Patterson family papers

This collection focuses on three members of the Patterson family: Benjamin Patterson; his older brother, Actor Patten Patterson; and Benjamin's grandson, Benjamin Patterson Sands. Benjamin Patterson, son of Benjamin Sr. and Elizabeth Patten Patterson, was born August 20, 1798, and was a shipmaster in Saco, Maine. He went to sea in 1815 at the age of seventeen and lead a seafaring life for almost fifty years, never losing a vessel nor having a serious accident. He commanded ships calling at ports in South America, the East Indies, and Europe, and for many years was engaged in the cotton trade. Benjamin Patterson married Lucinda Truesdell on August 11, 1825, and they had seven children. His youngest son, Alfred, also followed a maritime career. Maria L. Patterson, his youngest daughter, left New York via steamer in the spring of 1867 to return to Saco. The steamer and her trunk arrived safely in Boston, but Maria was missing and was never located. Benjamin Patterson died at his home in Saco, Maine, on August 31, 1877.

Actor Patten Patterson, older brother of Benjamin Patterson, was born February 12, 1791, married Lydia Hutchins on September 26, 1821, and had two daughters. A shipmaster at Kennebunkport, Maine, he died January 11, 1869.

Benjamin Patterson Sands was born in Saco, Maine, on December 13, 1859, to Benjamin Patterson's daughter, Emma Patterson, and her husband, Albion Sands. Benjamin Patterson Sands was a non-graduate of the Medical School of Maine at Bowdoin College, Class of 1881. He died on November 6, 1930, in Brookline, Massachusetts.