Washington Co., AR - Biographies - Judge William Jesse Patton *********************************************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: The Goodspeed Publishing Co Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgenwebarchives.org *********************************************** Judge William Jesse Patton was born in Washington County, Ark., June 7, 1840, and is a son of Isaac C. and Elizabeth (Jones) Patton, who were born in Tennessee and Alabama, respectively. The father was born in Knoxville, and in his youthful days learned the hatter's trade, at which he worked in after life. His father, Jesse Patton, was a hatter, and was born in Pattonsburg, N. C., which town was named after his father, Robert Wyatt Patton. a native of Philadelphia, whose progenitors were residents of Oxford, England. Elizabeth [p.1000] (Jones) Patton was a daughter of John Jones, who belonged to one of the old Virginia families, and was of Welsh ancestry. Judge W. J. Patton grew to manhood in Washington County, Ark., obtaining his first schooling at Ozark Institute, which was under the management of Prof. Robert Macklin, and after leaving this institution entered the schools of Fayetteville, but at the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he left his school days behind him to fight for the Union. He enlisted at Fort Scott, Kas., on the 5th of July, 1861, and was detailed for scouting duty, because of his knowledge of the country, and served in this capacity until June 17, 1862, when he was severely wounded in the head, losing the sight of his left eye. After partially recovering from this wound he acted as quartermaster at Springfield for a detachment of the First Arkansas Cavalry for some time, and then joined Company A, First Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry, and participated in the battle of Newtonia, carrying away with him as a trophy of this battle a handsome sabre. He served all through the war, receiving nine gunshot wounds and two contusions. In 1864 he was elected to, in part, represent Washington County in the State Legislature, serving a part of the first and all of the second sessions as speaker of the House. He was a delegate to the National Republican Convention at Baltimore, June, 1864. July 7, 1865, he was appointed collector of internal revenue for the district of Arkansas, and in 1866 was appointed collector of the Second District, which position he held until June 8, 1873. He was presidential elector for the State at large on the Republican ticket in 1880, and in joint discussion with the Democratic electors made a thorough canvass of the State. He was elected county and probate judge for Pulaski County, the county in which the State Capitol is situated, and by his bold and able management of the public finances of the county soon brought order out of chaos and wrought a revolution in the financial affairs of the county, showing himself to be the best financier that county ever had. A bold, outspoken, fearless man throughout his public career, his measures have met with general approval by his constituents. He has a farm of about 250 acres in Washington County, well improved and well stocked. On it he has one of the best selected young apple orchards of some 5,000 trees in Northwest Arkansas. He was married in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1865, to Margaretta Battenfield, daughter of Jacob Battenfield, who was of German noble ancestry. They have two children: Floy, a graduate of St. Mary's Academy, of Little Rock, Ark., and William Jesse, Jr., a student of civil engineering in the State University. Judge Patton belongs to the Masonic fraternity, is a member of Columbia Commandery No. 2, District of Columbia, the G. A. R., and his family attend the Christian Church.