James G. Patterson (Yazoo County)

James G. Patterson

State House: 1874-1875

Died: October 20, 1875

Teacher. Served on the house committees for public lands and benevolent institutions. Lynched by whites in October of 1875. According to articles about the murder, he was from Ohio, and his last request was for the money in his pockets to be sent to his sisters there.

“The hanging of Patterson has attracted some notice beyond the borders of Yazoo. He was my friend, an intelligent, cultivated, orderly, peace-loving man. He was one of the three members from our county in the State House of Representatives. I knew him personally and well. I never heard him use profane or vulgar language. His habits were exceptionally good. I never knew or heard that he used intoxicating liquors. It is said that as chairman of the Republican club in his neighborhood in former campaigns, he had made arrangements, regardless of the threats of the enemy, for a Republican meeting.”
(Albert T. Morgan, Yazoo; Or, on the Picket Line of Freedom, 1884)

Links:
Senate testimony about the murder of James Patterson (search the Google book for "Patterson" to find all references)