Matthew Patten (May 19, 1719 – August 27, 1795) was an eighteenth-century judge and a resident of

Bedford, New Hampshire Bedford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 23,322, reflecting a growth of 10% from 2010. Bedford is a suburb of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city. History In 1733, the P ...

. The diary he kept from 1744 to 1788 has been an important source for historians of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Biography

Patten was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

but moved to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1728 at the age of 9. He was appointed justice of the peace in 1751 and held that post until his death. In 1776 and 1777 he represented Bedford and Merrimack in the general courts.

Published works

*''The Diary Of Matthew Patten Of Bedford, N.H. 1754-1788'' (Rumford Printing Co., 1903; reprinted by Picton Press, 1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, Matthew 1719 births 1795 deaths People from colonial New Hampshire People from Bedford, New Hampshire Irish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies American judges