Jake Patton Memoirs - JP27 - Jake Found His Life Was Changing in 1847

Late in 1846 and early in 1847 I came to know very well a young man in Jefferson City by the name of Levi Weston. I think Eli Truesdale, Hugh’s father, may have actually introduced us first. However, it also turned out that the ranch house acreage Kate and I purchased was nearby the Weston property where Levi lived with his parents, Jacob and Dinah, and their family. Jacob also ran a freight line and Levi now led the family farrier and blacksmithing business along with his younger brothers. Levi also dabbled in woodworking and carriage building which was the other way I came to know him well.

Levi had built a two-seat carriage for Eli that he loved and I admired. When I learned that Levi had built it himself, I immediately went to talk to Levi about getting one built for my own use in the spring of 1847 during the legislative session. I spent some time talking with Levi about some enhancements I would like to see, as much as I liked the way he had built the carriage for Eli. Levi was easy to talk to and work with. He was happy to consider my ideas, added a twist or two of his own that I liked, and constructed a carriage that served me very well for many years. Of course, when others I met at the legislature saw my carriage, it ended up generating a number of additional referrals to Levi for others. “Word-of-mouth” advertising is still the best there is.

Also immediately upon getting our home in Jefferson City fixed the way we wanted it, we began to hold regular dinner parties and gatherings of new friends and acquaintances at the house. I was careful who was invited. I usually had a theme of some sort in the back of my head for each gathering. Sometimes it related specifically to what was going on in the General Assembly. Often, however, it was also to have an opportunity to acquaint our guests with our valley back in the Oak Creek Township and what a nice place it was to settle. I didn’t necessarily ever expect my guests to move, but I was sure the word would get around and generate some interest along the way.

Robert Baldridge had become well-known throughout the area from his work at his mill, of course. When a seat on the County Commission came open in the summer of 1847, he decided to make himself available for election. I was a bit surprised that he decided to do it. I was happy for him, of course, and gave him my full support. He was elected to fill the seat on the Commission that represented the north half of the county. With three seats, one served the north, one served the south, and the other was an ‘at large’ seat representing the whole county, at that time.

With taking on this additional responsibility, Robert made some changes on the home front, as well. He gave his son, David, now 23, even more management responsibility for the mill. In addition, he made a move to solidify the role of Riley Cooper as an operator of the mill. Robert purchased a 40 acre plot of land not far from the mill that Riley and his wife could operate on a sharecrop basis. This made them feel even more a part of the community.

It was also late that summer that Owen Olson and I came to an agreement that changed our relationship. Owen officially became the primary blacksmith at our shop. He also agreed to purchase outright the land on which he had been working shares with me for several years. In addition, he also purchased the forty acre plot directly north of that land. His son, Liam, now 14, began his official blacksmith apprenticeship under Owen with me helping out in any way I could. Liam showed promise as a blacksmith. He had been actively involved with Owen in their farming operation and would continue to so do. In addition to Anna taking on more responsibilities at the Store and Hotel, their daughter, Allison, now 11, was also helping out with their farm and garden as well as assisting her mother in the other things she was doing.

Three new families had come to the valley in the spring of 1847. Grant and Rachel Carroll and their young son purchased the quarter section just north of Frances Holt. Lawrence Johnson and his wife, Lucinda, purchased the quarter section just north of Jacob Pryor. Center Creek wound its way through all four of those properties. In addition, Nathan Bishop and his wife, Sharon, moved into the west valley, locating on the quarter section just west of the Peter Simpson place.

Also adding to the valley population were Harry and Sarah McDonald with another son, Thomas. The Bartlett’s added a son to go along with their daughter. They named him Leon. The Carroll’s had a daughter to go along with their son. They named her Belinda. In the west valley, Michael and Amanda Duncan had a girl, Alice, and George and Marcia King also had a girl, Sasha. The valley population boomed in 1847.

I might also comment about 1847 that there were no extremes of weather to contend with. Kate and I traveled back and forth between the valley and Jefferson City four different times without being impeded by weather. It had been a mild winter and although we had adequate moisture, there had not been the torrential storms that we knew from experience were still possible. At the end of the year, there had yet to be any snow. We knew this would change, but were thankful for what we had.

[See JP28, to follow]

This series of stories, JPx, is part of a first draft of what I hope and assume becomes a published novel in support of “The Homeplace Saga” series of family saga, historical fiction stories. It features the self-told story of one of the original settlers of the Oak Creek Valley, Colonel Jake Patton. Some, including him, would say he was the leader of the group. He had a very big ego, that is for sure, but he always tried to make it look like what he was doing was for the benefit of the community. And, of course, it was. But, there was always something in it for him, as well. He managed to grow the inheritance he was fortunate to receive from his father into something that left a nice trust fund for his descendants. We’ve already seen some of these stories, earlier, in the Saga tales. Come along, and let’s see how Colonel Patton tells his own story.

Note: I will publish JPx hubs, from time to time. I will write occasional notes at Patreon about Jake Patton. I may write other things elsewhere. These are each a part of the creative process to create the true first draft of a novel. You, my readers, can take part in this effort at www dot patreon dot com slash HomeplaceSagas. Join us there Today.