Lorenzo Patrick: A Tale of Turmoil and Tenacity

by Sandra Hildreth Ball

     One of my traditions is to research the entire immediate family of the parents I'm studying.  In the process, I find interesting facts about my ancestors' nieces, nephews, and grandchildren.  This story was shocking.  I had trouble finding Lorenzo Patrick, son of Lucy Preston Patrick, the daughter of my 4th great-grandfather, Calvin Preston.  

    Lorenzo Patrick was born about 1819 likely in Locke, Cayuga County, New York to James Patrick and Lucy Preston. Some sources report his birthdate as  23 May 1813. He married Abigail (Abby) Main on 31 December 1839 in New York.  Abby, born 14 January 1814, in New Jersey was the daughter of John and Hester Main.[1] 

    The couple soon had two children: Dexter Patrick, born about 1843, and Ursula J. Patrick born about 1844, both most likely in Cayuga County.[2]  After about 5 years of marriage, Lorenzo Attempted to murder Abby, an event that shocked the community and made headlines across the Northeast and beyond![3]

 

    Remarkably, despite this violent episode, Abby moved with Lorenzo to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he applied for a homestead of 40 acres. In Michigan, they had more children, Corydon and possibly another son Franklin, though this remains unconfirmed.[4]

     In 1856, their land in Kalamazoo was seized and offered for sale due to unpaid debts, leading to the family separation. By the 1860 US Census, Abby had returned to live with her parents in Venice, Cayuga County, New York; Dexter, age 17 was working as a farmhand for Samuel Mills in Almena, Van Buren County, Michigan; and Lorenzo and Ursalla, age 16 were living in Amite, Mississippi where he was a miller.  There was also a Lenor Patrick, age 27, in his household, perhaps a new wife. He listed his occupation as a miller.

     The events that followed were even more dramatic. Lorenzo narrowly escaped Mississippi, as detailed in a Cincinnati article:[5]

 “Lorenzo D. Patrick, Esq., arrived in this city on Monday last, from Pike County, Mississippi, whither he was driven on account of his devotion to the Union.  Mr. Patrick is a native of New York State.  He moved to Mississippi in 1858 and bought six hundred and forty acres of timbered land. A short time after his settlement in his new home he bought a steam saw-mill, which he worked regularly and profitably for more than three years.”

 “On July 13, while at his mill, he was waited upon by a crowd of armed ruffians who demanded him as a prisoner and took him a short distance to where a “trial” was instituted.  The ‘jury’ returned a verdict that he should leave the Southern Confederacy within twenty-four hours’. This he positively refused to do, unless he received in money the value of his property. Finding that he persisted in treating their verdict with contempt, a number of the chivalrous sons of the South waited upon Mr. Patrick and told him that they would hang him unless he consented to be removed.  The valiant New Yorker still held out and told the waiting committee that he would not leave. The threat to hang him was then ordered to be put into execution. He was taken to the woods and actually hung by the neck with a rope from the limb of a tree, ten feet high. Fortunately, the cowardly vagabonds who desired and attempted his suspension did not know how to adjust the noose, and after letting him hang for three minutes they concluded he was not going to die that way and cut him down. Though much exhausted, Mr. Patrick was still sensible.”

 “His would-be assassins again gave him a chance to save his life by leaving the Confederacy. Being fully sure by this time that they would put their threat into execution, he accepted their offer, and quickly departed for a more congenial clime, leaving his property, valued at $11,000 in the care of a friend. With a great deal of difficulty, undergoing searches and examinations at every stopping place, he found his way to the North and now stops at the Galt House in this city. His first act in arriving here was to volunteer his services in a company of cavalry now being raised here. He is determined to fight the enemies of his country and will make an excellent soldier, being a stalwart six-footer. He will leave the city with his company in a few days. We refer all persons who are in favor of peace and compromise to him for his opinion on the premises. He never interfered in politics in his life, and especially never avowed sentiments unfavorable to slavery while he lived in the South”

     There is no indication that he joined the army, but he eventually ended up in California where he was shot, supposedly accidentally, in Plumas County, California on June 11, 1864.[6]

     Abby listed herself as a widow in 1865.[7] Lorenzo's children and Abby were listed in the 1868 probate of his mother, Lucy Preston Patrick.[8] By 1870 Corydon, single, had moved to Clinton County, Missouri, and his mother Abby lived with him.[9] She lived the rest of her life in Missouri.  She died on 6 November 1885 and is buried in Osborn Evergreen Cemetery, Clinton County, Missouri.[10] 

 

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[1] Ancestry family trees list exact birthdates and marriage dates with no source. Lorenzo's age: 1860 U.S. census, Amite County, Mississippi, population schedule, no city listed, p. 42 (penned), dwelling 1153, family 1153, Lorenzo Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 5, 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 577, image 242, Family History Library Film: 803577; Abigail's parents: 1865 New York State Census, Cayuga County, Venice, p. 18, dwelling 147, family 151, Abbie Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 5, 2015).

[2] 1850 U.S. census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, population schedule, Kalamazoo,  p. 26a (stamped), dwelling 388, family 401, Lorence Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 5, 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 353, image 56.

[3] The Globe, Washington, DC, Thursday, March 27, 1845, Vol. 2 No. 25. The original full account was printed in the Auburn  Journal and a copy in the Albany NY Argus 1845 March 22, 1845 and stated the date of the crime. Copy attached.

[4] 1850 U.S. census, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, population schedule, Kalamazoo,  p. 26a (stamped), dwelling 388, family 401, Lorence Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 5, 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 353, image 56. Ancestry.com. Michigan, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 1 SENE MICHIGAN-TOLEDO STRIP No 1 N 8 W 24 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.

[5] Albany Evening Journal 8/20 1861 p2  genealogybank.com; reporting from Cincinnati Gazette.

[6] "Lorenzo Patrick shot," Sacramento Bee, 22 June 1864, p. 2; digital images, Genealogy Bank (genealogybank.com : accessed 22 Mar 2018). “A man named Lorenzo Patrick was killed in Plumas county on the 11th instant, by the accidental discharge of a pistol in the hands of a man named Callich. An ignorant Justice of the Peace wanted to try Callich for murder, believing his court had full authority in all such cases.” 

 

[7] 1865 New York State Census, Cayuga County, Venice, p. 18, dwelling 147, family 151 , Abbie Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 5, 2015).

[8] Box 65, Image 198 Cayuga County Probate records

[9] 1870 U.S. census, Clinton County, Missouri, population schedule, Township 57 Range 31,  p. 156A  (stamped), dwelling 7, family 7, C.A. Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 5, 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 771, image 315.

[10] findagrave.com

[11] 1880 U.S. census, DeKalb County, Missouri, population schedule, Colfax, Enumeration District 202 p. 27 penned, dwelling 258, family 260, Abbay Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 15, 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 685, image 0237. 1880 U.S. census, DeKalb County, Missouri, population schedule, Colfax, ED 202, p. 320 (stamped), dwelling 223, family 223, Frank P. Patrick: digital images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed May 5, 2015); from National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 685, image 0234. Family History Film 1254685