John A Patton
JOHN A. PATTON, late of East Franklin township, a farmer and dealer in stock, was born June 10, 1844, in Armstrong county, son of William and Martha (Foster) Patton.
The Patton family orginated in Ireland, but the date of the arrival here of the first ancestor in America is not known.
William Patton was born in Pennsylvania in 1796, and his wife was born in the same State Jan. 27, 1805, on Bear creek, this county. The father moved from Westmoreland county, Pa., to Armstrong county in 1825, and here married. He bought his land for five dollars per acre, cleared it off, and developed the fine farm owned by his son John A. The parents passed through the incidents and hardships relative to farm life at that time, but succeeded beyond their expectations, and reared a creditable family. Both worked to make a home, the wife helping her husband roll the logs he hewed, and to build the log cabin in which they lived until it was replaced by a frame house later on. There were eleven children in the family, seven daughters an four sons, only one of whom survives, a daughter. At his death, on March 5, 1876, the father owned 200 acres of land. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Cowansville, as was his wife. A great student of the Bible, he read it almost constantly, and enjoyed discussing the Scriptures. In politics he was a Republican. The maternal great-grandfather, John Foster, secured his title to land in Armstrong county from the government. Mrs. Patton died Aug. 5, 1874.
John A. Patton lived with his parents, and received a common school education. When he was eighteen years old he took charge of his father's farm, to which he succeeded upon the latter's death. He became one of the leading farmers of East Franklin township, and his transactions in buying and selling horses were large, Mr. Patton meeting with well-merited success in this line. Perhaps he was one of the best judges of horses in Armstrong county, for he was recognized as an expert, his services being called into question many times. He and his son had their homes near together, their beautiful places in a valley of the old hills of western Pennsylvania being among the most desirable in Armstrong county. John A. Patton died March 4, 1913.
On Sept. 18, 1872, Mr. Patton was married, in East Franklin township, to Susan Ambrose, daughter of John and Elizabeth Ambrose. John Ambrose was an old settler of this county. Married twice, he had twelve children by his first wife and one by his second. Mrs. Patton was the fifth child born to her parents. Her ancestors on the maternal side came from Germany. John Ambrose was a member and elder of the Union Presbyterian Church of Cowansville for forty-five years, and for many years served it as trustee. When he died he was the owner of 260 acres of land. In politics he was a Republican. "Uncle" Kellen Ambrose, the great-uncle of Mrs. Patton, was a major in the war of 1812. Isaac Simpson, her maternal grandfather, was also in that war.
Mr. and Mrs. Patton became the parents of the following children: William Charles, born Oct. 16, 1873; Elizabeth A., born Sept. 29, 1875, who married Robert Noble, of Armstrong county; and Mattie E., born May 24, 1879.
Source: Pages 731-732 Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed October 1998 by Joyce Sherry for the Armstrong County Beers Project
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