Fosters & Peytons of Prince William County

This is a letter I received at my bookstore at Lulu.com/ednabarney from Adrienne Foster Potter, published here with permission, email (coded) as “apnewz  at yahoo dot com” .

I responded about the possible FOSTER connection to the PEYTONS, as I do have reference to a deed of Timothy PEYTON to a FOSTER, on 6 April 1785, in Prince William County, but I have never pursued that. That deed probably doesn’t state relationships, but perhaps it may offer some clues. It would be in the records of Prince William courthouse.

I am not familiar with the John PEYTON (PATTON) described. I don’t know of a John PEYTON, born 1777 in NC. Perhaps someone else reading here will have some information. Perhaps he was from Ireland or from the Gloucester County PEYTON family, which I’ve not followed.

Ms. Barney: Please allow me to compliment you on your outstanding book “Peytons along the Aquia,” which I received today from BarnesandNoble.com.  I was very interested in your account of Timothy Peyton on pgs 55, 56, 106, & 107.  My family has long known about him, and has seen his name spelled as Patin, Patan, and Patton.  I believe we are related to the Peytons because of our ggggg-grandfather, William Peyton Foster b. 1747, who was a soldier of the Revolution.  In his Revolutionary pension file is found the following:

“31 July 1844. Bourbon Co., Ky. Ann T. MALLORY of said county, aged about 68, declares she was born in Prince William Co., Va., and was raised there until she was ten years old. One of her neighbors Leonard HART had a daughter Sarah HART who married William FOSTER in the fall of 1784. She was at the marriage and saw them married. The next spring in June 1785 her father and his family and Sarah and William FOSTER all came together to Bourbon Co., Ky., and settled not far apart. Sarah FOSTER had a child twelve or thirteen months after she was married and her name was Mildred FOSTER and she married Minor HART and now lives in Fayette Co., Ky., and must be 58 years of age. Afterward Sarah FOSTER had several children; some live in Illinois, Missouri and others in Kentucky. She has her father’s account book starting the day they started to Kentucky and it states 2 June 1785. Sarah HART was married to William FOSTER the year before, she thinks in the fall of 1784. They lived together until William FOSTER died, about 17 years past. Sarah married Moses BAKER and she has understood that BAKER died last winter or spring. William and Sarah lived on her father’s farm for many years and when her father, T. PATIN, was killed by the Indians, William FOSTER was one of the men that went and brought him home.

31 July 1844. Bourbon Co., Ky. Sarah D. SCOTT of said county, aged about 67, declares she lived with her father William JAMES [or THOMAS] in his station when William FOSTER [who was a Revolutionary soldier] and his wife Sarah came about 1785 or 1786. In the station she had her first born, Mildred FOSTER, and another before they left the station and moved to T. PATAN’s where they lived and had several children before William FOSTER died. Sarah married Moses BAKER who died last winter or spring.”

Even more interesting is that a number of Pattons are found in our family genealogy, who are probably also related to the Peytons.  In 1824 Sarah Royston Patton (b. 1804) married Aaron Foster (b. 1804 KY), a grandson of William Peyton Foster b. 1747 (above), and the son of Harrison Foster and Anna Margaret Bartlett. Saray Royston Patton was the daughter of John Patton b. Abt 1777 North Carolina (d. 1845 at the Patton Settlement, McLean, IL) and Margaret Wiley b. 1781 MD.

John Patton b. Abt 1777 was the son of George Patton b. Abt 1745, who could very well be one of the George Peytons in your book.  The reason I believe this is that the Fosters also came from Prince William, VA.  The grandfather of William Peyton Foster b. 1747 was William Foster b. 1686 at the Foster Estate at Broadrun, Prince William Virginia.  He married Hannah Elizabeth Unknown.  A number of their descendants were named Peyton (not Patin, not Patan).  I suspect that Hannah Elizabeth was the Elizabeth Peyton b. 1687 mentioned in your book on pg. 27, because Hannah was a nick-name for Elizabeth much like “Polly” was a nick-name for Mary.  John Patton b. abt 1777 and his wife Margaret had 11 children, on which I can give you more information if you are interested.

 In his book “Seedlings of William Foster,” Book II, pg. 6, by Flavius Foster, he writes that William Foster and Timothy Peyton were neighbors in Prince William, VA, who emmigrated together to Bourbon County, Kentucky, where the Peyton Station was founded.  They lived on the station until 1805 and several of their children were born there.  I believe William and Timothy were not just neighbors, but may have been cousins. 

Advertisement