In 1916 and 1917, books containing the histories of Greenbrier County and Monroe County, West Virginia were published. The histories give no sources but tell the story of my fourth great grandfather, Tristram Patton, who at the end of his life owned nearly 2,000 acres that straddled the border of the two counties. According to the stories, Tristram was born in Ireland, emigrated as a young man to Philadelphia where he taught school, participated in the Revolutionary War and then joined by his younger brother, Robert, came to western Virginia where they built mills on Second Creek and farmed the land. In 1808, Tristram married Jane Nelson and together they had 14 children all of whom lived to maturity and 13 of whom married and had children themselves.
Over the years, I have researched each one of his children and their families, connecting with many of his descendants and discovering family Bible’s, letters, pictures and stories passed down through the generations. I have joined with distant cousins with the goal of finding Tristram’s family in Ireland.We hired professional genealogists and made a trip to Ireland to learn how to use the Irish records that exist as so many have been destroyed.
I joined a research project and became adept at using the Ireland Registry of Deeds as we made abstracts of every deed that pertained to the Patton family from the beginning of the registry through the early 1800’s. We have scoured the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. We have used dna to connect to genetic cousins, one who can trace their line back to Ireland, and had the great fortune of meeting Marcus Patton who lives in Northern Ireland and has the records his father kept of his own extensive research on the Patton family. Yet with all that I have learned and experienced, I still do not know who Tristram’s parents are.
“So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness: a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial….Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey….There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it.” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2012)
I may never know the names of my fifth great grandparents. Yet, while the end goal is still not achieved, I have loved those who joined me in the pursuit and been blessed by the people and stories I have found along the way. There is so much joy in the pursuit of our desires, our dreams, and our hopes and so much satisfaction in the way it expands my soul. Keep dreaming, keep striving, the pursuit is worth the effort.