Thomas MacDonald Patterson, who was a native of Carlow, Ireland, was elected in 1877 to serve as a United States Congressman for the state of Colorado. He was later elected to serve as Senator for the same state. Patterson was also a lawyer and newspaper publisher.
Thomas MacDonald Patterson was born in Carlow on November 4th 1839. His father James was a watch repairer. In 1848 when Thomas was nine years old James Patterson and his wife Margaret moved to New York with their daughter and two sons. The Patterson family lived for a time on Long Island before moving to Crawfordsville, Indiana in 1853 where James began a business repairing watches.
At the age of fourteen Thomas Patterson began working as a printer, at first in Crawfordsville but later in Indianapolis. In April 1861 he enlisted with his brother James to serve in the Union Army at the start of the American Civil War. When he had completed service he studied law and passed the bar examination in 1870.
In 1872 Patterson moved to Denver, Colorado where he practiced as a lawyer. He was appointed City attorney of Denver in 1873 and 1874. At that time Colorado was not yet a state of the Union. Patterson, having become involved politics, was elected delegate for the Colorado Territory in 1875. When the Territory became a State he served as Congressman for Colorado from 1877 to 1879. After his time as a Congressman, Patterson returned to the practice of the law. In 1890 he purchased the Rocky Mountain News which was then a daily newspaper and the oldest in Colorado.
Patterson later returned to politics. He was elected to the United States Senate and served there from 1901 to 1907. He did not stand for re-election as a senator but stood twice for election as Governor of the State of Colorado. He was unsuccessful on both occasions. Patterson continued to practice law and publish the Rocky Mountain News until his death.
Thomas Macdonald Patterson, American politician, lawyer and publisher who was a native of Carlow, Ireland died in Denver, Colorado, at the age of 76, in the year 1916 On This Day.
Thomas MacDonald Patterson
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