Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/245

 PATTON

PATTON

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PATTON, Jacob Harris, teacher and author, was born in Fayette county, Pa., May 20, 1812; son of Thomas and Anna (Harris) Patton ; grand- son of Joseph and Sarah (Weir) Patton and of Jacob and Rebecca (Mofford) Harris. He was graduated at Jeffer- son college. Pa., A.B., 1839, A.M., 1842; was a tutor in the Uni- versity of Nashville, Tenn., 1840-43, and at Union Theological seminary. New York city, 1843-46, and was graduated there in 1846. He was princi- pal of a private clas- sical school in New York city, 1846-82, and was licensed to preach by the pres- bytery of New York in 1846, but chose the profession of teaching. He was married in 1854 to Caroline, daugliter of Oliver Chear ; she died in 1880. He received the degree of Ph.D. from Washington and Jef- ferson college in 1884, He devoted the latter part of his life to literary work, and is the author of : A Concise History of the American People (2 vols. 1860-1901); Yorktoivn Memorial 1781-18S1 (1881); Political Parties of the United States, their History and Influence (1884-1902); A Popular History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (1901) ; The Natural Resources of the United States (1888-1894); Which Religion Satisfies the Wants of the Soul? (1902), and con- tributions to periodicals.

PATTON, John, senator, was born at Curwens- ville, Pa., Oct. 30, 1850; son of the Hon. John and Catherine (Ennis) Patton ; grandson of Lieut. John (U.S. navy) and Susan (Antes) Patton ; and great-grandson of Col. John Patton of the 16th colonial regiment of Pennsylvania in the war of the Revolution. His father was a represen- tative from Pennsylvania in the 87th and 50th congresses, 1861-63, and 1887-89. John Patton, Jr., was prepared for college at Phillips Andover academy ; and graduated from Yale, A.B., 1875, and from Columbia, LL.B., 1877 ; and in 1878 engaged in the practice of law at Grand Rapids, Mich. In 1884 he was a member of the Republican state central committee, and gained prominence as an orator in national and state campaigns. He was president of the Michigan state Republican league, 1890 and 1891. He was married, Oct. 1, 1885, to Frances S.. daughter of the Hon. Wilder D., and Fanny L. Foster. On the death of Senator Francis B. Stockbridge, he was appointed his successor by Governor John

T. Rich, May 5, 1894, and served until the meet- ing of the legislature in January, 1895, when Julius C. Burrows was elected to fill out the unexpired term.

PATTON, John Mercer, representative, was born in Virgina in 1796. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, M.D., 1818; studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Fredericksburg, Va. He was married to P. French Williams, daughter of Isaac H. and Lucy (Slaughter) Williams, and grand- daughter of John Williams, and of Capt. Philip Slaughter. He was elected a representative in the 21st congress in 1830 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John Taliaferro, and was also a representative in the 22d, 23d, 24th and 25th congresses, 1831-39. He removed to Richmond, Va., and resumed his law practice, and was judge of the court of appeals at the time of his death, in Richmond, Va., Oct. 29, 1858.

PATTON, Robert Miller, governor of Ala- bama, was born in Monroe county, Va., July 10, 1809 ; son of William and Martha (Hays) Patton. William Patton, a native of Ireland, immigrated to Virginia in early manhood, and in 1813 re- moved with his wife and chil- dren to Huntsville, Ala., be- coming one of the founders of one of the first cotton mills in the state. Robert was ed- ucated in the public schools and at an early age entered commercial life, removing in 1829 to Florence, Ala., where he became a mer- chant. He was elected a representative in the state legislature in 1834, and in the special legisla- ture, 1837, called for the relief of those affected by the financial panic of that year, and served almost continuously in the legislature until 1861, being president of the senate in that year. He was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at Charleston, S.C, in 1860, and to the state con- vention that passed the ordinance of secession, where he opposed the movement, but afterward devoted himself wholly to the southern cause. He spent his own fortune in aiding it, and as a commissioner of the Confederate government, raised several million dollars to keep the armies in the field. He was a member of the Alabama constitutional convention of 1865, and was elected governor of the state, serving from December, 1865, to July, 1868, when he was displaced through the reconstruction measures of congress. He obtained the capital for building the railroad to connect Chattanooga, Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans, La., and was president of the road from Chattanooga to Meridian. He was a trustee of the Missouri State universitj^ ; the State Normal college of Alabama, and the Synodical Female