The Patterson (Paterson) Family
The Patterson name originated in Rossshire in the northern highlands of Scotland in the mid-14th century and later was found as a Clan in the area of the northern coast of Loch Fyne in Argyle. The name Patterson literally means Son of Patrick and stems from the Gaelic name Phaedirean, or MacPhaedirean. While there is not likely to be a single origin, the MacLaren Clan of Balquhidder had a sept of Patterson (MacPatrick) while Clan Farquharson of Perthshire had a sept of Patterson that is said to have stemmed from Patrick, one of the first Farquharson sons. Naturally, Patrick of Farquharson would have a son whose name was possibly Robert, who would be referred to as Robert MacPatrick, or Robert, Son of Patrick, thus anglicized as Robert Paterson.
While a number of stateside Pattersons assume they are from Ireland as that is where many of them shipped to American in the 17th and 18th centuries, Patterson is not an Indiginous name to Ireland. For the most part these Patterson emigrants were Scots-Irish; that is, they first emigrated to Ireland from Scotland, having lost their lands in the Clearances, for example or perhaps received land grants from the King. Sometimes a few years later, sometimes a few generations later, they emigrated to America to find land and freedom.
More on the Paterson/Patterson heritage
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1st GENERATION: Joseph Patterson (abt 1740-1804) We don't know yet when Joseph arrived at this Scots-Irish Presbyterian village of Back Creek on the upper N.E. coast of Chesapeake Bay in Cecil County, Maryland. However we do know that he was there on the 1790 and 1800 U.S. Census and that he had a son born in that time frame that is very likely our Joseph Patterson, born in 1793. Further, we have Joseph's Estate settlement papers that indicate that he died in 1804. His inventory suggests that he was a blacksmith and while there were likely farm animals to serve in the area, the canal from Delaware was being constructed during this time there were probably mules and draught horses being used in the dredging. It also is quite possible that Joseph was doing some kind of iron work on the canal itself when he died. Joseph is shown to be over 45 on the 1880 Census. Elizabeth Patterson is thought to be his wfie and is found on the 1810 census with young Joseph remaining in the household at that time.
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2nd GENERATION: Joseph Patterson (1793-1879) was born in 1793 in the Scots-Irish community of Back Creek in Cecil County, Maryland, son of Joseph Patterson (abt 1748-1804) and Elizabeth Patterson. Joseph was accounted for on the 1790 and 1800 U.S. Census in Back Creek with his father, the elder Joseph, a blacksmith who died in 1804, and with his mother in 1810. Apparently soon after, having reached the age of 18, he headed west. He likely joined a host of Catholic immigrants from Maryland to Kentucky via rafting on the Ohio River and found himself in Washington County, Kentucky where he met Roseanna Tewell whose family were members of the St. Mary's Catholic Church just outside Springfield.
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3rd GENERATION: Martin Patterson (1819-1901) was born in Daviess County, Indiana on 18 July 1819, the first son of Joseph Patterson & Roseanna Tewell from Springfield, Washington Co., Ky. where they married October, 1818. Martin produced 13 children thru three wives, all of whom he outlived, Elizabeth Ashe, who died in 1844; Rosila Arvin, who died in 1856; and Louisa Francis Fields who died in 1894, Martin lost a leg in a sawmill accident in 1885 and wore a peg leg the rest of his life. More info later.......
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4th GENERATION: John Henry Patterson (1867-1950) was born 16 July 1867 in Daviess County, Indiana, the son of Martin Patterson and his third wife, Louisa Fields. John married Mary Agnes Hinton in 1888 & sired three sons, Ottis, Hinton & Cletis. John owned a saloon in Loogootee in Martin County when Prohibition came along in 1921. He converted the saloon to a store and card parlor at that time and remained in business. He died 4 March 1950 & is buried between his two wives, both named Mary. More info later.........
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5th GENERATION: Ottis William Patterson (1890-1972) Ottis was born 1 November 1890 in Loogootee, Indiana, the first son of John Henry Patterson & Mary Agnes Hinton. He rode the roof of a freight train car to go to Oklahoma in 1911 where he became both a renowned baseball player and the husband of Fanny Faye Kennady in 1913. Ottis kept a good job at the glass factory through the depression partially through his baseball skills, playing in semi-pro leagues. He later worked for a refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. He died 5 Mary 1972, the result of a broken neck in a car wreck at age 81. More info later.....
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6th GENERATION: John Clay Patterson, Sr. (1918-2011) John was born 9 September 1918 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. An Eagle Scout, John also had success as a baseball and football player at Oklahoma Military Academy. He carried this a step further at the University of Wyoming, receiving a scholarship to again play both sports in which he excelled. He married his college/high school sweetheart, Dora Elizabeth Lebow, on 21 July 1941. Having completed the collegiate ROTC program entered the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and served on the final invasion, through Germany, to Pilzen, Czechoslovakia, receiving a Bronze Star and being promoted to Captain in the process. John also served in Korea as a Major on 1st Cavalry Division staff.
Read about 'My Life' by John C. Patterson, Part I, Birth thru the College Years 1918-1941 & Part II, The War Years, 1942-1945
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