bef 1675 - ~1741
Virginia - Massachusetts
Peter -> Richard
Richard is always referred to as the eldest son of Peter Pattee, and it is assumed he was the Virginian son, born before Peter left for New England in 1675. It took some time for Peter to get his affairs in order in Massachusetts, and when he finally sent for his wife - sometime around 1678 - he could not get in touch with her. Either she was dead, or she refused to make the move north. So Peter, after a while, married a New England woman, Sarah Gill. There is no explanation of how or when Richard, if he was the Virginian son, came north. But there is apparently no record of his birth in Massachusetts - and the New Englanders were ferocious record-keepers - so the assumption that he was the Virginian is probably correct.
I still would like to know more about his journey from Virginia.
Sometime in the early 1700s he married Susanna Beale. The sources used by Scalisi-Ryan give her maiden name, but no marriage date, and no birth records have been found for the first four children, so it is possible that he was married to someone else before he married Susanna. The sources also do not give Susanna's parents' names . . . . It's curious, considering how many records there are for everyone else. You don't suppose she came with Richard from Virginia, do you? [As far as that goes, depending upon when he moved, the first four children could have been born there as well. !!]
Those first four children were:
Peter, born ~1704 (named after his grandfather)
Seth, born ~1706 - our next ancestor
John, born ~1709
Sarah, born ~1713
Several things happened in 1715. In May, on the 20th, daughter Elizabeth was born (Scalisi says "probably at Hampstead, NH). In July (on the 31st), wife Susanna was received into communion at the Haverhill First Parish. And sometime during that year "ch. of Richard Pate" were baptized. It sounds almost as though they were newcomers to the community, doesn't it?
On December 1, 1716, his father sold him Patee's Farm and Ferry - price £500, with a £300 mortgage. The property was 12 acres, more or less, with houses, barns, outbuildings, orchards, gardens, ferry boats . . . . A few years later, on 19 Jan 1719/20, Peter released Richard from the debt, and a new mortgage was drawn up, for £256, which Richard was to satisfy by paying it out to the people mentioned in Peter's will.
Five more children were born in the next ten years:
1716/7 Jan 27 - son William born
1718 Sept 1 - son Eliphalet born
1720 Sept 7 - son Richard born
1722 Dec 30 - daughter Susanna born
1725 March 29 - daughter Abigail born
And that seems to be it for children. Phew.
His father died in 1724, and Richard paid out the bequests (except some to his own children) in 1725 and 1726.
In 1726 he bought 160 acres from Elisha Davis, which he gave (eventually) to his sons Peter and Richard. In 1729, he bought some land from Nathaniel Peaslee, which he gave (eventually) to his son Seth:
1726 May 11 - bought 160 acres from Elisha Davis
1728/9 Feb 28 - deeded 60 acres of this parcel to son Peter as his share in the estate
1741 Sept 14 - sold 90 acres of this to his son Richard jr.
1729 June 18 - bought 50 acres from Nathaniel Peaslee & wife Lydia
1729/30 Jan 16 - deeded this property to son Seth as his share in the estate
Also in 1726, he was licensed as an innholder. I am not sure if an inn was just a place to stop, or if it means the Pattees finally got their tavern. If so, however, they didn't have it long - he sold the Pattee Farm and Ferry 3 years later. (I am making the assumption - perhaps unwarrented - that the inn would be near the ferry.)
1726 July 19 - licensed as an innholder for the year
1727 July - licensed as an innholder and retailer
1729 April 8 - sold the Patee Farm and Ferry to Nathaniel Peaslee
Nathaniel Peaslee was the person from whom he bought the land he gave to Seth. But their relationship did not end with the land deals. He sold the Farm & Ferry to Peaslee in April of 1729, in in September his wife Susanna was suspended from communion at church. Her crime? She gossiped about Lydia Peaslee, Nathaniel's wife - said Lydia had been "drunk or the worse for drink or words to that purpose." (Which makes it seem not so unlikely that a tavern was involved.) The congregation voted her guilty of public scandal, and demanded a public acknowledgement of her faults. (These guys were tough!) Instead, she wrote a paper justifying herself. What a woman! And she could write - interesting. However, she eventually submitted and was restored to full church membership in 1731 (June 4).
Nothing record-worthy happened for the next several years, until the children started marrying.
1729 Nov 13 - son Peter m. Elizabeth Scribner
1730 March 30 - son Seth m. Dorcas Savory
1732/3 Feb 20 - daughter Sarah m.
Jonathan Dustin
1739/40 Aug 14 - son Eliphalet m. Hannah Rollins (actually an intention to marry made)
He died sometime between 14 Sept 1741 (when he sold a bit of land to Richard jr) and 8 Jan 1741/2 (when his estate was inventoried). Susanna lived until at least 1743 (sometime after May 9 of that year). The rest of the children, except for John and William, who possibly died young, married after his death.
1742 June 22 - daughter Susanna m. Alexander Gordon
1743 May 9 - wife Susanna died after this date
1744 Feb 17 - son Richard m Mary Clark
1746 July 14 - daughter Abigail m William Emerson
That's it.
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Forward to next ancestor, Seth Pattee
Questions, comments, additions, corrections? Contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
Page last updated 20 May 2006