John Harper Patton, Sr. was my first big discovery as a young teenager just beginning my interest and recording family history. I found out about him through a letter I sent the Encyclopedia Britannica seeking further infomation about him. The History of Poweshiek County, Iowa article below is what they sent me.

John's mother died at age 27 and when John was only four years old. His father Edward, who was 34 years old at the time of his wife's death, never remarried and raised all four of his children.3
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John H. Patton, one of the most prominent lawyers of Poweshiek county, [Iowa] whose connection with the bar is characterized not only by marked ability in the preparation and presentation of his cause, but also in fidelity to a high standard of commercial ethics, was born in Curwensville, Clearfield county. Pennsylvania, February 8, 1856, a son of Edward B. and Esther A. (Mason) Patton, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state. Following their marriage they located in Curwensville.

The Patton family for generations have been prominent in the public life of Pennsylvania. The great-grandfather, John Patton, was a member of Washington’s staff in the Revolutionary war* and an uncle, John Patton, brother of Edward B. Patton, was a member of congress from his district and his son, Jack, was United States senator from Michigan by appointment of Governor Trowbridge. At the expiration of that term he refused to become a candidate for the regular election, although it was conceded that he could have the position for the asking.

Other members have been prominent in public life. Edward B. Patton, the father, was a contractor and builder, who remained always a resident of Curwensville, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1908, at the venerable age of eighty-one years. His wife passed away on the morning of July 4, 1861, and so greatly was she esteemed and beloved in her town that all patriotic demonstrations were suspended and not an unnecessary sound was heard there during the day through respect to her memory.

John H. Patton was reared under the parental roof. He was only five years of age at the time of his mother’s death and he is largely a self-educated as well as self-made man. He naturally enjoyed the advantages of the district schools and, as the Pattons were a family of affluence in Pennsylvania, he could have had a course in Yale, but he chose the independent plan and has depended upon life’s experiences and his own exertions for a higher education. At the early age of nineteen years he was a newspaper editor and publisher, editing the Curwensville Times. While thus engaged during the Hayes and Tilden campaign of 1876 he published a criticism of J. Blake Walters, which was taken up and copied broadly by the Philadelphia papers and resulted in the defeat of Walters, who started a suit against Mr. Patton for libel, but the latter’s statement was readily proven.

The following year Mr. Patton sought a home in the west, coming to Grinnell, Iowa, and during the succeeding three years was connected, a part of the time, with the Grinnell Herald and a part of the time with the Citizens’ Bank. In 1880 he took charge of the Grinnell Independent, publishing this as a semi weekly republican newspaper. During the period of his connection with the paper as its editor he brought forth an editorial on the Tilden and Hayes campaign, giving his reasons for his belief that Samuel J. Tilden was at that time elected president. This editorial came to the attention of Charles A. Dana, of the New York Sun, and was copied in his paper—rather an unusual occurrence for a distinguished editor of a metropolitan journal to copy from a rural newspaper. Mr. Patton continued to dictate the policy of the Grinnell Independent until 1887. He was a forceful writer, clear and cogent in the statement of his opinions and in the defense of his position, and his editorials attracted wide attention.

In the general election of 1886 Mr. Patton was elected district clerk and entered upon the duties of the office in January, 1887, removing to Montezuma where he continued to fill the position for three terms, his reelections being incontrovertible proof of the recognition of his ability and trustworthiness on the part of his fellow townsmen. In his early manhood Mr. Patton had formed the habit of night study and for years there was not an evening passed that he did not read until twelve o’clock. That habit became so fixed with him that it seemed as necessary as his daily meals.

In 1877 he determined to learn something about law and he took up as his evening course of reading a number of text-books on law, not, however, with the intention of practicing. By the year 1880, however, he had progressed sufficiently in his studies to pass an examination and was admitted to the bar. Even then he did not intend to become a practitioner, but after serving for three terms in the district clerk’s office he resolved to enter upon the practice of law and, in 1893, passed the required examination before the supreme court and was admitted to the bar.

On his return to Grinnell he received a letter from C. T. Jones, clerk of the supreme court, telling him that he had passed with the high grade of ninety-two per cent and that very few applicants for admission, possibly not more than a half-dozen, had ever received so high a grade before the supreme court on examination. Yet Mr. Patton had never attended a law school and his preparation was made entirely independently through his night study.

Opening an office in Grinnell in January, 1893, Mr. Patton has since been continuously connected with the Poweshiek county bar, and through the intervening period of eighteen years has made marked progress in his practice, being today regarded as one of the most capable and prominent lawyers of this part of the state. His reading has covered a wide range and not only does he possess comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, but also the ability to accurately apply its principles.

On the I5th of January, 1879, Mr. Patton was married to Miss Mary J. Worcester, of Grinnell, a daughter of Justice Worcester, who came to Iowa in an early day, settling in Marshall county, whence he afterward removed to Grinnell. He was a cousin of the compiler of Worcester’s dictionary. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Patton have been born six children: John H., Jr., a traveling salesman representing the Grinnell Glove Factory; Homer E., manager of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company, of Des Moines, and president of the Iowa Corporation of that company; Edward C., a graduate of the Grinnell high school; Mary E., a graduate of the high school class of 1911; Esther Ann, a freshman in the Grinnell high school; and Paul W., who has not yet completed the work of the grades.

In politics Mr. Patton is a stalwart republican, has served as city attorney, and was elected mayor of Grinnell in the city election of March, 1911. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. Nature endowed him with strong mentality, but beyond this he has had no assistance in life and his progress represents the fit utilization of his innate powers and the recognition of his opportunities. His fidelity to the interests of his clients is proverbial; yet he never forgets that he owes a higher allegiance to the majesty of the law. His diligence and energy in the preparation of his cases as well as the earnestness, tenacity and courage with which he defends the right, as he understands it, challenges the highest admiration of his associates. He invariably seeks to present his argument in the strong clear light of common reason and sound logical principles.939
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John’s middle name identified from this source.938
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John’s occupation is Lawyer, General Practice in May 1910.940


*There is no documented proof of this assertion, although it is a commonly found claim and possibly attributed to family tradition.3