While searching for other data recently, I've noticed a number of websites and posts which mention the name "John Dorrington Patton" - I think perhaps it’s time to shed some light on this fictitious person. Hopefully, people who have JDP in their databases will review these comments and correct their data accordingly, if they see fit.
"John Dorrington Patton" is an erroneous combination of 2 different people, either Dorn Patton (mar. Sarah Spaulding, his second wife) and John Patton (mar. Elizabeth Beene), or Dorn Patton and his brother John Patton (mar. Sarah Langston). Since I happened to run across Don Pate's 2004 post concerning JDP, I'll just reply to it and provide some explanatory notes here. I hope that people who have added JDP to their family trees in the past are not offended by this "new" information (which has always been available to researchers, but apparently not known to some). Harvesting data from the internet without checking its accuracy can lead to difficulties such as this; I am reminded that the three most important words in genealogy are verify, verify, and verify.

1. Notes concerning John Patton b. ca. 1787 in VA or TN, d. bef. Dec 1863 probably in Itawamba Co. MS, who mar. Elizabeth Beene, dau. of Robert Beene and Martha Womack.

Some sources call this person John Dorrington Patton b. 14 Jul 1786, d. 3 Apr 1864 - this is a major error; "John Dorrington Patton" never existed - rather two different men, John Patton and Dorn Patton, have been erroneously combined into one fictitious person; additional points:

(1) there is no proof that Dorrington was the middle name of John Patton b. 1787, and in fact there is no known proof that he had a middle name or initial of any sort
(2) John Patton b. 1787 did not die 3 Apr 1864 - he died before Dec 1863 when William Patton (presumably his son) petitioned for ltrs. of adm. on John’s estate; chancery court records in Itawamba Co. MS clearly state that John Patton was deceased at this time; it was Dorn Patton (a different person) who d. 3 Apr 1864 (or 3 May 1864)
(3) John Patton b. 1787 is not the same person as Dorn Patton, as proven by the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses of Itawamba Co. MS, all 3 of which list both John and Dorn.

1840 census
- p. 155: Dorron Patton 10000001-0220001-0, which I parse as follows: 1(Dorn Jr.)0000001(Dorn)-02(Sarah Ann, Martha)2(Mary Ann, Caroline)0001(Sarah)
- p. ?: John Patton: 0020101-0000201-02-01, which I parse as follows: 002(John Jr., Benjamin)01(William)01(John)-00002(Isabel?, Eliza)01(Elizabeth) plus slaves; however, it is also possible that some in this census may be spouses of John’s ch. rather than his own ch.; note this is NOT the John Patton who was a brother of Dorn Patton - Dorn Patton's bro. John died 1833 in Alabama, as proved by several records court and pension application records
- p. 157: Sarah Patton 002-00011001 (Sarah Langston, widow of John Patton, brother of Dorn)

1850 census
- dist. 7, no. 517: Dorn Patton 64 farmer $3000 NC, Sarah 50 VA, Martha 18 AL, Dorin 16 farmer AL, Rucilla 7 MS (Drucilla)
- dist. 7, no. 507: John Patton 63 farmer $1700 VA, Elizabeth 61 GA, John 22 TN farmer, Rhoda 26 TN; no. 551 is Wm. Patton (son?) 32 TN, Margaret 28 AL, Tennessee 3 MS, John 1 MS
notes on no. 507:
(1) Rhoda age 26 is either wife of John age 22, or someone else (an older Rhoda Patton b. 1813, dau. of John Patton b. 1787, was already married to Noble Warren and listed as Rhody Warren in 1850 census); note no. 515 Jesse and Mary Williams have several adult ch., incl. a dau. Rhoda 26 b. TN - did John Patton Jr. mar. this Rhoda Williams about the time of the 1850 census, so that she was enumerated twice?)
(2) John's dau. Sarah (Patton) Womack is in Yalobusha Co. 1850 along with unk. James (James K.) Patton 38 TN and Leonora M. Patton 20 TN, both enum. with other fams., and Milton D. Patton 30 TN and wife Lavisa S. 22 MS (Milton O. Patton mar. Louisa L. Jones 16 Sep 1846 Yalo. Co. MS)
(3) no. 517 is Dorn Patton - perhaps John and Dorn are related
- dist. 6, no. 34: Sarah Patton 60 NC, John 23 AL, James 21 AL (Sarah Langston, widow of John Patton, brother of Dorn)

1860 census
- Ryans Well PO, no. 1435: Dorn Patton 74 (76?) NC $8000 $24750, Sarah 64 VA, Luzila? 17 f MS (Drucilla, who was 7 in 1850); no. 1436 is Dorn Jr. 25 AL living alone, no. 1437 is Prudence (Patton) Williams & ch.
- no. 1617: John Patton 73 TN farmer $2000 1700, Lucy 27 AL $11 1000?, Alanetta 4 MS, Benjamin 29 TN $600, Martha 22 MS (note Lucy is Lucy Ann Chilcoat, widow of John Patton Jr.; Martha is Martha Washington Moore)

(4) John Patton b. 1787 did not marry Sarah Spaulding - there is no marriage or census record which supports such a marriage; Sarah Spaulding was the wife of Dorn Patton and outlived him; Elizabeth (Beene) Patton, the wife of John Patton, was still alive in 1850 as John's wife, but predeceased him. However, Sarah (Langston) Patton, the widow of Dorn Patton's brother John, was living in Itawamba Co. in 1850 and may have been confused with Dorn's wife, also named Sarah; this may have misled some researchers into combining the families of Dorn and his brother John, and calling the head of this fictitious family "John Dorrington Patton"
(5) the parents of Mary, Sarah, Caroline, Martha, Dorn Jr., and Drucilla Patton (all 6 listed by some sources as children of "John Dorrington Patton" and all born before 1850) were Dorn and Sarah Patton, not John and Elizabeth Patton; this is proven by the 1850 census noted above, which enumerates both families; in addition, various deeds and court records prove the names and parents of the children of John Patton b. 1787 and the children of Dorn Patton, respectively. Some researchers may list the children of John Patton b. 1787 as children of Dorn, also an error.
(6) Dorn Patton Jr., the only son of Dorn Patton and Sarah Spaulding, was not named "John Dorrington Patton Jr."; there is no record which calls him John; also note that John Patton and Elizabeth Beene did not have a son named Dorn.
(7) although Dorn Patton is called Dorrington Patton in some service records associated with the War of 1812, he was not using the spellling Dorrington by the time he came to Itawamba Co. MS; there he is always called Dorn, sometimes spelled Doran/Dorran; Dorn is the only spelling used by his son and by other namesakes of his (e.g., Dorn Rogers)

2. Notes concerning Dorn Patton b. 4 Jul 1786 , d. 3 Apr (or 3 May?) 1864 Itawamba Co. MS, mar. Sarah Spaulding, whose surname has not been proven

a. His given name is also seen as Doran/Dorrington/Doranton/Dornton/etc.; it is Dorington on War of 1812 muster roll and payroll records (note there are instances of surname Dorrington in earlier records; e.g., Ann Chare [Cheair etc.?] d. 1655 mar. 1st Richard Dorrington in ENG, 2nd Robt. Throckmorton of VA); there is no proof that Dorn's first name was John (Dorn had a bro. John who died in 1833); it appears that some sources refer to Dorn as "John Dorrington Patton" and have mistakenly combined Dorn and his brother John Patton into a single fictitious person whose children include both Dorn's and his brother John's; apparently Dorn’s family has also been combined with the family of another John Patton (mar. Elizabeth Beene); such errors are widespread in internet records - any data which mentions the name "John Dorrington Patton" is suspect and probably contains numerous errors

Here is some data on these three families, as best as I have been able to define them.

1. Children of Dorn Patton and his 2 wives

Children of Dorn Patton and unidentified 1st wife; she apparently d. between 1817 and 1824 (only 1 ch. of this marriage has been identified [if indeed there was a marriage])
i. Eliza A. b. 13 Jan 1817, mar. 1835 or before in Walker Co. AL to John Strother Gaines

Children of Dorn Patton and 2nd wife Sarah Spaulding, the widow of Charles Ryan (her surname Spaulding has not been verified; she had 3 ch. by Charles Ryan, the last being Dr. Charles Ryan b. 22 Jan 1822, the date on his tombstone)

ii. Mary Ann b. 22 Dec 1824, d. 8 Jun 1894, mar. Hugh Riah Rogers (also seen as Hugh Jr., and is Hughriah in 2 deeds dated 1855; his tombstone reads Hugh R. Rogers, and he is called Hugh Riah Rogers in a federal land patent, cert. no. 18162); these are my 2g-gparents
iii. Caroline b. 10 Feb 1829, d. 10 Apr 1915, mar. Finis Dudley Beachum; sometimes called Mary Caroline, but she had an older sister Mary, so “Mary Caroline” is probably an error
iv. Sarah Ann b. ca. 1830, d. aft. May 1856, mar. Shadrack Tipton
v. Martha b. 1832, d. 21 Sep 1911, mar. James Franklin Works
vi. Dorn Jr. b. 11 jun 1834, d. 25 may 1913, mar. 1st Mary Martha Moore, mar. 2nd Sophonia Wren
vii. Drucilla b. 9 Mar 1843, mar. 1st James McAllister Womack, mar. 2nd W. J. “Jack” Tipton, mar. 3rd Isom Jentry (Gentry?) Warren

Dorn and Sarah were said to have had 7 daughters, so 2 are currently unidentified; relative to this, note an enigmatic remark in a 25 Dec 1852 entry in the Lentz Diary: “Dorn Patton's son-in-law was stabbed and died” – neither the deceased nor his wife, presumably a dau. of Dorn Patton, have yet been identified; however, the son-in-law could also be a step-son, or the husband of a step-daughter.

A note concerning the location of Dorn Patton’s grave: L. P. Allen Jr. stated in 1975 that he had not found the grave of Dorn Patton at Friendship cem. or any other likely locations, and had concluded either that Dorn may have been killed by Union guerrillas during the CW and his body simply not buried in normal fashion, or he had moved to TX and is bur. there, where some of his relatives had lived for 2 decades before his death (the lack of any estate settlement records for Dorn in Itawamba Co. MS is circumstantial support for this theory; his widow Sarah is also supposed to be bur. in TX 1868, but the location is also not known); on the other hand, the book Prentiss County, MS: Hist. and Families, Prentiss Co. Hist. Soc.,Turner Pub. Co. (2002), states on p. 149 that Dorn Patton is bur. near his dau. Eliza (Patton) Gaines and her husband John S. Gaines "in Pleasant Valley" (John and Eliza are bur. in Pleasant Valley cem., Kirkville in present Prentiss Co. MS) - but this publication provided no proof of this Pleasant Valley location. Considering Dorn Patton’s wealth (at least in land), it would be surprising if his grave had not at one time been marked; however, rumors of a fortune in gold having been buried with him may have led to the destruction of any grave marker he might ever have had.

2. Children of John Patton b. 14 Jul 1780, d. 5 Mar 1833 Fayette Co. AL, mar. Sarah Langston sometime during Feb 1803 Montgomery Co. KY (date and place of his death are given in her bounty land application of 1855, based on his service as pvt. in Capt. John Dobbins' Co., Col. Thos. Williamsons' 2nd Regt. TN Volunteer Mounted Gunmen, mustered in 28 Sep 1814, disch. 27 Apr 1815 at Nashville, substitute for Dorrington Patton)
i. Prudence b. ca. 1810 TN, d. 5 Jan 1884, mar. John Williams
ii. Elizabeth b. 1816, mar. John Halbert
iii. Margaret b. 1818 AL, d. aft. 1900, mar. Robert R. Harrison; her birthdate also seen 1825 or 1837
iv. Nancy b. 14 Feb 1820 TN? (or 4 Feb), d. 11 Jul 1896, mar. William Allen Ayres (Ayers)
v. Mahulda b. 18 Jan 1824 AL, d. 22 Jul 1909, mar. James Washington Clearman
vi. John Jr. b. 10 Jul 1827 AL, d. 18 Dec 1903, mar. Sarah Ann McCreary; his middle name may have been Matthew, not proven
vii. James Cane b. 12 May 1830 Tuscaloosa Co. AL (or 5 Dec; that is, either 5/12 or 12/5), d. 29 Apr 1911, mar. Hannah Jane Cox; he may be named for James Cain, perhaps the James Cain who was a wealthy resident of Walker Co. AL in 1850 census

The 1830 census of Tuscaloosa Co. AL suggests that John Patton had 8 daughters aged 15 or under (John “Pattent” 2000001-1340001), and he may have also had ch. who had married by 1830; some possibilities beyond the 5 daughters listed above are as follows:
a. Jane Patton b. 1808 TN who mar. Andrew J. Blythe 14 Apr 1826 in Walker or Limestone Co. AL; in 1881 Jane applied for a pension based on Andrew Blythe’s service in Seminole War, per Old War WA-R21488 MS); next to "John Pattent" next to John Patton in the 1830 census of Tuscaloosa Co. AL is Andrew Blythe 20001-00001 (however, proximity alone is not proof of a relationship).
b. Minerva Patton b. ca. 1828 Tuscaloosa Co. AL, mar. William Kilgore; in 1850 census Walker Co. AL

3. Children of John Patton b. 1787 and Elizabeth Beene (some not proven to my satisfaction, but this is the “usual” list of 10 associated with this couple; Don Pate's post gives more complete data on several of these individuals, and I would defer to him on most details)
i. Geo. Wash. b. 25 Jun 1809 TN, d. 23 Sep 1877 Itawamba Co. MS, mar. bef. 1834 Catherine Reed, 8 ch.; both are bur. at Patton Cem. at Patton Flats 3 mi. NW of Tremont (cem. is in front of the G. W. Patton homeplace); his first entry in Itawamba Co. MS deed books is apparently 2 Jun 1837
ii. Sarah Ann b. 8 Jan 1810, d. 31 Jan 1863 Yalobusha Co. MS, mar. Asa Martin Womack b. 3 Apr 1806 Rutherford Co. TN, d. 24 Mar 1863 Yalobusha Co. MS, both bur. Shiloh Prim. Ch. cem., Yalobusha Co. MS; in 1850 census Yalobusha Co. MS (also note an Asa W. Womack 23 TN & fam. in 1850 census Marshall Co. MS, next to Jesse Womack 51 NC & fam.)
iii. Isabel/Isabella b. 20 Apr 1811 TN, d. 16 Jun 1888 Freestone Co. TX, mar. ca. 1828 William W. Beene b. 20 Oct 1808 TN, d. 28 Oct 1892 Freestone Co. TX
iv. Martha b. 12 Nov 1812 Franklin Co. TN, d. 22 Jun 1907 Lee Co. MS, mar. 19 Dec 1848 John Dulaney (his 2nd) b. 29 Jul 1803 SC, d. 29 Apr 1889 MS, both bur. Baldwyn City cem., Lee Co. MS, 4 ch.; note 1850 census Itaw. Co., dist. 7, no. 646 John Dulaney 47, Martha 38 TN, Thos. 20 AL, Eliz. 21 AL, Mary 18 AL, James 17 AL, Emily 15 AL, Mary 12 MS, Linnett 10 f MS, Margaret 8 MS, Sarah 6 MS, Martha 7/12, plus Benj. Patton 19 MS, Wm. Rice 17 SC; some records show John Dulaney mar. Martha Patton 23 Oct 1851 (CD 5), so 1848 mar. date must be verified; also a John Dulaney (son of Alfred) mar. 14 Jun 1865 Itaw. Co. MS to Mrs. Lucy A. Patton (nee Chilcoat, mar. John Patton 28 Feb 1855)
v. Rhoda b. ca. 1813 Franklin Co. TN, d. ca. 1852 Itawamba Co. MS, mar. 1 Aug 1850 Noble Warren b. ca. 1811 Wayne Co. KY, d. 1874 Baldwyn, Lee Co. MS; possibly 1 ch. John S. Warren b. ca. 1851/52, prob. the same John S. Warren named as an heir of John Patton Sr. in a chancery court record Oct 1866 Itaw. Co. MS; note 1850 census Itawamba Co. MS, Fulton, no. 2: Noble Warren 39 KY, Rhody 37 TN (37 is very clear), Reuben 14 KY, Mary 13 KY, James 9 KY, Benj. 8 KY; some sources have misread James as "Davis" (census date 23 Nov 1850, after their 1 Aug 1850 marriage date); Noble Warren mar. 1st Cassandra Vickery 10 Sep 1833 in Wayne Co. KY, and may have had other marriages as well
vi. James Robert b. 25 Jul 1816 Franklin Co. TN, d. 21 Feb 1886 TN; there is a James Patten 38 TN mechanic, enum. with no. 37 Lilla Harrison 22 f AL planter and Nancy Baker 60 NC 1850 census Yalobusha Co. MS, and also a James K. Patton 38 TN mechanic in a nearby hotel same co., same day (sister Sarah (Patton) Womack in same co.); compare to James Robert Beachum; Joy Brown said this might be the Robert Patton b. 1816 who mar. Eliz. Raulston
vii. Eliza b. 1817 TN (note Dorn Patton also had a dau. Eliza b. 1817); is this Eliza Patton (b. 21 Apr 1817 Franklin Co. TN, d. 1864) mar. 19 Dec 1841 Talledega Co. AL Sims Kelly (b. 23 Nov 1818, d. 23 Jun 1862 Camp Douglas, IL; this Sims Kelly had an uncle of same name b. 1784 NC); she said to res. Patton Hill, Walker Co. AL bef. she was mar.; 1850 census Talladega Co. AL Sims Kelly 32 TN carpenter, Eliza P. 33 TN, Wm. E/C 11 AL, John P. 5 AL, Samuel C. 3 AL, Benj. F. 1 AL; addit. ch. were Mollie b. 18 Nov 1852, twins Walter H. and Alden P. b. 22 Apr 1855 and d. 1856; Sam., Benj., Mollie raised Yazoo Co. MS by Albert Gallatin Kelly, 1st cousin of Sims Kelly; Myles Adrian Kelly (gson of John P.) res. Fort Worth, TX 1979
viii. William b. 1817 Franklin Co. TN (twin of Eliza, or different parents), mar. 20 Feb 1845 Itaw. Co. to Margaret Green b. 1822 AL (sometimes seen Martha); note 1850 census Itaw. Co., dist. 7, no. 551: Wm. Patton 32 TN, Margaret 28 AL, Robert 5 MS, Tennessee 3 f MS, John 1 MS; note Tennie Patton mar. 11 Oct 1868 Itaw. Co. MS to J. R. Gilstrap; this Wm. Patton was prob. the same Wm. adm. of John Patton Sr. estate Oct 1866 Itaw. Co. MS (chancery court papers apparently do not state that he is an heir, so some question that he is a son, although why else would he be the admr.?)
ix. John Jr. (??? note would prob. not be Jr. if father was Dorn) b. 1828 TN, d. bef. 1860, mar. 28 Feb 1855 Itaw. Co. to Lucy Ann Chilcoat b. ca. 1833 AL, d. betw. 1865 & 1873 MS; notes (1) the 1855 mar. record does not call him John Jr. (2) Lucy enum. with John Patton Sr. 1860 with ch. Alanetta 4 b. MS, perhaps only ch. by John Jr. (3) Mrs. Lucy A. Patton mar. 14 Jul 1865 Itaw. Co. MS John Dulaney (son of Alfred; see "An Itawamba Sampler" p. 58 for Dulaney)
x. Benjamin Franklin b. 18 Feb 1831 Marion Co. TN, d. 22 Apr 1863 Itaw. Co., Itaw. Co. MS, mar. 12 Apr 1860 Itaw. Co. to Martha M. Moore b. 3 Jun 1838 MS, d. 21 Jul 1907, both bur. East Fulton Bapt. Ch. cem.; note 1850 census Itaw. Co., dist. 7, Benj. Patton 19 MS enum. with no. 646 John Dulaney and wife Martha Patton; "An Itawamba Sampler", p. 184, says Benj. F. Patton mar. Martha Washington Moore b. 6 (not 3) Jun 1838, dau. of Wm. Hurt Moore b. 1804 and Sarah Ann Wilbourn b. 1817

Conclusion: “John Dorrington Patton” never existed.