Frederick Patterson

[1][2] His siblings were Mary, Catherine "Kate", Dollie, and his younger brother Samuel C.[3][1] Their father was a former slave who had left to Greenfield, Ohio from Virginia shortly before the American Civil War.

[4][5] After getting established as a blacksmith in town, Charles married Josephine Utz, a young local mulatto woman of German descent.

[6] He withdrew from college in his senior year before graduating, taking a job as a high school history teacher in Louisville, Kentucky.

[9] After producing somewhere between 30 and 150 vehicles, he had difficulty getting financing for expansion, Patterson decided to change his business rather than compete head on with the major Detroit industry.

[9] The Great Depression had a devastating effect on his company, as widespread financial problems caused his customers to cut back on bus orders.

[citation needed] At a time of a rise in fraternal organizations, he joined the Freemasons, where he rose to the level of Worshipful Master of the Greenfield Cedar Grove Masonic Lodge#17.[when?

[citation needed] As a delegate and an African-American businessman, he was important to the Warren G. Harding 1920 campaign in turning out the Ohio black vote.