One or two years after his birth his father died and his mother took William to Vermont, where he was raised in Bristol and Middlebury.

His success at creating and finding household uses for these compounds made Wells, Richardson one of the country's leading producers of them, and Van Patten became wealthy as a result.

[2] Van Patten was president of the Champlain Manufacturing Company, which produced blinds, doors and sashes.

Van Patten also spent extensively of his personal funds to beautify the city, including projects such as planting trees and shrubs in rights of way, and the creation of Ethan Allen Park.

[8][9] Interested in history and genealogy, Van Patten was also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution.