Together, they had ten children: Drucilla, Delaware (Dally), Roderick, Marie, Conway DeWitt, Julia, John, Ruth, Helen and Nannie. The earliest documentation of the Patterson family begins years before the Civil War, with the story of William Harvey Patterson. He was born free in New Kent County, VA on February 3, 1810; he was a farmer, landowner and statesman. In addition to running a farm, he re
presented Charles City County in state government as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates during the Reconstruction. Also, he was one of the founding members of Second Liberty Baptist Church and served as a minister there. Rebecca Ann was born on February 23, 1790, and died of paralysis on February 24, 1880. The 1820 census records show that John Bailey was a 6’1” white male. Living in his household was one free black female between the ages of 26 and 45, this is believed to be Rebecca Ann. Also, there were 6 free blacks under the age of 14, these are believed to be their children. There was one slave under the age of 14 also in the household. Property records show that in 1847, John Bailey left Rebecca 91 acres of land and William Harvey 3 acres, it is believed that this was the year John Bailey died. On November 22, 1832, William Harvey married Mary Ann Dungey. Mary Ann was born January 29, 1810 and died in 1848. Mary Ann and William Harvey had four children, Elizabeth, Delaware, Rebecca and Cadijiah. Property records show that in 1848 William Harvey became the owner of 73 ¾ acres of land that had belonged to Jesse W. Dungey, believed to be Mary Ann’s father. On March 14, 1850, William Harvey married Lutilda Bailey and they had six children. The census records of July 1870 show William Harvey as the head of the household and his occupation as a farmer with real estate valued at $1000 and a personal estate valued at $200. Living with him were his wife Lutilda (41), mother Rebecca Ann (81), daughter Rebecca (36), grandson Delaware (12), and several other children. With the exception of his mother, Rebecca Ann, who was listed a Black, all persons in William Harvey’s household were listed as mulattos. William Harvey’s daughter Rebecca who was named after her grandmother was born in 1834. She had seven children: Roderick born 1854, Delaware Spiller born 1858, Robert (Dannie) born 1860, Josephine born 1865, Mary E. born 1870, Samuel born 1875, and Fannie born 1877. There is no record of Rebecca marrying and the date of her death is unknown. The 1880 census records show Rebecca’s son, Delaware Spiller living in a separate household with his wife, Mary Nett (Mollie) and working as a school teacher. He later became the proprietor of a general grocery store in the Tunstall section of New Kent County. Delaware and Mary Nett had ten children: Drucilla, Delaware (Dally), Roderick, Marie, Conway DeWitt, Julia, John, Ruth, Helen and Nannie. Mary Nett was born March 18, 1860 and died of enterocolitis (inflammation of both the small intestine and the colon) on August 9, 1927; Delaware Spiller was born February 18, 1858 and died of myocarditis (inflammation of the middle layer of the heart wall) on February 14, 1931. Walda Mae Braxton Keyes
(Granddaughter of Ruth Patterson Jones)
Revised June 2023
