Alexander E. Patterson
Alexander Evans Patterson (June 23, 1887 – September 10, 1948) was an American insurance executive who served as president of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. He was the grandson of U.S. Senator John J. Patterson.
Early life[edit]
Patterson was born in Washington, D.C., on June 23, 1887. He was a son of attorney William H. Patterson (1856–1908) and Georgie Anna (née Evans) Patterson (1856–1923), who later moved to Battle Creek, Michigan,[1] and his elder brother was William Hart Patterson,[2] a "pioneer in the development of high-speed electric elevators and perfection of automatic control for elevators."[3] His paternal grandparents were U.S. Senator John James Patterson and Lucretia (née Moore) Patterson.[4]
He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.[5]
Career[edit]
Patterson began his career at the Equitable Life Assurance Society of Pittsburgh. During World War I, he served overseas as a major in the field infantry with the 79th Division. After the War, he returned to the Pittsburgh office of Equitable before being transferred to New YOrk City in 1922 to establish a new agency there. In 1925 he moved to Chicago to lead Equitable's largest agency there. In 1928 he joined Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company as general agent for Chicago and the State of Illinois. In 1937 he was made vice president of Penn Mutual.[5]
He joined the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York in 1941, resigning as vice president of Penn Mutual of Philadelphia.[6] He was made executive vice president in January 1942 and was elected to the board of trustees of Mutual Life in February 1942.[7] In 1947, Patterson was elected president of Mutual Life to succeed Lewis Williams Douglas, who had been appointed as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom by President Harry S. Truman.[8] While president, he initiated the construction of the Mutual of New York Building at 1740 Broadway, which was completed in 1950 after his death.[9]
Patterson served four years as an officer and trustee of the National Association of Life Underwriters before being elected vice president and then president in 1936. IN 1939 he was named chairman of the Association of Life Agency Officers. He also served as a trustee of Roosevelt Hospital in New York, a director of the New York chapter of the American Red Cross and was a national trustee of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[5]
Personal life[edit]
In 1920, Patterson was married to Eleanor Morgan (1895–1999), a daughter of Henry G. Morgan and Rhoda (née Price) Morgan.[10] Together, they lived at 455 East 57th Street in Manhattan and had a summer home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Together, they were the parents of two children, Alexander E. Patterson Jr. and Portia Coxe Patterson (who married Robert H. Westerfield).[1][11]
Patterson died of heart attack in East Orange, New Jersey while visiting his grandnephew, Rolon Reed, a patient in East Orange General Hospital on September 10, 1948.[5] His funeral was held at St. James' Episcopal Church in Manhattan.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "PORTIA PATTERSON BECOMES FIANCE Vassar Alumna Is Betrothed to Lieut. (j.g.) Robert H. Westerfield of Navy". The New York Times. 31 January 1954. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ Miller, Darlis A. (2007). Matilda Coxe Stevenson: Pioneering Anthropologist. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 3, 104. ISBN 978-0-8061-3832-9. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "WILLIAM H. PATTERSON; Pioneer in Developing Electric Elevators of High Speed". The New York Times. 17 November 1944. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Ex-Senator John J. Patterson". The New York Times. 29 September 1912. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d "A. PATTERSON DIES; MUTUAL LIFE HEAD; President of Company Since Last Year Had Been in Field for More Than 30 Years". The New York Times. 12 September 1948. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Official of Penn Mutual Life Shifts to Mutual Life Company; A.E. Patterson to Keep Title of Vice President in His New Post -- E.G. Johnson His Successor Put in Charge of Agencies". The New York Times. 12 June 1941. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Executive Vice President Named by Mutual Life". The New York Times. 13 January 1942. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "GREATER SAVINGS URGED; Mutual Life President Stresses Need for More Investment". The New York Times. 2 January 1948. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "NEW HOME OFFICE FOR MUTUAL LIFE; 11-Story Structure Is Planned for Broadway Blockfront at 55th and 56th Sts". The New York Times. 18 May 1948. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths PATTERSON, ELEANOR MORGAN". The New York Times. 14 February 1999. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "MISS PATTERSON IS MARRIED HERE; Gowned in Ivory Satin To Wedding to R. H. Westerfield at St. Bartholomew's". The New York Times. 19 June 1954. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "FINAL TRIBUTE PAID TO A. E. PATERSON; Leaders in Banking, Insurance Worlds at Rites for Head of Mutual Life Co". The New York Times. 15 September 1948. Retrieved 18 March 2022.