Charles Richard Patterson

Charles "Rich" Richard Patterson (1833 – 1910) was an African-American carriage manufacturer, entrepreneur and civil rights activist, he founded precursor companies to C.R. Patterson and Sons.[1][2][3]

Charles Richard Patterson
BornApril 1833
Virginia, US
DiedApril 26, 1910
Greenfield, Ohio, US
Other namesC.R. Patterson, Rich Patterson
OccupationCarriage manufacture and design
EmployerC.R. Patterson and Sons
Known forEarly African-American manufacturer and entrepreneur, civil rights activist
Children5, including Frederick

Early life

Patterson had been born in April 1833 as a slave on a Virginia plantation.[1][4][5] His parents were Charles and Nancy Patterson, Charles was the oldest of the thirteen children.[6][2] There are conflicting stories on how he left the plantation, he ended up living in Greenfield, Ohio, which was also the site of an underground railroad station.[1][5] It is thought he left Virginia right before the American Civil War in 1861.[6]

In c.1865, he married Josephine Utz (aka Outz, and Qutz), a mulatto woman of German decent.[6] Together they had five children, Mary (1866), Frederick "Fred" Douglas (1871), Dorothea "Dollie" (c.1871), Samuel C. (1873), and Catherine "Kate" (1879).[6]

Career

He initially worked at Dines and Simpson Carriage and Coach Makers Company, and learned blacksmithing.[7] Charles Patterson later worked as a foreman for a local, carriage making company, J. P. Lowe & Company. He formed a partnership with his boss, carriage maker James P. Lowe (J. P. Lowe), a white man, but the business maintained the name J. P. Lowe & Company (circa 1888).[1][3]

In 1880, he served as a trustee of the Greenfield African Methodist Episcopal Church (Greenfield A.M.E. Church) and served as a Sunday school teacher.[2] When his oldest son Fred was not allowed to attend the public high school due to racial segregation, Charles file a court case, Patterson vs The Board of Education, in Highland County Court of Common Pleas with the help of Rev. James A. Shorter of his church.[2][8] The verdict came in April 1887, and Patterson was allowed to attend the public school Greenfield High School.[2]

In 1893, Charles Patterson bought out the remaining shares of the J. P. Lowe & Company company and the name was changed to C.R. Patterson, Son & Company, to mark the inclusion of his son Samuel to the business.[3] Samuel C. Patterson fell ill in 1897, and died in 1899.[3] His eldest son Frederick Douglas Patterson moved home to help with the business.[9]

After Charles R. Patterson's death in April 26, 1910, his son Frederick Douglas Patterson took over the carriage business and decided they needed to get into the "Patterson horseless carriage" business.[10][11]

References
  1. "Charles R. Patterson, Inventor born". African American Registry. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  2. "The Patterson Automobile". Historical Society of Greenfield, Ohio. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  3. Berk, Brett (2019-02-15). "The Only African American Automaker Started as a Coachbuilder". Car and Driver. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  4. Images of America, Greenfield. The Historical Society of Greenfield. Arcadia Publishing. 2012. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7385-8873-5.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. "C.R. Patterson and Sons: The First and Only African-American Automobile Company". Your AAA Network. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  6. Theobald, Mark (2004). "Greenfield Bus Body Co., C.R. Patterson & Sons, Peterson-Greenfield, J.P. Lowe & Co., Frederick D. Patterson, Charles R. Peterson, Black Auto Mfr". Coachbult.com. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  7. "The Only African American Automobile Company". National Museum of African American History and Culture. Smithsonian. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  8. Schmidt, Harold. "State of Ohio on relation of C. R. Patterson vs The Board of Education of the Incorporated Village of Greenfield, Ohio, and W. G. Moler as Superintendent" (PDF). Greenfield Historical Society.
  9. Koniki, Steve (21 March 1976). "Better then the Model T". Newspapers.com. Dayton Daily News. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  10. "Charles R. Patterson, Inventor born". African American Registry. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  11. Wolny, Philip (2017-07-15). African American Entrepreneurs: Stories of Success. Lucent Library of Black History. Greenhaven Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-5345-6079-6.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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