| Notes |
- PATRICK HENRY SUDBURY was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, in
1817. According to Robert McBride, Patrick moved with his parents to Rutherford
County, Tennessee, about 1837. He is the right age to have been the one unidentified
son listed as living with his father, William W. Sudbury, in the 1840 Tennessee
census index. On May 17, 1843, in Rutherford County, Patrick married SARAH
SMOTHERMAN. Sarah had been born in Rutherford County in 1822. She was the
daughter of JOHN G. SMOTHERMAN and NANCY WILLIAMS. Robert
McBride says that the marriage of Patrick and Sarah was part of a double ceremony
in which Patrick's sister, Mariah (entry 1445), married Sarah's brother, Bartholomew
Smotherman.
In the 1850 Tennessee census, Patrick is listed at age 33, along with Sarah, age 23,
and their son William, age 2. At that time they were living on a parcel of land in
Rutherford County very close to Patrick's parents. Although there is no 1860 census
listing for Patrick, there is a listing in the 1870 Tennessee census index for a "Patrick
Sudbury", age 56, living in Rutherford County. Despite the three-year age discrepancy between the Patrick listed in the 1850 census and the Patrick listed in the
1870 census, there is good reason to believe that they are the same person. First of
all, they are both listed as living in Rutherford County. Secondly, there is an entry in
the 1870 census index for a "William Sudbury", age 22, living on a parcel of land
next to Patrick. This William is the exact age that Patrick's son William would have
been according to the 1850 census entry.
Robert McBride recounts the following interesting facts about Patrick's life:
Patrick Henry Sudberry and his family lived in the 14th district of Rutherford
County. His home, since burned and replaced by another structure, lay about a
mile south of the village of Link, and directly across the road from Lebanon
Methodist Church. It is noted that Patrick Henry Sudberry donated the land on
which "Old Leb" Church stands. In the absence of Episcopal churches in rural
Tennessee, the Sudberry family invariably, it seems, became Methodists.
Patrick Henry Sudberry and his brother-in-law, Bartholomew Smotherman, as
well as being farmers, were partners as blacksmiths -- the 19th century equivalent
of the "super service-station". They prospered and were men of some local
prominence and affluence.
Patrick H. Sudberry lived in the Link community for the rest of his life. He died
about 1897 (his estate was settled in 1898). His wife died a year later. He and
his wife are buried in a family graveyard about two miles northeast of his home.
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