Josiah PATTERSON, Congress, TN (1837-1904)

PATTERSON, Josiah, (father of Malcolm Rice Patterson), a Representative from Tennessee; born in Morgan County, Ala., April 14, 1837; attended the common schools and Somerville (Ala.) Academy; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Morgan County in 1859; entered the Confederate Army in September 1861; commissioned a first lieutenant in the First Regiment of Alabama Cavalry in 1862; promoted to the rank of captain, then to colonel, and subsequently assigned to the command of the Fifth Regiment of Alabama Cavalry; resumed the practice of law; settled in Florence, Ala., in January 1867; moved to Memphis, Tenn., in March 1872 and continued the practice of his profession; member of the State house of representatives, 1883-1885; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1897); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress as a Gold Democrat; again resumed the practice of his profession; died in Memphis, Shelby County, Tenn., February 10, 1904; interment in Forest Hill Cemetery.

Bibliography

Faries, Clyde J. “Carmack Versus Patterson: The Genesis of a Political Feud.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 38 (Fall 1979): 332-47.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present