Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/724

 line. In 1885 he went to Portsmouth, Virginia, and there secured employment in the Gasport Navy Yard. Here he remained about a year and then, in 1887, returned to Hampton and was admitted as a partner into the firm of Patrick, Massenburg & -Company, of which his father was the senior partner. He remained with this concern until 1898, and then withdrew to follow the same business of building and contracting on his own account, continuing for some five years longer.

In the year 1903, however, there occurred what took Mr. Patrick entirely out of the business world, and led directly to the office of trust which he now holds from his fel- low townsmen. Since his youth and early manhood he had been deeply interested in political questions and the conduct of public afifairs, and. as he grew older, he took a more and more active part in local politics, associating himself with the city organiza- tion of the Democratic party, of which he was a staunch member. His services were important, and this fact in connection with a growing popularity which his winning per- sonality and his democratic attitude to- wards the world was gaining for him, made him an obviously available candidate for office. He was accordingly offered the nom- ination on the Democratic ticket for treas- urer of the town of Hampton, and in 1903 was elected to that responsible office. He had already held the position of chief of records, but this had not materially inter- fered with the conduct of his private busi- ness. Now. however, with his election to the post of treasurer, he felt that to give the affairs of the town the full attention which they demanded, would not leave sufficient lime to properly conduct his own business, and he, with his usual custom of putting the interests of the community before his own, retired entirely from business life and devoted his whole time and attention to the duties of his office. This he filled so suc- cessfully and so entirely to the satisfaction of his fellow townsmen, that he was re- elected term after term until the year 1908, when Hampton changed its status from that of a town to a city. In the first election after this event Mr. Patrick was elected city treasurer, and has continued in this office up to the present time. During the years which he has held these posts Mr. Patrick has done an immense service to his fellow citizens in safeguarding and advancing the financial interests of Hampton, and it is to him, in a large measure, that the present fine system obtaining in the treasury de- partment of the city is due. An absolutely honest man, he has gone about his, or rather the community's, business, in the most quiet, unassuming manner, accomplishing great results, yet without obtruding his own personality upon the public attention one jot more than was necessary. Had he been the most consummate politician, he could not have hit on a surer road to success than that which his modesty has prompted, and to the same proportion that he has retired from notice, his conduct has been praised by his associates and the citizens of Hampton.

It is not by any means alone in his capacity as public officer that Mr. Patrick is well known and respected in the city. His position as a scion of a long respected family of Hampton, together with his personal qualities and the fact that he represents in himself that type of courteous, gracious gentleman which seems still to flourish in that southern community though it has elsewhere well nigh disappeared from the land, have combined to make him a prominent figure in the social life of the place and to win for him the admiration and affection of man, woman and child. He holds indeed a very enviable place in the regard of his fellows, and added to the gratification which this knowledge must afford him, is the further thought that it is the fruit of his own sterling virtues and the faithful discharge of all his social obligations to his fellowmen.

Like his father before him, Mr. Patrick is a strong adherent to the principles and policies of the Democratic party, but not as a mere partisan who unreasonably accepts what is offered for his credulity's consumption, but as a clear and independent thinker on political questions, who has arrived at his own conclusions in the matter. He is also a member of the Carpenters' Union, the Royal Arcanum and the Woodmen of the World.

Mr. Patrick married, October 27, 1885, Elizabeth M. Davis, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Marrow) Davis, of Hampton, Virginia, where she was born, October 16, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick are the parents of three children, as follows : Kathryn,