A Renewal of Acquaintance
A short time ago a stranger stopped at the home of William Patterson, Sr., and asked for something to eat. While he was disposing of the food which was generously provided for him, he commented on the striking resemblance between Mr. Patterson and an old gentleman he had met in Australia, for in the course of his wanderings, he had spent sometime on that big island. He said that this man's name was Thomas Patterson. William Patterson has an uncle of that name whom he supposed to have died many years ago. The last time he had seen him was when William and his parents were leaving Berwick-on-Tweed, Scotland to come to America. William was at that time seven years old and he is now 68. So 61 years had elapsed since nephew and uncle had known of each others whereabouts. Mr. Patterson put little faith in the stranger's story, but he wrote to the address which he gave him. He has just received a letter in reply and the Thomas Patterson whom he bade good-bye to at Berwick-on-Tweed 61 years ago is the Thomas Patterson now residing in Australia and who is now 82 (?) years of age. He was overjoyed to hear from his nephew for he had not expected to ever hear anything from any of his relatives. Through William Patterson, his nephew, he has been placed in communication with his brother William who is now located at Brock, Ontario, and who has recently celebrated his 101th birthday. The brothers had last heard from each other over 81 (?) years ago. The members of the family have been remarkable for the longevity. Alexander, father of William Patterson of Ravenna, died at Grand Rapids four years ago.
***These are the dates I have for the people featured in this story:
William Patterson, 1846-1905
his uncle in Australia, Thomas Patterson, 1818-
his uncle in Brock, Ontario, William Patterson, 1804-1896
his father in Michigan, Alexander Patterson, 1802-1885
No comments:
Post a Comment