Pattee Family
"Origin and History of the Pattee Family as Far as I can Give It," by Rev. Calvin Robinson
"Origin and History of the Pattee Family as Far as I can Give It," by Rev. Calvin Robinson Pattee, 1892. Annotated with comments by Robert G. Steele from his book, "A Yankee Pedigree," 1969. "It is a great pleasure, when seeking out one's ancestors, to di...scover one of them who thinks enough of himself and his posterity to write down what he knows of his lineage and family history. Before me now is such a document. Written in beautiful spencerian script on ten pages of school tablet paper, it is signed C. R. Pattee, D.D., dated Lenox, South Dakota January 28, 1892, and entitled 'Origin and History of the Pattee Family as Far as I can give it.' It6 reads, in full, as follows: 'The name Pattee is of Norman extraction. It means a cross of a peculiar form - the four arms of equal length and size - wide at the ends, and narrowing as they near the center; much like a Maltese cross in these respects. A picture of it will be found in Webster's pictorial unabridged dictionary. It was, originally, a badge of office in Norman heraldry. I suppose that those of that class became known and designated as Pattees; and thus the name of the badge was transferred to those who wore it, and finally to the individual. It doubtless became mixed with English society through the Norman conquest; so that, as far back as we can trace it, our forefathers were considered to be English. In the early settlement of this country, two brothers came here from England, bearing this name. In the course of time they and their posterity became separated - the one going south, towards Virginia, and the other north, into New Hampshire. Of the southern branch I know nothing, excepting the fact that I have met one or two, and heard of one or two others, who were supposed to belong to it. We belong to the northern or New Hampshire branch which(as far back as I can trace them) had settled in or near Goffstown, N.H. Out of them came two - the most remote of my acquaintance - my grandfather, Moses Pattee M.D. and David Pattee, my great uncle. We of course belong to the family of Moses more directly than that of David. But Moses married his cousin Polly Pattee, and thus the two families of Moses and David became connected. Moses, with his family, moved from Goffstown, N.H. (or near there) to Schroon, N.Y. from whence, after some years, he migrated to what was then called Upper Canada; and settled in the township of Longueil (pronounced Longale) county of Prescott, district of Ottawa, about 60 miles up the Ottawa River from Montreal. David Pattee resided, when I knew him, in the adjoining town of Hawksborough, David had quite a family, among whom were John, David Jr., Hannah, Clarissa, and some others. Moses had four children, two sons and two daughters: Fannie, who died young, and Hannah who was shot by a villain whom she had refused to marry. The eldest son Joseph, or Jose as he was called, lived for some years in Canada and reared a large family: Malissa, John, Joseph, Edgar, Lucinda, Leander and Hannah. He then moved with his family to Wisconsin near Baraboo, where his wife died insane; and thence to Canton, Dakota. From this point they become scattered. The father went to California and died there in Calaveras County, where his eldest son John had gone years before during the 'Gold Fever.' Of the exact whereabouts of the rest of the family who are living I do not know. John is still a resident of Spring Valley, Calaveras Co., Calif. Calvin, the second son of Dr. Moses Pattee was my father. He also resided in Canada for some years, township of Alfred, county and district aforesaid, and his children were born there. His first wife was Sabrah Center, who died soon, and childless. He then married Huldah Macomber of Grand Isle, Vt. Finding that Canada was not a favorable country in which to rear his children and provide for their future, he(my father) made a journey to what was then the 'far west,' viz - Ill. And Wisconsin, but he died on his way back, near Toronto at the residence of Mr. Tibbits who had married of the daughters of the aforesaid David Pattee. My mother, thus left a widow, with her large family moved back to her relatives in Grand Isle, Vt. And after some years, to Ashtabula County, Ohio. Our family consisted of six children. Sabrah C., who married a man named Phelps, moved to Watrausville, Tuscola Co., Michigan, raised a large family and died there; Calvin R., the writer of this sketch; Elizabeth M., who died young in northeastern Ohio; John R., who married in Watrausville, Mich., raised a family - Charles, Mary and Edward - and died about two years ago in Yankton, S. Dakota; Genl. Joseph B. who fought through the entire Civil War of 30 years ago - resided since in Ohio, Mich, Pa., Ill., Wis. And S. Dak. where he died - in Canton, Linclon County - in the fall of 1891. Huldah Pattee - our mother, made her home with me for a number of years, and died in Berlin, Wis. Thus I alone am left of all the family. On my mother's side, we are of Scotch descent, in a direct line from the tribe, or clan McOmber. They were originally from Dutchess Co., N.Y. afterwards of Grand Isle, Vt. and northern N.Y. As for myself and my own family, I can only say - I am a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - 65 years of age, and still in the active work. I had the good fortune to marry the daughter of Rev. John McLean, a member of the Erie Conference of the M. E. Church, who passed to his reward some years ago. I was, for 18 years, also a member of the Erie Conference, and since of the Wisconsin Conference. Took a supernumerary leave of absence 4 years ago, to go to the Pacific Coast, where we remained two years, in the active ministry. Have resided since in Denver, Colo., Topeka, Kan., and am now here in Lenox, S. Dak. And in charge of this pastorate. Mrs. Pattee is best known throughout the country and from coast to coast as a prominent, active, and official worker in the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the M. E. Church. Our children are, (1) Wilbur M. - a prodigy in music - now connected with a large music store and its branches, in Davenport, Ia., - Rock Island and Moline, Ill. As repairer and tuner, and salesman of musical instruments. He is a master in his line. (2) Frank A. now of Los Angeles, Calif. - a very competent druggist, and a master in his profession; but also an active and efficient man in any line of business in which he may engage. These two are married. (3) Elmer E. - still single - is an artist, residing in Denver, Colo. Where he has a large business in his line. A genius in every department of art, he is now preparing to study his profession for a time in Europe. (4) Johnie - who since he was 18 months old has been among the Angels of God.' Following annotation was written by Robert Steele, from his "A Yankee Pedigree." It includes information about Peter Pattee and some of his descendants. One of his most important sources is Linwood Pattee, who published his own book(I don't know its title). There are copies at the Maine State Library and the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium in Maine. Linwood's book is reportedly 125 pages, though I have not seen it. "Before telling what little else we know of Grandfather Pattee it would be just as well to mention that there are a few discrepancies between his recollection and some data supplied by others, as usually happens when we try to recall names and dates of long ago. According to Linwood Pattee, of Burlington, Vermont, who has traced the family way, the first of those bearing the Pattee to come to this country was Peter, who was born in England in 1644. There is some speculation about his (Peter's) ancestry, but it seems fairly certain that the original Pattees were French. In the "Armorial de Bretagne," which supposedly contains a description of the arms and heraldry of every family of however noble birth to have existed in Brittany, there is listed a "Pattee du Glay, de Vaugheran, de la Chalandrie, des Mottayes." The family were barons, holding modest lands in the region of St. Malo on the northern coast. In later generations, so the most likely theory goes, the Pattees became Huguenots, as the first important dissenters in France from Catholicism were known. They were followers of John Calvin, which fact accounts for the recurrence of the name Calvin in the family. In addition to being in rebellion against the all-powerful Catholic Church the Huguenots were a political party, which the potent Richelieu was determined to destroy. Many of them fled to England during the 1620's and 1630's, among them Peter's parents. As a member of the current Pattee generation puts it, 'Now, though the young Church of England was a bit more tolerant than Catholic France, the exiles continues to militate and make themselves obnoxious until their welcome wore out. This is when Peter set his sights on the New World.' In 1669, at the age of 25, Peter Pattee 'on account of certain political opinions he entertained, found it expedient to take a hasty departure from England.' He settled first in Virginia where he married, and where his oldest son was born. But the name of his wife, or the date of her death,, is not recorded. Peter then took his infant son and went north, arriving eventually at Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he spent the rest of his life. There he remarried and raised a large family, and rose to prominence in the life of that pioneer community. He had somewhere (most likely in Virginia) picked up the trade of 'cordwainer,' which is now defined as 'a worker in cordovan leather - a shoemaker.' Peter's principal occupation, however, was operator of a ferry which he established, the first in town, at a locality which still bears his name. A ferry in those days consisted of a barge large enough to carry a farm wagon and a team of horses. It was secured to ropes and pulleys anchored to each riverbank, and pulled back and forth by manpower, later replaced by a mule, or horse, and winch. Peter's ferry spanned the Merrimac River, and was the only crossing for many miles on either side. Some rather cryptic notes from the records of Haverhill's town meetings are of interest,. In 1677 Peter Pattee 'making a motion to the town to grant him a piece of land to settle upon, it not being till then known to the town that he was a married man and a stranger, having hitherto accounted to him as a journeyman shoemaker, his motion was according to law rejected.' In 1680 he was 'presented' (summoned) to the court for being absent from his wife for several years, and in the following year he was again 'presented,' this time for having another wife in Virginia. He must have successfully refuted this charge of bigamy, for a few years later, in 1694, his fellow townsmen elected him constable. Peter was not only a prominent citizen, but became a very prosperous one. In his will, dated 1719, he deeded to his eldest son Richard his farm and ferry business, and Richard gave him a mortgage for 256 Pounds Sterling to pay legacies. To give some idea of the value of the Colonial Pound, it may be noted that William Bradford, longtime Governor and wealthiest citizen of nearby Plymouth, left a total estate valued at 900 pounds, the rough equivalent of $90,000 in today's (1969) currency. At the age of 74, again a widower, Peter Pattee took a third wife, and lived on for another six years. In 1724, founder and patriarch of a large and growing family, the old ferryman took his last ride, this time as Charon's passenger. Richard Pattee was a cordwainer like his father, and also ran the ferry. He and his wife had twelve children; his son Peter, next in line, had eleven. Very little is known of these two Pattees, though it may be assumed that they polowed and planted, tended and reaped their crops, cared for their animals, felled trees for fuel and kept the house tight and warm, as all New England pioneers had to do to survivie. An account of an incident in Peter's life has come down to us. Because of Indian depredations, a company of scouts was organized for service in the Merrimac Valley and, in July 1745, Peter Pattee was put in command of a companyu of cavalry. They were enlisted August 24th and served three days, during which time the Indians were frightened away. Peter's total remuneration as captain was five shillings and ninepence, of which three shillings and ninepence were for wages, and the balance for provisions and ammunition. The costs of war have gone up considerably since those days. This brief but honorable military career, however, caused our hero to be known thereafter as Captain Peter Pattee. It was Captain Peter's son Asa who was the real soldier of those early generations. Born in Haverhill in 1734, he was the right age for military service when the French and Indian Wars came along. Asa was a captain with General Wolfe in the famous expedition to Quebec climaxed bgy the battle on the Plains of Abraham in which both Wolfe and French General Montcalm lost their lives. A few years later, back in New England, as Lieutenant Asa Pattee, he was commissioned to build a bridege. Payment was refured for 'five gallons of rum' he furnished the workment ehen the structure was erected in 1766. Asa's military rank seems to have varied somewhat from time to time. Captain in 1759, Lieutenant in 1766, he served as a Private and as a Lieutenant in the New Hampshire Volunteers during the Revolution. If this seems peculiar to us in these days of standing armies and professional soldiers, remember what the conditions were then. Every time a new war broke out or a campaign started, the farmers got together and joined up, each volunteer being assigned whatever rank the commanding general felt he was capable of filling. Of Asa's Revolutionary War service we know only that he was severely wounded at the Battle of Bennington in 1777, and that two of his sons, Asa Jr. and John, were in his company in 1776. Between wars Asa pursued the life of a farmer, builder, and public spirited citizen. In 1761 he was Third Selectman of Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he had moved from Haverhill, and in 1765 and 1766 he was First Selectman. Two years later he was one of a group of seven men who built a church, the first one in town. In later years after the Revolution, Asa Pattee and his family removed again, this time to Warner, New Hampshire, where he built the first frame house in town, and kept a hotel there for a number of years. He owned the largest farm in town, and raised much stock of cattle, sheep and horses. The old campaigner must have had a sturdy constitution, for he lived to the age of 91. In descending scale, the next two Pattee are less well known. Moses, one of Asa's sons, married his cousin Mollie (aka Mary) Pattee. He became a doctor, and at some time during his middle years moved with his wife and four children north from Goffstown, stayed a few years at Crown Point, N.Y. and at Schroon, N.Y., and eventually settled at Longeuil, Ontario, Canada, where he lived until his death, at 88, in 1854. Calvin was the second son of Dr. Moses; he grew up a Canadian and lived all his life at Alfred, Prescott County, Ontario. His second wife was Huldah Macomber, who was of Scottish descent. The first of that family to come to America was William Maycumber, as it was then spelled, a cooper "of Corchyester" (England), who was living at Plymoutah, Mass. In 1638, just eighteen years after the Pilgrims landed. Calvin and Huldah Pattee raised six children, the eldest of whom was Calvin Robinson Pattee. You have already read, in his own words, that C. R. Pattee, D.D. was a Methodist minister, and that his wife Harriet(maiden name McLean) was an active missionary socity worker. We are fortunate to have portraits of these two people. The Reverend Calvin had strong features; in late years he grew bushy chin whisker, while keeping his lip shaved. As a result, he was a near perfect likeness of Uncle Sam. His wife also had strong, and somewhat stern, features. A minister's wife in the American Wild West of the nineteenth century did not lead an easy life. The church had a rule, or at least a practice, of sending its ministers to a new pastorate every two years. This may have helped a bit with the geography lessons in school, but it certainly complicated the living problems and did not make the raising of three lively sons any easier. The stipend from the church was small, and it was expected that the family would raise their own vegetables, keep a cow, chickens and a pig or two. Chores were endless, comforts few, and luxuries nonexistent. Rev. Calvin was a staunch upholder of the old-time principles of the church. Playing cards, dancing, and any kind of liquor were the works of Satan, and not to be tolerated or compromised with either by his parishioners or (especially) his own family. The minister's three sons, canught now and then on a 'sinful' spree, were soundly whopped in the woodshed. The stern father was an uncompromising enemy of the Devil, and not always easy for his family to live with. A trace of this characteristic way still may be glimpsed among his descendants. Calvin enjoyed rugged good health; at 69 he climbed Pike's Peak on foot. He outlived his wife, and in his eighties, he was retired, and visiting his son Frank in Los Angeles, and enjoying the warm sunny climate. The long, empty beaches particularly attracted him, and he would walk for miles along the sands, picking up a shell now and then for his collection. His younger son Elmer had written from France, asking him to come and visit, and had sent money for the passage. A few days before he was to depart there was an accident. He climbed on a chair to reach a bird-cage; the chair tipped over and he fell, injuring himself fatally, and ended a long, useful and interesting life." Transcribed by Stephen Pattee, Concord, NC, 4/27/2000 gggggggrandson of Peter Pattee
"Origin and History of the Pattee Family as Far as I can Give It," by Rev. Calvin Robinson Pattee, 1892. Annotated with comments by Robert G. Steele from his book, "A Yankee Pedigree," 1969. "It is a great pleasure, when seeking out one's ancestors, to di...scover one of them who thinks enough of himself and his posterity to write down what he knows of his lineage and family history. Before me now is such a document. Written in beautiful spencerian script on ten pages of school tablet paper, it is signed C. R. Pattee, D.D., dated Lenox, South Dakota January 28, 1892, and entitled 'Origin and History of the Pattee Family as Far as I can give it.' It6 reads, in full, as follows: 'The name Pattee is of Norman extraction. It means a cross of a peculiar form - the four arms of equal length and size - wide at the ends, and narrowing as they near the center; much like a Maltese cross in these respects. A picture of it will be found in Webster's pictorial unabridged dictionary. It was, originally, a badge of office in Norman heraldry. I suppose that those of that class became known and designated as Pattees; and thus the name of the badge was transferred to those who wore it, and finally to the individual. It doubtless became mixed with English society through the Norman conquest; so that, as far back as we can trace it, our forefathers were considered to be English. In the early settlement of this country, two brothers came here from England, bearing this name. In the course of time they and their posterity became separated - the one going south, towards Virginia, and the other north, into New Hampshire. Of the southern branch I know nothing, excepting the fact that I have met one or two, and heard of one or two others, who were supposed to belong to it. We belong to the northern or New Hampshire branch which(as far back as I can trace them) had settled in or near Goffstown, N.H. Out of them came two - the most remote of my acquaintance - my grandfather, Moses Pattee M.D. and David Pattee, my great uncle. We of course belong to the family of Moses more directly than that of David. But Moses married his cousin Polly Pattee, and thus the two families of Moses and David became connected. Moses, with his family, moved from Goffstown, N.H. (or near there) to Schroon, N.Y. from whence, after some years, he migrated to what was then called Upper Canada; and settled in the township of Longueil (pronounced Longale) county of Prescott, district of Ottawa, about 60 miles up the Ottawa River from Montreal. David Pattee resided, when I knew him, in the adjoining town of Hawksborough, David had quite a family, among whom were John, David Jr., Hannah, Clarissa, and some others. Moses had four children, two sons and two daughters: Fannie, who died young, and Hannah who was shot by a villain whom she had refused to marry. The eldest son Joseph, or Jose as he was called, lived for some years in Canada and reared a large family: Malissa, John, Joseph, Edgar, Lucinda, Leander and Hannah. He then moved with his family to Wisconsin near Baraboo, where his wife died insane; and thence to Canton, Dakota. From this point they become scattered. The father went to California and died there in Calaveras County, where his eldest son John had gone years before during the 'Gold Fever.' Of the exact whereabouts of the rest of the family who are living I do not know. John is still a resident of Spring Valley, Calaveras Co., Calif. Calvin, the second son of Dr. Moses Pattee was my father. He also resided in Canada for some years, township of Alfred, county and district aforesaid, and his children were born there. His first wife was Sabrah Center, who died soon, and childless. He then married Huldah Macomber of Grand Isle, Vt. Finding that Canada was not a favorable country in which to rear his children and provide for their future, he(my father) made a journey to what was then the 'far west,' viz - Ill. And Wisconsin, but he died on his way back, near Toronto at the residence of Mr. Tibbits who had married of the daughters of the aforesaid David Pattee. My mother, thus left a widow, with her large family moved back to her relatives in Grand Isle, Vt. And after some years, to Ashtabula County, Ohio. Our family consisted of six children. Sabrah C., who married a man named Phelps, moved to Watrausville, Tuscola Co., Michigan, raised a large family and died there; Calvin R., the writer of this sketch; Elizabeth M., who died young in northeastern Ohio; John R., who married in Watrausville, Mich., raised a family - Charles, Mary and Edward - and died about two years ago in Yankton, S. Dakota; Genl. Joseph B. who fought through the entire Civil War of 30 years ago - resided since in Ohio, Mich, Pa., Ill., Wis. And S. Dak. where he died - in Canton, Linclon County - in the fall of 1891. Huldah Pattee - our mother, made her home with me for a number of years, and died in Berlin, Wis. Thus I alone am left of all the family. On my mother's side, we are of Scotch descent, in a direct line from the tribe, or clan McOmber. They were originally from Dutchess Co., N.Y. afterwards of Grand Isle, Vt. and northern N.Y. As for myself and my own family, I can only say - I am a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - 65 years of age, and still in the active work. I had the good fortune to marry the daughter of Rev. John McLean, a member of the Erie Conference of the M. E. Church, who passed to his reward some years ago. I was, for 18 years, also a member of the Erie Conference, and since of the Wisconsin Conference. Took a supernumerary leave of absence 4 years ago, to go to the Pacific Coast, where we remained two years, in the active ministry. Have resided since in Denver, Colo., Topeka, Kan., and am now here in Lenox, S. Dak. And in charge of this pastorate. Mrs. Pattee is best known throughout the country and from coast to coast as a prominent, active, and official worker in the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the M. E. Church. Our children are, (1) Wilbur M. - a prodigy in music - now connected with a large music store and its branches, in Davenport, Ia., - Rock Island and Moline, Ill. As repairer and tuner, and salesman of musical instruments. He is a master in his line. (2) Frank A. now of Los Angeles, Calif. - a very competent druggist, and a master in his profession; but also an active and efficient man in any line of business in which he may engage. These two are married. (3) Elmer E. - still single - is an artist, residing in Denver, Colo. Where he has a large business in his line. A genius in every department of art, he is now preparing to study his profession for a time in Europe. (4) Johnie - who since he was 18 months old has been among the Angels of God.' Following annotation was written by Robert Steele, from his "A Yankee Pedigree." It includes information about Peter Pattee and some of his descendants. One of his most important sources is Linwood Pattee, who published his own book(I don't know its title). There are copies at the Maine State Library and the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium in Maine. Linwood's book is reportedly 125 pages, though I have not seen it. "Before telling what little else we know of Grandfather Pattee it would be just as well to mention that there are a few discrepancies between his recollection and some data supplied by others, as usually happens when we try to recall names and dates of long ago. According to Linwood Pattee, of Burlington, Vermont, who has traced the family way, the first of those bearing the Pattee to come to this country was Peter, who was born in England in 1644. There is some speculation about his (Peter's) ancestry, but it seems fairly certain that the original Pattees were French. In the "Armorial de Bretagne," which supposedly contains a description of the arms and heraldry of every family of however noble birth to have existed in Brittany, there is listed a "Pattee du Glay, de Vaugheran, de la Chalandrie, des Mottayes." The family were barons, holding modest lands in the region of St. Malo on the northern coast. In later generations, so the most likely theory goes, the Pattees became Huguenots, as the first important dissenters in France from Catholicism were known. They were followers of John Calvin, which fact accounts for the recurrence of the name Calvin in the family. In addition to being in rebellion against the all-powerful Catholic Church the Huguenots were a political party, which the potent Richelieu was determined to destroy. Many of them fled to England during the 1620's and 1630's, among them Peter's parents. As a member of the current Pattee generation puts it, 'Now, though the young Church of England was a bit more tolerant than Catholic France, the exiles continues to militate and make themselves obnoxious until their welcome wore out. This is when Peter set his sights on the New World.' In 1669, at the age of 25, Peter Pattee 'on account of certain political opinions he entertained, found it expedient to take a hasty departure from England.' He settled first in Virginia where he married, and where his oldest son was born. But the name of his wife, or the date of her death,, is not recorded. Peter then took his infant son and went north, arriving eventually at Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he spent the rest of his life. There he remarried and raised a large family, and rose to prominence in the life of that pioneer community. He had somewhere (most likely in Virginia) picked up the trade of 'cordwainer,' which is now defined as 'a worker in cordovan leather - a shoemaker.' Peter's principal occupation, however, was operator of a ferry which he established, the first in town, at a locality which still bears his name. A ferry in those days consisted of a barge large enough to carry a farm wagon and a team of horses. It was secured to ropes and pulleys anchored to each riverbank, and pulled back and forth by manpower, later replaced by a mule, or horse, and winch. Peter's ferry spanned the Merrimac River, and was the only crossing for many miles on either side. Some rather cryptic notes from the records of Haverhill's town meetings are of interest,. In 1677 Peter Pattee 'making a motion to the town to grant him a piece of land to settle upon, it not being till then known to the town that he was a married man and a stranger, having hitherto accounted to him as a journeyman shoemaker, his motion was according to law rejected.' In 1680 he was 'presented' (summoned) to the court for being absent from his wife for several years, and in the following year he was again 'presented,' this time for having another wife in Virginia. He must have successfully refuted this charge of bigamy, for a few years later, in 1694, his fellow townsmen elected him constable. Peter was not only a prominent citizen, but became a very prosperous one. In his will, dated 1719, he deeded to his eldest son Richard his farm and ferry business, and Richard gave him a mortgage for 256 Pounds Sterling to pay legacies. To give some idea of the value of the Colonial Pound, it may be noted that William Bradford, longtime Governor and wealthiest citizen of nearby Plymouth, left a total estate valued at 900 pounds, the rough equivalent of $90,000 in today's (1969) currency. At the age of 74, again a widower, Peter Pattee took a third wife, and lived on for another six years. In 1724, founder and patriarch of a large and growing family, the old ferryman took his last ride, this time as Charon's passenger. Richard Pattee was a cordwainer like his father, and also ran the ferry. He and his wife had twelve children; his son Peter, next in line, had eleven. Very little is known of these two Pattees, though it may be assumed that they polowed and planted, tended and reaped their crops, cared for their animals, felled trees for fuel and kept the house tight and warm, as all New England pioneers had to do to survivie. An account of an incident in Peter's life has come down to us. Because of Indian depredations, a company of scouts was organized for service in the Merrimac Valley and, in July 1745, Peter Pattee was put in command of a companyu of cavalry. They were enlisted August 24th and served three days, during which time the Indians were frightened away. Peter's total remuneration as captain was five shillings and ninepence, of which three shillings and ninepence were for wages, and the balance for provisions and ammunition. The costs of war have gone up considerably since those days. This brief but honorable military career, however, caused our hero to be known thereafter as Captain Peter Pattee. It was Captain Peter's son Asa who was the real soldier of those early generations. Born in Haverhill in 1734, he was the right age for military service when the French and Indian Wars came along. Asa was a captain with General Wolfe in the famous expedition to Quebec climaxed bgy the battle on the Plains of Abraham in which both Wolfe and French General Montcalm lost their lives. A few years later, back in New England, as Lieutenant Asa Pattee, he was commissioned to build a bridege. Payment was refured for 'five gallons of rum' he furnished the workment ehen the structure was erected in 1766. Asa's military rank seems to have varied somewhat from time to time. Captain in 1759, Lieutenant in 1766, he served as a Private and as a Lieutenant in the New Hampshire Volunteers during the Revolution. If this seems peculiar to us in these days of standing armies and professional soldiers, remember what the conditions were then. Every time a new war broke out or a campaign started, the farmers got together and joined up, each volunteer being assigned whatever rank the commanding general felt he was capable of filling. Of Asa's Revolutionary War service we know only that he was severely wounded at the Battle of Bennington in 1777, and that two of his sons, Asa Jr. and John, were in his company in 1776. Between wars Asa pursued the life of a farmer, builder, and public spirited citizen. In 1761 he was Third Selectman of Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he had moved from Haverhill, and in 1765 and 1766 he was First Selectman. Two years later he was one of a group of seven men who built a church, the first one in town. In later years after the Revolution, Asa Pattee and his family removed again, this time to Warner, New Hampshire, where he built the first frame house in town, and kept a hotel there for a number of years. He owned the largest farm in town, and raised much stock of cattle, sheep and horses. The old campaigner must have had a sturdy constitution, for he lived to the age of 91. In descending scale, the next two Pattee are less well known. Moses, one of Asa's sons, married his cousin Mollie (aka Mary) Pattee. He became a doctor, and at some time during his middle years moved with his wife and four children north from Goffstown, stayed a few years at Crown Point, N.Y. and at Schroon, N.Y., and eventually settled at Longeuil, Ontario, Canada, where he lived until his death, at 88, in 1854. Calvin was the second son of Dr. Moses; he grew up a Canadian and lived all his life at Alfred, Prescott County, Ontario. His second wife was Huldah Macomber, who was of Scottish descent. The first of that family to come to America was William Maycumber, as it was then spelled, a cooper "of Corchyester" (England), who was living at Plymoutah, Mass. In 1638, just eighteen years after the Pilgrims landed. Calvin and Huldah Pattee raised six children, the eldest of whom was Calvin Robinson Pattee. You have already read, in his own words, that C. R. Pattee, D.D. was a Methodist minister, and that his wife Harriet(maiden name McLean) was an active missionary socity worker. We are fortunate to have portraits of these two people. The Reverend Calvin had strong features; in late years he grew bushy chin whisker, while keeping his lip shaved. As a result, he was a near perfect likeness of Uncle Sam. His wife also had strong, and somewhat stern, features. A minister's wife in the American Wild West of the nineteenth century did not lead an easy life. The church had a rule, or at least a practice, of sending its ministers to a new pastorate every two years. This may have helped a bit with the geography lessons in school, but it certainly complicated the living problems and did not make the raising of three lively sons any easier. The stipend from the church was small, and it was expected that the family would raise their own vegetables, keep a cow, chickens and a pig or two. Chores were endless, comforts few, and luxuries nonexistent. Rev. Calvin was a staunch upholder of the old-time principles of the church. Playing cards, dancing, and any kind of liquor were the works of Satan, and not to be tolerated or compromised with either by his parishioners or (especially) his own family. The minister's three sons, canught now and then on a 'sinful' spree, were soundly whopped in the woodshed. The stern father was an uncompromising enemy of the Devil, and not always easy for his family to live with. A trace of this characteristic way still may be glimpsed among his descendants. Calvin enjoyed rugged good health; at 69 he climbed Pike's Peak on foot. He outlived his wife, and in his eighties, he was retired, and visiting his son Frank in Los Angeles, and enjoying the warm sunny climate. The long, empty beaches particularly attracted him, and he would walk for miles along the sands, picking up a shell now and then for his collection. His younger son Elmer had written from France, asking him to come and visit, and had sent money for the passage. A few days before he was to depart there was an accident. He climbed on a chair to reach a bird-cage; the chair tipped over and he fell, injuring himself fatally, and ended a long, useful and interesting life." Transcribed by Stephen Pattee, Concord, NC, 4/27/2000 gggggggrandson of Peter Pattee
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