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REUBEN
PATTERSON.
The early settlement of Sandusky township, Sandusky county, was
not so rapid as that of the eastern part of the county, because
the land was more low and wet, the timber more dense, and the
air more full of malaria, which caused fever and ague.
Such was the condition of the country when Reuben Patterson
and his wife Eunice (Danforth) Patterson, and family, in
the fall of 1816, came in wagons from the State of New York to
the wilds of Ohio. They located first at Huron, in Erie
County, which was then the stopping place for many western
immigrants. The following spring they removed to the
Peninsula, in Ottawa county, but here sickness so afflicted
them that their new home with improvements and to be abandoned.
In the spring of 1818 they moved to Lower Sandusky, and found
temporary shelter in a small log house in the old fort, which
had been used during the war of 1812-13 by U. S. Military
officers. Comforts and conveniences were out of the
question, and the floor of the house was made of clay.
There was but one bedstead in a corner, and during the day all
the clothing was piled upon it. At night the beds for
eight persons were made mostly on the bare ground. One
gate of the fort served as a part of the floor. Mr.
Patterson and his sons during the winter cleared a piece of
land on the west side of the river, and in the spring of 1819
the family moved into the log cabin they had constructed on this
place, which is known as the Whitaker Reserve, in
Sandusky township. In the meantime his eldest daughter,
Eveline, taught school in one of the block houses of the
fort, having some Indian as well as white children under her
care.
Abut the year 1821-22 Mrs. Eunice Patterson,
being well provided with purchase money, mounted her horse and,
in company with Lysander C. Ball and James Whittaker,
traveled through the wilderness, one hundred miles, to attend
the government sales of public lands at Delaware, Ohio.
She there bought the tract which became their homestead, and it
has for many years been known as the Patterson Farm, on
the east side of the Sandusky river, just north of Fremont.
The incidents of this heroic trip were often related by her to
her grandchildren. She was remarkably determined and
courageous in business matters, but kind and generous to a fault
in her home.
The children of Reuben
and Eunice Patterson were: (1) Sear
Patterson, who retained his residence in the State of New
York. (2) Alvord Patterson, who married
Miss Sarah Perry, and for a number of years lived on the
Patterson Farm, where each passed away, leaving no children.
(5) Harriet Patterson married to
James Moore,
whose sketch is given elsewhere. (6) Julius Patterson,
married to Miss Margaret Leary, by wom he had eight sons
and two daughters - Robert C. Danforth, Rodolphus D., Sardis
B., Sarah and Juliette. Julius Patterson
was for many years a successful farmer, also a
contractor on public works. He led an honest and temperate
life. He was born May 17, 1808, and died at his residence
in Fremont, May 23, 1887. (7) Caroline Patterson died at
the age of twelve years from the effects of a fall on the ice in
the river, which she crossed in attending school. The
death of Reuben Patterson occurred Jun. 1, 1840, at Lower
Sandusky, and that of his wife, Eunice Patterson, Dec.
17, 1839, the latter at the age of sixty-five years.
Mrs. Eunice Patterson was a daughter of Gen.
Asa Danforth, who was born July 6, 1746, at Worcester,
Mass.; he entered the military life at fourteen years of age,
served in the war of the Revolution, was at the battle of
Lexington, and distinguished himself by many brave and patriotic
achievements. He was one of the first to begin the
manufacture of salt at Onondaga, N. Y. He died Sept. 2,
1818, at the age of seventy-three. The stories of his
eventful life are stranger than fiction.
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Source: Commemorative Biographical Record
of the counties of
SANDUSKY & OTTAWA, OHIO