Patton, Johnny

And a rerun from 2015:

Johnny Patton

John Ramsey Patton was born Feb 1846 in Pennsylvania, his father was from England and his mother was from Ohio. March 12, 1862 he enlisted in Co. K 109th Regt. Penn. Infantry at Philadelphia. The Regiment fought in numerous battles as part of the Army of the Potomac including Gettysburg. After Gettysburg the Regiment was transferred to Tennessee, in April of 1864 they joined General Sherman in his march to the sea. 1865 found them in the Carolinas, in March they were consolidated with the 111th Pennsylvania; after the surrender they marched to Washington D.C. They were mustered out in Washington on July 19, 1865.

Johnny then joined the 3rd Cavalry and came West. On April 2, 1868 Johnny was with Sgt. Glass and four other troopers who were reinforced by a party of 26 Tularosa settlers and fought the Apaches in the Tularosa Canyon in the Battle of Round Mountain. He was discharged at Ft. Stanton Oct. 25, 1868, maybe he had enough fighting.

In 1870 he was working as a cook at Blazer’s Mill, in April of 1878 he witnessed the famous or infamous gunfight there, Buckshot Roberts and Dick Brewer were killed. His account appears in Emerson Hough’s The Story of the Outlaw, in his version of events he said he made one big coffin and Roberts and Brewer were buried together. “I couldn’t make a very good coffin, so I built it in the shape of a big V, with no end piece at the foot. We just put them in together.” (From Frederick Nolan’s book The West of Billy the Kid)

He worked for the Lesnett family as cook when they first bought Dowlin’s Mill about 1877. His whereabouts is a little obscure for the next twenty years but he was, no doubt a cook on some ranch or another. We find him in 1898 working for William McDonald down at Carrizozo Springs.

From an Essay about Doc Lacey and Fannie Lalone by Rich Eastwood:
“[When they were married in 1898] Doc was cowboying for the Carrizozo Cattle Company down at the McDonald place, he moved Fannie there but she was terribly lonely. An oldtimer, Johnny Patton, was the cook there and Fannie would put on her gloves and go visit him. He took her under his wing, one day he commented that she didn’t have a ring, she said that they didn’t have the money; a short time later, Johnny bought a ring for her as a wedding present and she wore that ring for the rest of her life.”

In 1907 Johnny checked into the Sawtelle Veterans Hospital in Los Angeles suffering from Rheumatism and Brite’s Disease. the record states that he was 61 years old, 5’7”, fair complexion, Brown Eyes, Grey Hair, he could read and write, he was a Protestant and he had been a Cook in Carrizozo NM. Also there is an entry that is a little perplexing, it states that he was a Widower and his Nearest Relative was John R. Patton of Carrizozo. He died there in 1924… quite a life!

From the 1870 Census, Lincoln Co. Pct.4, Family 185 (Blazer’s Mill)
185 Patton, John R 23 m Cook Penn.
185 Benavides, Tiburcio 30 m Laborer New Mexico
185 Baca, Romulo 21 m Laborer New Mexico

In 1900 he was working for Wm. McDonald as a Ranch Cook (White Oaks Census, Pct.8, pg6B, Family 154)
154 Patton, John R. Head w m Feb 1846 54 s PA England OH Ranch Cook y y y R/H

The photo is on the wall at the White Oaks School