I’ve been working on my Patterson line recently, in hopes of locating a common ancestor with a DNA match. I haven’t found the common ancestor yet, but I have found lots of information on my known Pattersons. I want to capture what I’ve learned in narrative format, starting with Jackie Patterson, my fourth great-grandfather.
Connecting John to his parents
John “Jackie” Patterson was born about 1794, likely in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and probably the second son of John “Hense” Patterson and Nancy Chapman. I currently have two pieces of evidence connecting him to John “Hense” Patterson and Nancy Chapman 1) a deed transcription found online that names John Patterson, his siblings and mother Nancy Patterson, as well as his grandfather Joseph Chapman (obtaining a copy of the original deed is on my to-do list), and 2) a notation in an old county history book.
1800 Census, Pendleton District, South Carolina
Jackie was at home with his parents for the 1800 census. His father, John Patterson was head of household. (Three John Pattersons appeared in Pendleton District in 1800, but this one best-matches the pattern of the known children.)
John "Hense" Patterson - 1800 Census
Category Number in household Names
Free White Males Under 10 5 likely Joseph, Jackie, William, George, and Jeremiah
Free White Males 26 to 44 1 probably John "Hense" Patterson
Free White Females 26 to 44 1 likely Nancy (Chapman)
Slaves 1
Jackie’s father died between 1808 and 1810, with his mother appearing as head of household on the next decennial census.
1810 Census
The 1810 census is problematic and Jackie can’t be located with any certainty. His mother, Nancy (Chapman) Patterson appeared as head of household with three boys in Jackie’s age range (10-15); however, Nancy had four sons in that age group, all of whom lived to be adults. Jackie could have been one of the three boys at home with his mother or he could have been living in someone else’s household. Since I think he was the second-oldest son, I think is more likely that he was living elsewhere and that his younger brothers were still at home. The only certainty is that he does not appear as head of his own household, nor does he appear with his older brother, Joseph.
1820 Census
Jackie can’t be located on the 1820 census either. He does not appear with his mother or his brother. He would have been about 26 years old. A search for “John Patterson born about 1794” in the 1820 census on Ancestry.com yields several of that name. However, there are no households headed by John Patterson in South Carolina or Georgia that seem likely to be this John. Since he didn’t get married until 1828, he was probably living in someone else’s household, but whose has not been determined.
A Move to a Georgia and a Wedding
Jackie, his mother, and his siblings all moved to Hall County, Georgia during the 1820s.
On 28 October 1828, Jackie married Jane Chapman in Hall County. Jackie and Jane were first cousins, with her father being John Chapman, brother to Jackie’s mother, Nancy.
Check back next week for “John Patterson – the Later Years.”
Click on links above to see more information, including source citations.
