterson’s household, Philena is identified as
Harriet’s “niece.” We
do not at this time know which of Harriet’s brothers had a dau.
named Philena/Filena/Phylinda.
It is also possible that Philena could be Harriet’s niece
through the Corwin side of the family, and adopted the surname
Patterson when she was taken into the household in
1850.
We suspect,
however, that she may be the dau. of William’s son John, who was
said to have gone to CA and to have died there. Perhaps John’s wife died and
so William took in his
granddaughter.
**Samuel is also enumerated in
another household in this same census—in that of his brother Robert
in Washington Twp., Fayette Co., PA. In this household Samuel is
listed as “age 26, cooper.”
1860 Census
Our William Patterson is not found on either the
Rostraver census or on the Washington Twp. census, and is presumed
to have died.
