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Reverend John Patton
1752 - 1839
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John Patton was the son of Robert Patton and Isabel White Patton, he was born December 15, 1752 in Kent County, Delaware. They had the following children.
Mary, James, Richard, Maragret, Smauel, Matthew, Nancy, John, Elizabeth, David, John, Caleb and Lydia.
Having learned the blacksmith trade he labored at the anvil for several years and in this humble and useful business he passed his early manhood. His parents where members of the Presbyterian Church and educated him to the observance of their religious faith.
In 1774 he married Elizabeth Manlif with whom he lived happily for two years until her untimely death in 1777. The country was now involved in the war of the Revolution in which he participated for a short time with the troops of his own state. Then in 1779 he married Elizabeth Lockwood, daughter of Richard Lockwood Esq. of Delaware.
In 1783 he was baptized at the Welsh Tract Baptist Church in New Castle County Delaware, by the Rev. Abel Griffith at which time he devoted his life to God. In 1784 the church at Cow Marsh called on the Rev. John Patton to join their church. He spent the next five years preaching at this church.
In 1789 at the age of 37 he was ordained to the work of the ministry at the Byrn Sion Church, in Delaware by the Rev. John Boggs, Thomas Fleeson, Eliphez Dazey and Joshua Deweese. His name appears for the next two years in the minutes of the B.B.S. as laboring with the Duck Creek Church. His labors were evidently blessed, but he seemed impressed that he should go forth as a missionary, at that time the middle and western parts of Pennsylvania was a destitute field.
In 1792 the Rev. John Patton along with others was appointed as a missionary. He traveled far and near, he visited some friends on the Shamokin Creek who were desirous that he would come and settle with them. As he traveled he preached in private homes and in barns and even in the open fields. He delighted in the work. He felt it was his duty to remove his family and accordingly in the following year he settled with some Baptists at Shamokin Creek, Northumberlland County, Pennsylvania.
Here in this new country he endured the privations of a frontier life. He labored there for the next 17 years with the Shamokin Church, the Shamokin Church was constituted in 1794 and admitted in 1796, there was not another church within 80 miles. He was also instrumental in raising two other churches in the area.
A Mr. Charles Griffin and other friends that knew him back in Delaware and who where now residing in Smithfield, Fayette County Pennsylvania were urgently requesting him to come to the Mount Moriah Baptist Church, in Smithfield. It was a feeble church which they felt could use his experience and wisdom. He had been so long at the Shamokin Church and had become identified with the people there so it was a struggle for him to leave. But once more he packed up his goods and family an turned towards the setting sun. It took the family three weeks of traveling crossing the Allegheny Mountains, he now had a wife and seven children to accompany him, his oldest son James was also licensed to preach.
The Mount Moriah Baptist Church was constituted October 30, 1784 and had enjoyed the labors of James Sutton, David Loofburrow, Benjamin Stone and Thomas Hersey. When the Rev. Patton arrived he was very discouraged, after his long and weary journey he found no suitable house in which to live, but was offered one which had been used as a barn in a cornfield surrounded by high weeds and in a dilapidated condition. It was no wonder that his family advised him to return to Shamokin. Using his effort to make his family comfortable and receiving the sympathy and perhaps some assistance from his friends the house was repaired and he commenced his labor as Pastor. He was the pastor there for the next thirty years. In 1811 he was appointed to write a Church Covenant and Articles of Faith. From 1809 until 1820 the church increased slowly, but in 1820 however a precious revival commenced, during which 70 new members were added. His regular day of preaching with the Mount Moriah Church was the 2nd and 4th Sabbath of each month, the remainder of his time was spent in visiting neighboring churches and destitute places.
He spent much time and traveled many weary miles, his visits extended over South Western Pennsylvania and into the adjoining states of Virginia and Maryland. The churches at Big Crossing, Indian Creek, Turkey Foot, Big Whitely, Beulah and the communities of Newton, Sandy Creek and Silverport. The Rev. John Patton was the Pastor of the Mount Moriah Church until his death October 31, 1839 he is buried in the Mount Moriah cemetery.
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