Pioneers of Ellis County James M. Patterson   James M. Patterson, a successful farmer of Ellis County, was born in Hempstead County, Arkansas, November 23, 1844, a son of Joe and Martha J. Patterson, also natives of Arkansas. The paternal grandfather moved from Tennessee to Arkansas when that State was still a Territory, where he remained until death. Joe Patterson was a carpenter and millwright and followed those occupations until the outbreak of the war. He is still living on his homestead three miles west of Waxahachie, which he purchased in 1854. His wife died July 27, 1867. Mr. And Mrs. Patterson had nine children.: J. M., Tilman L., (lives Louisiana); D. C., (lives Waxahachie); Lucy J., (died 1881, married of H. D. Edwards); W. T., (died 1881);  Annie E., and M. S., (at home); L. J., (lives Waxahachie) and N. M.,  (lives California). James M. Patterson  came to Ellis County, Texas in 1854, at the age of nine years, where he was reared to farm life and educated in the common schools. He remained at home until the war, when he enlisted in Company A, Nineteenth Texas Cavalry, and served in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. He was in Banks' raid from New Orleans to Shreveport, was in many skirmishes in Arkansas, and afterward retreated to Texas, remaining near Calvert until the close of the war. Mr. Patterson then returned home, where he worked  as a carpenter and farmer with his father until 1868, when he was in the freighting business. . The next year he rented land, and two years later bought a small tract, built a cabin, and fenced a few acres. From time to time he has added to this place until he now owns 540 acres, all of which is fenced, and about 400 acres are in cultivation. He farms 125 acres, and the remainder is operated by tenants. Mr. Patterson was married in 1869 to Miss Martha J. Brack, (born in Mississippi May, 1850, a daughter of Judge E. M. & Lucy P. (Sims) Brack). Judge Brack was reared in Tennessee, moved to Mississippi, and in 1850  moved to Dallas County, Texas.  In 1859 he moved to Ellis County where he served as County Judge, County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace for  many years. He was liberal in all enterprises, helping to build chirches, schools, etc. . He died November 1, 1888, and his first wife departed this life in 1883. Mr. & Mrs. Patterson had five children, viz.: George W., born April 9, 1870; Richard J., in May, 1874; Anna M., who died at the age of eighteen months; Josiah E., born March 9, 1881; Henry C., June 17, 1884, and Dora L., in November, 1886. Mr. Patterson is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and is a trustee and steward in the Methodist Church, of which church his wife and two sons are also members. [Memorial & Biographical History of Ellis County, Chicago,  pub. 1892]   Copyright © 2003-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Monday, 10-Sep-2018 10:23:11 MDT