Among the Patterson papers is a letter dated August 27, 1880, six days shy of one century before my birth. It’s addressed to J. Patterson, and here’s where I get a bit confused. My family, as I’ve noted, has many people named John Patterson–direct ancestors as well as varying degrees of cousins. I know that some of these Pattersons were involved in the Tuscarora Academy and Tuscarora Female Seminary, two schools in Academia, Juniata County. This letter, from George Kipple in Willow Creek, Nevada, is sent to a J. Patterson who had been, it seems, Mr. Kipple’s former teacher. I’m guessing this was at the Tuscarora Academy, sometime in the…