Born to John & Martha (Sharp) Patton in Rockbrige Co., Va. While John was courting his wife, he used to visit her every 90 days, riding over the Natural Bridge, his home being on the opposite side of the bridge from her. John married Phebe Caroline Taylor on 9 Sep 1812, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. In 1816, at the age of 29, John moved his family by covered wagon from Rockbridge County, Virginia to Adams Co, Ohio. He bought land on Cherry Fork creek in Wayne Twp. about 2 miles above Harshaville. John farmed for a living and Phebe kept house. John & Phebe joined the Associated Reformed church of North Liberty (Cherry Fork) where John served as an elder. They were very strict Presbyterians, there was family worship morning & evening, & grace before & after meals. Sunday was devoted entirely to public & private worship, reading of the scripture, including the catechism & nothing else was to be thought of. They believed the promises of the Bible were for them & their children and they acted on their belief. Big John as he was known & Phebe raised a family of 10, 4 sons and 6 daughters.

Notes for Phebe Caroline (Spouse 1)

Phebe was the daughter of James & Ann (Paul) Taylor. Phebe married 9 Sep 1812, in Rockbridge County, Virginia to Big John Patton. James & Ann Taylor, Phebe's parents had 14 children. Ann (Paul) Taylor, Phebe's mother, was the daughter of Captain Audley & Jane (Matthew) Paul. Ann died in 1828. Phebe's father, James Taylor, was born in 1746 in Armagh, Ireland. James & his brothers left Ireland for America in 1760. They settled in Rockbridge Co., Va. where they invested their money in land & slaves. The 4 brothers lived in the valley at the head of Cedar & are buried there. Two of the Taylor boys (James & George) married 2 of the Paul girls (Ann & _____). Another brother, Wm Taylor married Janet Paul but Janet was from another Paul family. The Paul family was opposed to slavery & imparted their scrupples to these 2 brothers (George & James)which forever changed their lives. Another brother, John Taylor was killed in 1778 in the Revolutionary War & Caufield Taylor another brother, was taken prisoner & liberated after surrender of Cornwallis. James Taylor, Phebe's father died on 23 Feb 1801 in Rockbridge Co., Va. Phebe had a brother Hugh Paul Taylor who was an attorney & surveyor. He wrote "Hugh Paul Taylor Sketches" a historical work covering the period 1740-1781. Much of the material was derived from their maternal grandfather, Captain Audley Paul. Stuart Taylor the youngest of Phebe's brother, freed the last of the slaves in that branch of the family & in doing so gave each freeman $50. John & Phebe moved to Adams Co., Oh in 1816. They had 10 children: the 1 child not listed is Nancy Patton, B. Jan 1831, married Richard Askern Kirkpatrick.

Phebe was the aunt of Bishop William Taylor a famous evangelist of the 1800's. It has been said that he was able to lead more men to the Lord in 2 hours than other evangelist did in 2 months. Taylor University in Upland, Indiana is named for Bishop Wm Taylor.

Last Modified 12-20-2018Created 1-30-2019 using Reunion for Macintosh