Samuel F. Patterson

Summary

Samuel Finley Patterson (March 11, 1799 – January 20, 1874) was a North Carolina politician, planter, businessman, and member of the prominent Patterson family.

Samuel F. Patterson
North Carolina State Treasurer
In office
1835–1837
Preceded byWilliam S. Mhoon
Succeeded byDaniel W. Courts
Member of the North Carolina Senate
for the 48th Senatorial District
In office
1846–1848
Preceded byBurgess S. Gaither
Succeeded byTod R. Caldwell
Member of the North Carolina Senate
for the 46th Senatorial District
In office
1864–1864
Preceded bySamuel J. Neal
Succeeded byJames M. Isbell
Member of the North Carolina
House of Commons

Representing Caldwell County
In office
1854–1854
Preceded byElisha P. Miller
Succeeded byCornelius W. Clark
Personal details
Born
Samuel Finley Patterson

(1799-03-11)March 11, 1799
Rockbridge County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedJanuary 20, 1874(1874-01-20) (aged 74)
Caldwell County, North Carolina, U.S.

Early life edit

Patterson was born on March 11, 1799, in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He went to live with his uncle in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in 1811.[1]

Career edit

Patterson had a lifelong interest in politics. At the age of 22, he won the position of engrossing clerk of the North Carolina House of Commons. He later became clerk of the North Carolina Senate, and, from 1835 to 1837, he served as state treasurer. Even though Patterson was a Whig, he was elected treasurer by a majority-Democratic state legislature. While serving as treasurer, he also served as president of the state bank.[2]

Patterson served as chair of the Caldwell County court; as a member of the House of Commons (1854); and as a state senator (1846, 1848, and 1864). In 1866, he served as a delegate to the second session of the state's constitutional convention. Other offices Patterson held included president of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, clerk of the Superior Court, justice of the peace, Indian commissioner, trustee of the University of North Carolina, and various positions with the Masons.[2]

Personal life edit

In 1824, Patterson married Phoebe Caroline Jones (1806–1869). A granddaughter of Gen. William Lenoir, she was a daughter of Ann (née Lenoir) Jones and politician Edmund Jones. The two would live much of their life together at her family home, "Palmyra", in Caldwell County, a county which he helped persuade the state legislature to create in 1841. He and his wife had several children, including:[3]

He died at Palmyra on January 20, 1874.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Ashe, Samuel A'Court; Weeks, Stephen B.; Van Noppen, Charles L., eds. (1905). Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present. Vol. II. Charles L. Van Noppen. pp. 324–333. Retrieved August 3, 2020 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d Powell, William S., ed. (1994). Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Vol. V. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-8078-2100-4.
  3. ^ "Patterson, Rufus Lenoir". www.ncpedia.org. NCpedia. Retrieved June 1, 2023.

External links edit

  • Origin of Patterson School
  • Inventory of the Jones and Patterson Family Papers
  • North Carolina Manual of 1913
Political offices
Preceded by
William S. Mhoon
Treasurer of North Carolina
1835–1837
Succeeded by
Daniel W. Courts