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

Early life

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

Career

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 In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

. Even though Patterson was a Whig, he was elected treasurer by a majority-

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

state legislature. While serving as treasurer, he also served as president of the state bank. 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 A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, Indian commissioner, trustee of the University of North Carolina, and various positions with the

Masons Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutt ...

Personal life

In 1824, Patterson married Phoebe Caroline Jones (1806–1869). A granddaughter of Gen. William Lenoir, she was a daughter of Ann ( 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: * Rufus Lenoir Patterson (1830–1879), who married Marie Louise Morehead Patterson in 1852. After her death in 1862, he married Mary Elizabeth Fries in 1864. * Samuel Legerwood Patterson (1850–1918), who served as North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture; he married Mary Sophia Senseman in 1873. He died at Palmyra on January 20, 1874.

References

External links

Origin of Patterson School
1799 births 1874 deaths People from Rockbridge County, Virginia People from Caldwell County, North Carolina Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina state senators State treasurers of North Carolina 19th-century American planters 19th-century American legislators American justices of the peace 19th-century American judges {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub