My Genealogy Hound

JOHN W. PATTERSON, retired, McKeesport, was born in Elizabeth township, Allegheny county, Feb. 20, 1822, a son of James and Mary (Watt) Patterson. His paternal grandfather was James Patterson, a native of Scotland, and pioneer of Westmoreland county, Pa. His maternal grandfather was John Watt, a native of Ireland, a wheelwright by trade, a pioneer of Elizabeth, this county, and in later life a prominent farmer. James Patterson, father of our subject, was a cabinet-maker by trade; also a carpenter and farmer. He died in Elizabeth township in 1856, on the farm where he had settled in 1812. He had eight children who grew to maturity: Nancy (Mrs. William Watt), Jane (Mrs. William Finney), Margaret (Mrs. Robert Finney), John W., James, Joseph, Thomas and Finney. John W. was reared in Elizabeth township; at the age of nineteen was apprenticed for three years at the millwright’s trade, which he followed for eight years. He was engaged in farming for six years in Elizabeth, and in 1855 located in McKeesport, where he engaged in business as a contractor and builder, in which he continued until 1883, when he retired. In 1845 he married Susan, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Vankirk) Scott, of Elizabeth, by whom he had two children: James E. and Ruth A. (Mrs. John O’Neil). Mr. Patterson is a representative and worthy citizen. He is a member of the U. P. Church, and is republican.