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Genealogy: Finding Your Folks

The Patton family of Bethany - Conclusion

By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE
jkilgore@thecitizennews.com

In this final installment on the Patton family of Fayette County, we will develop the family of Solomon S. Patton and Rebecca Albina J. Patton, first cousins, who married in 1852, had a family, and who are both buried at Bethany United Methodist Church in Fayette County. Several of their children also are buried at Bethany.

Solomon, born 28 June 1823, died, 13 Feb. 1907, was the son of Jacob Patton and his first wife, Rebecca Stovall.

Rebecca Albina J. Patton, born 2 Aug. 1828 in Jasper Co., Ga., died 19 March 1904, was the son of James Patton and Elizabeth Hunt.

Both James and Jacob were sons of Solomon Patton and his first wife, Nancy Unknown, and were grandsons of Matthew Patton and Mrs. Elizabeth (Moore?) Barber, and, more than likely, great-grandsons of Jacob Patton of Craig’s Creek, Augusta Co., Va. (I think I got that right. With so many Jacobs and Solomons it gets very confusing.)

Solomon Patton and Rebecca Albina J. Patton had eight children, including:

(1) Mary Patton, for whom I have absolutely no information. Mary’s name must have come from a Bible record.

(2) James Josiah Patton. b. 12 Aug 1855, d. 16 April 1928, m. Rebecca Lester, daughter of John Lester and Sarah Rivers. Both James and Rebecca are buried at Bethany. They had 13 children: Ella Lee, Mary Alma, Julian M., Aldine Bruce, Willie Pope, Mary Emma, Solomon S., Emma Betsy, Annie Ruth, James Jefferson, Peter Paul, Ella B. and John Harold.

(3) Martha Jane Patton, b. 17 Apr 1858, d. 5 Jan 1890.

(4) Jacob Shelby Matthew Patton, b. 25 Dec 1860, d. 16 July 1931, m. Sarah Pope Patton, daughter of Jacob Terry Patton and Adelaide Stanley Milner. Sarah was born 14 May 1873 and died 25 Oct 1960. Both Sarah and Jacob are buried at Bethany.

Here we take another interesting twist in that Jacob Terry Patton (father of Sarah Pope Patton) was the son of Jacob Patton and his second wife, Elizabeth Cox, and therefore a half-brother of Solomon Patton (father of Jacob Shelby Matthew Patton). I guess that makes Jacob Shelby Matthew and Sarah Patton half first cousins. Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong on that.

Jacob Shelby Patton and Sarah Pope Patton had eight children: Birdie May, Ralph (who died at age 2), Jacob Shelby, George William, Addie Ree, Clevie Floyd, Edgar Allen and Gussie Pearl.

(5) William Henry Patton, b. 3 Apr 1863, d. 8 Feb 1881, buried at Bethany. He was only 17.

(6) John Thomas Patton, b. 5 May 1866, d. 20 March 1941, m. Theodocia M. Johnson. She was born 13 Dec 1880 and died 15 Dec. 1937. Both are buried at Bethany.

(7) George Stovall Patton, b. 11 Dec. 1868, d. 6 Sept. 1869 at less than one year of age.

(8) Bernard Shaw Patton, b. 24 Dec 1872, d. 14 Sep 1873, also at less than one year of age. I have also seen Bernard listed as “Benjamin.”

It is also worth mentioning that Rebecca Albina J. Patton was first married to Henry Rook in 1842 in Pike County and had two children when she married Solomon Patton: Orleany P. Rook, b. 17 Jan 1844, and James Rook, b. 9 Aug 1845.

That’s all I have been able to find on the Patton family, with the generous help of several other researchers. Those who may have information on other Pattons are most welcome to submit it.

Next week I would like to explore the family of Enoch George Jones and Elizabeth Travis whose children married into several of the Bethany families. Enoch and Elizabeth are both buried at Bethany.

Much of the information on the names, spouses and birth dates of Enoch’s children was found in the book on the Travis family which I discovered at the Fayette County Library. But I also came across another researcher, Deanne Barr, who expanded the story and gave me some surprises. Such as the fact that Enoch was married a second time to a lady he met while he was boarding with her.

And the fact that Enoch and his wife had a serious run-in and he was peppered with a load of buckshot — to the head — and lived to tell about it. (All this was written up in the Atlanta Constitution and is an amazing story.)

Following the Jones story, I’d like to wrap up this Bethany series with my personal favorites, and those of whom I know the most — the Boyds. James and Millie Boyd’s family played a very important part in the Bethany saga and their descendants are still around and living in the area. When I was researching my own Boyd family in Newberry County, S.C., I kept stumbling across and running into the ancestors of the Bethany Boyds. Their names were on the same documents. They attended the same estate sales. They made purchases at each other’s families’ estate sales. They married into the same families.

Then, when I carried my research on down into Meriwether County in Georgia, there they all were again — all together in a tight little bunch — names on the same documents, living on adjacent or nearby land lots, marrying into the same families.

“Wait a minute,” I told myself. “These guys have got to be related.” And, by darn, I believe I’ve put enough evidence together to make a strong case.

But ... more about that in a future column.

I welcome all letters and e-mails about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them to The Citizen, P.O. Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com. Any letters and/or e-mails I receive are subject to being used in the column.

Until next week, happy hunting!