The Patterson family is a prominent family from North Carolina that was involved in politics and business for several generations, serving in the state and national level and founding successful companies, including the American Machine and Foundry Company.

History

The Patterson family is a branch of the Lenoir family first made famous by Gen. William Lenoir, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

officer and prominent statesman in late 18th-century and early 19th-century

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Both the City of Lenoir, North Carolina and Lenoir County, North Carolina are named for him. Lenoir City, Tennessee is jointly named for him and for his son, William Ballard Lenoir. A granddaughter of Gen. Lenoir, Phoebe Caroline Jones, married North Carolina politician Samuel F. Patterson, and began this branch of the prominent Patterson family. Their son, Rufus Lenoir Patterson, was mayor of

Salem, North Carolina Salem is a census-designated place (CDP) in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,218 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hickory– Lenoir– Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Gilboa Meth ...

and sired Rufus Lenoir Patterson Jr., who founded

American Machine and Foundry American Machine and Foundry (known after 1970 as AMF, Inc.) was one of the United States' largest recreational equipment companies, with diversified products as disparate as garden equipment, atomic reactors, and yachts. History The company wa ...

and served as a vice president of the

American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter, Goodwin & Company, and Kinney Brothers. The company was one of the or ...

. He moved to New York City in the 1890s where his children married into prominent New York society families. Rufus Jr.'s grandson, Herbert Parsons Patterson, served as president of the

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding ...

Members

* William Lenoir (1751–1839) m. Ann Ballard (1751–1833) ** Mary Lenoir Gordon (1772–1859) m. (1) 1790: Charles Gordon (1756–1799); (2) 1802: William Davenport (1770–1859) *** William Ballard Lenoir (1775–1852) m. 1802: Elizabeth Avery (1781–1855) (daughter of

Waightstill Avery Waightstill Avery (10 May 1741 – 15 March 1821) was an early American lawyer and officer in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He is noted for fighting a duel with future U.S. president Andrew Jackson in 1788. Famil ...

) **** Isaac Thomas Lenoir (1807–1875) m. Mary Caroline Hogg (1812–1877) (daughter of Samuel E. Hogg) **** Waightstill Avery Lenoir (1815–1884) m. Isabella Jane Hume (1828–1857) ** Ann Lenoir (1778–1838) m. Edmund Jones (1771–1844) *** Phoebe Caroline Jones (1806–1869) m. Samuel Finley Patterson (1799–1874) **** Rufus Lenoir Patterson (1830–1879) m. (1) 1852: Marie Louise Morehead (1830–1862) (daughter of Gov.

John Motley Morehead John Motley Morehead (July 4, 1796 – August 27, 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who became the 29th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina (1841 to 1845). He became known as "the Father of Modern North Carolina." Early and ...

); (2) 1864: Mary Elizabeth Fries (1844–1927) ***** Caroline Finley Patterson (1856–1931), m. (1) 1883: Albert Lucian Coble (1918); (2) 1925: George Leander Frazier ***** Jesse Lindsay Patterson (1858–1922), m. Lucy Bramlette Patterson ***** Latitia Walker Patterson (1860–1884), m.

Francis Henry Fries Francis Henry Fries (February 1, 1855 – 5 June 1931) was an American textile businessman and industrialist from North Carolina. The town, Fries in Virginia was named in his honor. Early life Fries was born on February 1, 1855, in Winston-Salem, ...

***** Francis Fries Patterson (1865–1933), m. 1895: Ethel Mary Thomas ***** Samuel Finley Patterson (1867–1926), m. (div. 1901) Bessie Alexander; (2) 1914: Nancy Pearson ***** Andrew Henry Patterson (1870–1928), m. 1897: Eleanor Spurrier Alexander (daughter of Eben Alexander) ***** Rufus Lenoir Patterson Jr. (1872–1943), m. Margaret Warren Morehead ****** Morehead Patterson (1897–1962) m. (1) 1921 (div. 1929): Elsie Parsons (1901–1966) (daughter of Herbert Parsons and

Elsie Clews Parsons Elsie Worthington Clews Parsons (November 27, 1875 – December 19, 1941) was an American anthropologist, sociologist, folklorist, and feminist who studied Native American tribes—such as the Tewa and Hopi—in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. ...

); (2) 1945: Helen Isabelle Mitchell (1909–1955); (3) 1956: Margaret Morgan Tilt (1903–1996) ******* Rufus Lenoir Patterson III (1922–1944) m. 1942: Mae Gouverneur Cadwalader ******** Rufus Lenoir Patterson IV (1944–1964) ******* Herbert Parsons Patterson (1925–1985) m. (1) 1949: Louise Sargent Oakey McVeigh (1925–1968); (2) 1970: Patricia Shepard Norris (ex-wife of Bruce A. Norris) He was a member of the

Racquet and Tennis Club The Racquet and Tennis Club, familiarly known as the R&T, is a private social and athletic club at 370 Park Avenue, between East 52nd and 53rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. History The Racquet Court Club was organized April 28 ...

and the Lenox Club. ******** Katheryn Clews Patterson, m. 1979: Thomas L. Kempner Jr. (b. 1953) ****** Lucy Lathrop Patterson (1900–1977), m. 1919: Casimir de Rham (1896–1968) ******* Casimir De Rham (1924–2011) m. 1945: Elizabeth Evarts (1926–2008) ******* David Patterson de Rham (1931–1995) m. Rachael Thompson (1933–2016) ***** John Legerwood Patterson (1874–1935), m. Margaret Newman (daughter of

William Truslow Newman William Truslow Newman (June 23, 1843 – February 14, 1920) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Education and career Born on June 23, 1843, near Knoxville, Tennessee, Ne ...

) ***** Edmond Vogler Patterson (1878–1934), m. 1907: Helene Trimble **** Samuel Legerwood Patterson (1850–1918) m. 1873: Mary Sophia Senseman (1849–1909) ** Thomas Lenoir (1780–1861) m. 1807: Selena Louisa Avery (1788–1864) (daughter of

) ** Martha "Patsy" Lenoir (1792–1823) m.

Israel Pickens Israel Pickens (January 30, 1780 – April 24, 1827) was an American politician and lawyer, third Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama (1821–1825), member of the North Carolina Senate (1808–1810), and United States Congressman from North C ...

(1780–1827) *** Julia A. Pickens (1815–1898) m. C. S. Howe *** Israel Leonidas Pickens (1820–1888) m. Eliza Ann Nelson (1825–1850)

Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower

In the 1920s, Rufus L. Patterson Jr. and his college classmate and fraternity brother,

John Motley Morehead III John Motley Morehead III (November 3, 1870 – January 7, 1965) was an American chemist, politician, and diplomat. As a chemist, his work provided much of the foundation for the business of Union Carbide Corporation. The Union Carbide and ...

(who was also a first cousin of his wife), funded the $100,000 construction cost of the Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower, a bell tower designed by

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

and located on the campus of

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

. It was initially built to commemorate the NC State alumni that fell during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The Tower was dedicated in November 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson family American families of English ancestry Business families of the United States Political families of the United States Christian families

History

Members

Morehead-Patterson Bell Tower

See also

References