Nathan Patch
- May 10
- 3 min read
Nathan Patch was born in Ipswich, MA to John Patch and Mercy Potter on April 8, 1735 and baptized on October 5, 1735. He was the seventh of their nine children.
He filed intentions to marry Hannah Whipple on December 14, 1756 and they were married soon after. They had two sons: Henry born in 1757 and baptized in neighboring Danvers, and Joseph born around 1759. Hannah died giving birth to Joseph, but the boy survived. The following year Nathan married Eunice Adams of Worcester, MA on December 26, 1760 and they had five children: Nathaniel, Joshua, Hannah, Sarah, and Lucy. Their birth records have proven elusive. Nathan purchased land in Worcester, MA in 1772 and the family moved there in 1773.
In June of 1774 Nathan was one of the men who signed an Oath of Loyalty to King George III, and though he recanted in September he was considered an enemy of the people of Worcester for a time. He was given two options in May of 1775: and serve in the town militia or surrender your musket and be under house arrest in town. Nathan chose option number two until 1777 when he had a change of heart and served as a Private in Captain David Chadwick’s Company in answer to the alarm at Bennington. His son Joseph also served.
After the Revolution Nathan stayed in Worcester and did quite well for himself. At the time of his death he paid the 4th most taxes in the town and had bought and sold hundreds of acres of land. In 1784 he built a tavern and house on the south corner of Main and Market Streets (currently Main and Exchange) and operated it until 1791, when he sold it. Many local political discussions happened at his tavern, including meetings to discuss the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions. The house and tavern, later called The Exchange Hotel, has long been demolished, but the door is on display at the Museum of Worcester.
He served on many, many, many town committees and was very involved in local politics. Nathan was a long time collector of taxes for the town, and was sued by them for not delivering all of the taxes owed in the late 1780s. Most of the men in town could not pay what they owed, and I'm not sure if Nathan collected the taxes and didn't pass the money along to the town or he didn't collect the taxes and the town forced him to pay them out of his own pocket. He was voted out of the position in 1791 and paid the town £100. The town also siezed some of his land, and he sued to get it back. He lost.
Nathan was a charter member of the second church in Worcester, now known as the First Unitarian Church. He was part owner of a private school that operated out of one of his properties from 1787 to 1799. In 1804 he joined with other wealthy and influential men in town to open the Worcester Bank, the first bank in Worcester.
Nathan died in Worcester on June 22, 1808. His original burial location has ben lost to history (but was probably Mechanics Street Burial Ground). He currently resides in Rural Cemetery in Worcester.
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