Ernest O. Patterson Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1121-1122 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				ERNEST O. PATTERSON. 

	Ernest O. Patterson, an attorney of Dallas, practicing at the 
Gregory county bar, was born in Greenfield, Iowa, October 5, 1874, a 
son of Daniel A. and Margaret J. (Priddy) Patterson. The father was a 
farmer and stock-raiser who in 1908 came to South Dakota, settling in 
Dallas, where his remaining days were passed, his death occurring in 
June, 1912. His widow, however, still survives. 

	Ernest O. Patterson supplemented a public-school education by 
study in the State University of Iowa and then returned to Greenfield, 
Iowa, where at the early age of twenty two years he was elected sheriff 
of Adair county, serving in that capacity for two years. At the 
outbreak of the Philippine war he volunteered for service and became a 
member of the Fifty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served 
for one year. Later he was employed in the office of Governor Shaw of 
Iowa and remained with Governor Cummins when that gentleman was made 
chief executive. In 1904 he went to Washington and pursued his law 
course in the Washington National University of the District of 
Columbia, being admitted to the bar there in 1906, while in 1908 he was 
admitted to practice before the supreme court of the United States. As 
an attorney he occupied a position in the office of the secretary of 
the interior for four years and then came to South Dakota in September, 
1908, entering upon the general practice of law at Dallas. He is today 
one of the best known attorneys of the state, with also a wide 
acquaintance outside of the state. He aided in drawing up the 
regulations for the opening of the Rosebud reservation and many 
important professional acts of his career have made him widely known. 
He has been very successful in practice, owing to his thorough 
preparation, his comprehensive familiarity with the principles of 
jurisprudence and the able manner in which he prepares each specific 
case given over to his charge. In other connections, too, he has won 
success and he is now a director and stockholder of the Western 
Townsite Company and is the owner of much farm land in western South 
Dakota. 

	On the 30th of July, 1912, Mr. Patterson was united in marriage 
to Miss Dawn Smith, a daughter of Joel B. and Ida L. (Eby) Smith, of 
Adair county, Iowa. 

	Mr. Patterson has attained high rank in Masonry, being a member 
of Yankton Consistory, and he belongs also to the Knights of Pythias. 
In polities he is a republican and recognition of his ability and 
public-spirited citizenship came in his election to the office of state 
senator in 1912. He is an enthusiastic advocate of South Dakota and its 
opportunities particularly of the Rosebud, where his efforts have been 
a direct and effective force in promoting that substantial progress 
which has not only immediate effect but constitutes an element in the 
continued development of the state.