Biography of George O. Patterson, White County, Arkansas *********************************************************** Submitted by: Bonnie Palmer Date: Jun 1997 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ar/white/white.html *********************************************************** From "A Centennial History of Arkansas", edited by Dallas T. Herndon, the Director of the Dept. of Archives & History, published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago-Little Rock, 1922. GEORGE O. PATTERSON Arkansas has always been signally favored with a class of men who have occupied her public offices & in those who have maintained the legal & moral status of the state through the protection of life, property & liberty in the courts. In the latter, George O. PATTERSON is well known, being today a capable, & successful attorney of Clarksville, who in his practice holds the highest ethics of the profession He was born in Clinton, Van Buren Co., Ark., March 6, 1872, & is the son of John R. & Lou J. (GREESON) PATTERSON, who were natives of Baltimore, Md., & of Tenn. respectively, their marriage being celebrated, however, in Clinton, Ark. The father was a son of J. H. PATTERSON, also a native of Baltimore, Md., whence he removed to Tenn. & eventually became a pioneer resident of Ark., settling at Patterson Bluff, where he owned & conducted a large plantation. He likewise taught school at one time in connection with Albert PIKE. He was a slave owner of the early day & became a soldier of the Confederate Army at the time of the Civil War. When home on a furlough he was killed by bushwhackers & he had previously been wounded in the battle of Prairie Grove. The maternal grandfather of George O. PATTERSON was Mat H. GREESON, who was born in Tenn. & became a resident of Van Buren Co., Ark. in 1856. He engaged in merchandising & also conducted a hotel. He too, joined the Confederate Army & valiantly defended the cause in which he believed. John R. PATTERSON came to Ark. about the year 1856 & it was probably the same year that his future wife became a resident of this state. He followed merchandising at Clinton & at Heber Springs & in 1897 removed to Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. He owned mining interests in New Mexico & also followed merchandising in Oklahoma, continuing a resident of that state until his death. He was a self-made man & won a substantial measure of success through his close application to business, his unfaltering energy & thoroughly reliable methods. He, too, was numbered among the Confederate veterans of the Civil War, having enlisted in 1861 & serving until the close of hostilities. He participated in several important battles, was slightly wounded on one occasion & was mustered out with the rank of 2nd lieutenant, having served as a courier during the early part of his military experience. He ever voted with the democratic party & he served as sheriff of Cleburne Co., Ark., for a period of 6 years, discharging his duties without any fear or favor. He was one of the early representatives of Masonry in this state & took the degrees of the Royal Arch Chapter. Both he & his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and were active in the various branches of church work. They had a family of 3 children: Alice, who is the wife of J. K. CONNOR, a merchant of Pauls Valley, Ok.; George O.; & J. H., who also carries on mercantile pursuits in Pauls Valley. Liberal educational advantages were accorded George O. PATTERSON, who was educated at Quitman College, from which he was graduated in 1890. He came to Clarksville in 1893 & read law under J. E. CRAVENS & A. S. MCKENNON, being admitted to the bar in 1894. He then entered upon practice in which he has continued to the present time, his ability increasing with the passing years, so that his success has been augmented as time has passed by & he now ranks with the ablest representatives of the profession in this part of the state. For 10 years he practiced in connection with his former preceptor, A. S. MCKENNON, and now for a number of years been a partner of H. H. RAGON. They have a large clientage of a distinctively representative character & the court records bear testimony to the many favorable verdicts which they have won. In his law practice Mr. PATTERSON represents a number of important corporations & is regarded as a strong advocate & safe counselor. His corporation practice connects him with 2 banks & various mining interests & he is also local attorney for the Missouri Pacific RR. He devotes most of his life to his law practice which is now very extensive & of a most important character & in addition he has coal interests which are large & profitable. In 1901 Mr. PATTERSON was united in marriage to Miss Susie MCCONNELL, a daughter of E. T. MCCONNELL, an early resident of Clarksville, who has now retired from business & is numbered among the men of affluence of the community. Mr. & Mrs. PATTERSON have become the parents of 2 sons: George O., who is attending college in Clarksville; & Edward Hall, also a college student. Mr. PATTERSON is a democrat in his political views & served as a member of the constitutional convention of the state in 1918. While he has always taken an active part in politics he has never been a candidate for office, but his aid can be counted upon to further all plans & measures for the public good. He belongs to the State Bar Assoc. & fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Elks & the Knights of Pythias. He & his wife are members of the Presbyterian church & Mrs. Patterson is particularly active in the work of the church & its various societies. Wherever they are known-and they have a wide acquaintance throughout the state-they are held in the highest esteem & their interests, broad, varied & important, have brought them into prominent public relations.