The first child of European descent born in Charlestown Township, Patrick was born at Anderson Place, the family homestead, which is now in Schuylkill Township. He was instrumental in developing the area known as the "Great Valley" and also helped to found St. Peter's Church in the Great Valley (Episcopal). He built, opened, and even taught at the first school in the Valley Forge, Pa, area. Patrick and the entire membership of the Chester County Committee on Safety enlisted as the American Revolution drew near, and together were known as the Chester County Minute Men of 1775, with Patrick being commissioned as Captain. He outfitted the entire company, but was never compensated by the Continental Congress. Later in the American Revolution, he became Senior Captain in Command of the Pennsylvania Battalion of Musketry. After the Revolution, he became a Major in the Army, and served as a member of the Assembly of Pennsylvania in 1778 and 1781. He fought in the French and Indian War, the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Fort Washington, the Battle of the Brandywine, and the Battle of Germantown.
There is a plaque on the pew dedicated to his memory in Washington Memorial Chapel, Valley Forge, as well as a bronze tablet on the wall in St. Peter's Church in the Great Valley, where he lies buried. He was buried so close to the church that when the church was expanded, it was necessary to expand it over his grave. The plaque hangs on the Epistle side of the church, directly over the grave of one of its foremost founding fathers.
Patrick was married three times. Nothing definitive is known about the burial places of his second and third wives.
Hannah Martin - Elizabeth Morris - Anna Beaton
The first child of European descent born in Charlestown Township, Patrick was born at Anderson Place, the family homestead, which is now in Schuylkill Township. He was instrumental in developing the area known as the "Great Valley" and also helped to found St. Peter's Church in the Great Valley (Episcopal). He built, opened, and even taught at the first school in the Valley Forge, Pa, area. Patrick and the entire membership of the Chester County Committee on Safety enlisted as the American Revolution drew near, and together were known as the Chester County Minute Men of 1775, with Patrick being commissioned as Captain. He outfitted the entire company, but was never compensated by the Continental Congress. Later in the American Revolution, he became Senior Captain in Command of the Pennsylvania Battalion of Musketry. After the Revolution, he became a Major in the Army, and served as a member of the Assembly of Pennsylvania in 1778 and 1781. He fought in the French and Indian War, the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Fort Washington, the Battle of the Brandywine, and the Battle of Germantown.
There is a plaque on the pew dedicated to his memory in Washington Memorial Chapel, Valley Forge, as well as a bronze tablet on the wall in St. Peter's Church in the Great Valley, where he lies buried. He was buried so close to the church that when the church was expanded, it was necessary to expand it over his grave. The plaque hangs on the Epistle side of the church, directly over the grave of one of its foremost founding fathers.
Patrick was married three times. Nothing definitive is known about the burial places of his second and third wives.
Hannah Martin - Elizabeth Morris - Anna Beaton
