James A. Patten was an American grain merchant, capitalist, and philanthropist.
Background
James A. Patten was born on May 8, 1852 in Freeland Corners, DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. He was a first cousin of Simon Nelson Patten. He had no middle name, but used the initial "A" for purpose of euphony. His father, Alexander Robertson Patten, a descendant of William Patten who emigrated to the United States in 1794, was one of a group of hardy Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who moved from Washington County, New York, to Illinois in the 1840's. His mother, Agnes (Beveridge), belonged to this same pioneer community, having come to Illinois in 1842, at the age of thirteen, with her father. Abandoning farming, Alexander Patten took charge of a general store at Sandwich, Illinois, which he ran successfully until his death in 1863. His widow, left to care for a family of five boys of whom James was the eldest, shortly removed to her father's farm. Here James lived until he was seventeen.
Education
In 1869 - 1871 James A. Patten attended the preparatory department of Northwestern University at Evanston.
Career
Returning to Sandwich, James A. Patten worked for a time as clerk in the country store which had been his father's, and then spent a year on the farm of an uncle, John L. Beveridge, at that time governor of Illinois. In 1874 he received an appointment as clerk in the state grain inspection department at Chicago. Here he remained until 1878, when, not wanting to continue longer as a political office holder, he went to work for G. P. Comstock & Company, Chicago grain brokers. He speedily won the confidence of his employers by his ability and his probity, but within two years the firm failed. Patten now went into the cash grain business for himself, taking as partners his brother George and Hiram J. Coon. Soon, however, he joined with his brother in establishing the firm of Patten Brothers. The association of the two in the grain commission business remained unbroken until George Patten's death in 1910.
From 1901 to 1903 James A. Patten was mayor of Evanston. Always clean living and essentially religious, he enjoyed a reputation for integrity and good citizenship in his business and social life. His sound judgment, courage, and common sense made him one of the most capable and successful speculators of his time. In 1903 both brothers became members of the firm of Bartlett, Frazier & Carrington, grain brokers, later Bartlett, Patten & Company. As a member of the Chicago board of trade Patten became widely known. He joined the board in 1882, was elected a director in 1897, president in 1918, and remained a member until his death. His early experience as a cash grain dealer laid the foundation of his success as a speculator in the grain futures market. On several occasions, notably in 1908 and 1909, he succeeded in anticipating crop conditions in corn, oats, and wheat so surely that he held virtual "corners" in all three grains successively. Later he was successful in cornering the cotton market. In connection with this venture he and three others were indicted in 1912 by the federal government for conspiracy.
Patten elected to pay a fine of $4, 000, but the other three fought the case and were acquitted. He always maintained that he did not speculate and that his "corners" were not responsible for unusual increases in the price of grain. He never took a position in the market without first having made a thorough study of supply and demand conditions. In addition to his other responsibilities, Patten had a keen sense of the responsibility that goes with wealth. Impressed by the fact that both his father and his brother had died prematurely because of tuberculosis, he gave $500, 000 to promote the work of the Tuberculosis Institute and founded the Chicago Fresh Air Hospital. He made numerous gifts to small colleges in the middle West, was a generous benefactor of Northwestern University at Evanston, where he made his home, and provided that half of his estate, estimated at fifteen million, should go to charitable institutions upon the death of his widow.
James A. Patten died on December 8, 1928.
Achievements
James A. Patten was the mayor of Evanston (1901 - 1903). He gave $310, 000 to Northwestern University for the construction of the original Patten Gymnasium, which was razed in 1939 to make room for the current Technological Institute. Patten was a director of the Continental and Commercial National Bank, the Chicago Title & Trust Company, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, Peoples Gas, and Commonwealth Edison companies. He gave $500, 000 to promote the work of the Tuberculosis Institute and founded the Chicago Fresh Air Hospital.
Politics
James A. Patten was a member of the Republican party and took a keen interest in local and national politics.
Connections
On April 9, 1885, James A. Patten married Amanda Buchanan of Chicago. They had three children.
