52 Ancestors Challenge - Sara Jane Patterson 1841-1866 Missouri - Week 33

Copy from Gibson Family Bible.  Copy provided by
my Great Aunt Vicki (Sara Jane's great granddaughter).

This post is dedicated to Sara Jane Patterson, my 3rd great grandmother.  Sara Jane lived a very short life.  She was born August 7, 1841.  From census records, I believe she was the daughter of James Patterson and Sara Ann Thompson.  I haven't found a birth record, so I can't be sure.  But, in 1850, we find a Sara J M Patterson, age 9, living in the household of James Patterson.  The family was living in Madison, Missouri.

Sometime before 1860, Sara Jane's mother, Sara Ann, must have died.  Her father, James, is found remarrying Martha E. Morrow (or Morron) in Ste. Genevieve..

The Patterson family may have been in the Ste. Genevieve area for a while, because, August 15, 1858, Sara Jane Patterson married Herod Gibson.  Two years later, on the 1860 Federal Census, they are both living with Herod's parents, Alexander and Melinda Gibson, in Ste. Genevieve.  Here we see their first child "Francis" or William Francis, who was born February 7th 1860.  Also in the household was James Patterson, age 9.  I believe this might have been Sara Jane's younger brother.

Sara Jane's husband, Herod, is shown to have been on both sides of the Civil War.  First enlisting in the Confederate Army, and later drafted into the Union Army.  You can read more about Herod and his time in service on his post I wrote for Week 6.

Between his time in service with the Confederate and Union Armies, Herod and Sara had 2 more children: Ida Ann born December 17, 1863, and Mary Emma born March 20, 1864.  Unfortunately, Ida Ann died on July 5, 1865, just prior to Herod's discharge.  After he returned, the couple had one more child, Sara Jane born October 19, 1866. However, on October 19, 1866, Sara Jane Patterson Gibson passed away (possibly due to complications of the birth). She lived to be only 25 years old.

In 1980, in DeSoto, Missouri, there was a Gibson family reunion.  There was a wall with different stories posted, the following was one of those posts, by Olive Gibson (Sara Jane's granddaughter):

"Great Grandfather Herod Gibson was in the fields a working and one of the little Gibson children (a girl) was left to watch the baby.  She was sitting before the fireplace, holding the baby, and it tumbled from her lap and rolled into the fireplace and it died."

The infant that died was the youngest, Sara Jane Gibson.  She died November 5, 1867.  She would have been just over one year.  The girl watching her might have been Mary Emma, however, it could have been a Gibson cousin, we just aren't sure.  Mary Emma would have only been 3 years old, so I hesitate to believe she would have been watching her younger sister.

I'm not exactly sure where Sara Jane would have been buried.  The family was in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri before the Civil War, but were living in Central Township, Jefferson County, Missouri in 1870.  Herod, her husband, was buried in the City Cemetery in DeSoto, Jefferson County, but he lived until 1926, 60 years later!  As of today, I haven't found a death record for her.

If you have any questions, or concerns, about the information in this post, please leave me a comment. I'd be happy to answer any questions, or share what information I have on the individuals listed above. Thanks for reading!!