| Birth: | Sep. 9, 1848
Wauwatosa
Milwaukee County
Wisconsin, USA | | Death: | Feb. 13, 1920
New York
New York County
New York, USA | 
"Free Press" Burlington, Vermont - February 14, 1920:
WILLIAM J. VAN PATTEN DIES IN NEW YORK - One of Burlington's Most Prominent Citizens and Greatest Benefactors Succumbs After Brief Illness Following a Cold Contacted on Business Trip -
The Hon. William J. Van Patten, one of Burlington's most prominent citizens, ex-mayor and one of the city's greatest benefactors, died last evening at 10:10 o'clock in New York City after a brief illness. His death occurred at the home of his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Charles S. Van Patten, after an illness of only a few days duration, his condition not becoming critical until yesterday morning.
Mr. Van Patten went on business to Boston last week Tuesday and in going on to New York on Thursday, during the severe blizzard, with his train many hours late, caught cold. He was about the next day, however, but on Saturday had to take to his bed. His cold aggravated an old trouble and during Thursday night he became suddenly worse, beginning rapidly to fail yesterday afternoon. His daughter, Miss Elizabeth Van Patten, went to New York to care for him.
The body will leave New York City this evening, arriving here to-morrow morning, and announcement of funeral services will be made later.
Mr. Van Patten was born at Wauwatosa, Wis., September 9, 1848, the son of William H. and Mary (Vanderpool) Van Patten. He came to Burlington to live in 1864. and married Miss Harriet Lemon ten years later.
Mr. Van Patten's notable career, his business enterprises, and his many charitable activities and associations will be dealt with in a review of his life, to be published on Monday morning."
"The News" Burlington, Vermont - February 14, 1920:
W. J. VAN PATTEN DIES IN NEW YORK -
Succumbs After Short Illness - One of Burlington's Greatest Benefactors. -
The Hon. William J. Van Patten, one of the leading citizens of this city died last evening at 10:10 o'clock at the home of his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Charles Van Patten, in New York City.
Going from Boston to New York on Thursday his train was delayed for a number of hours in the blizzard with the result that Mr. Van Patten caught a severe cold which gradually grew worse and worse.
His condition yesterday morning became alarming and yesterday afternoon he was reported as being in a very critical condition. The news of his death came late last evening.
William J. Van Patten was born in Wauwatosa, Wis., September 9, 1848, the son of William H. and Mary (Vanderpool) Van Patten. He was educated at the public schools and at Bristol Academy. In 1874 he was married to Harriet Lemon of this city who survives him to whom three children were born and of whom one survives, Elizabeth P., of this city.
Mr. Van Patten came to Burlington in 1864 and was in the retail drug trade with A. C. Spear for four years. In 1868, he became connected with the wholesale drug house of Henry and Company. In 1872 he became a partner in the firm of Wells, Richardson & Co., later being made secretary and still later, treasurer of that company.
Mr. Van Patten held many offices of importance in the city having been president of the Champlain Manufacturing company; president of the Malted Cereals Co., director of the Queen City Cotton Co., and president of the Burlington Building and Loan Association.
He was actively interested in the municipal affairs of the city having been mayor in 1894-5. In 1906 he was state senator from Chittenden county. He had been from 1903 to 1911, chairman of the Board of Park Commissioners; chairman of the board of cemetery commissioners from 1898-1911; a trustee of the Fletcher Free Library and of the Mary Fletcher Hospital; president of the Forestry Association of Vermont for two years. He had long been a member of the First Congregational Church. He had been president of the Y.M.C.A., and a director of it for years. He had been a president of the United Society Christian Endeavor for four years; director of the National Brotherhood of Congregational church and World's Christian Endeavor Union. He was president of the Burlington Commercial Club for two years; a member of the Algonquin Club; of the Vermont Fish and Game League; Vermont Society, Sons of the American Revolution and the Society of Colonial Wars in Vermont.
In recent years he had been actively engaged in the Malted Cereals company of which he was president and manager.
The body will be brought here from New York tomorrow for burial."
"Free Press" Burlington, Vermont - February 16, 1920:
LED ALL OTHERS IN GIFTS TO GOOD CAUSES
William J. Van Patten, Burlington's Greatest Benefactor and a Leader in Developing Advantages Which Made Queen City a Unique Place for Home -
The body of the Hon. William J. Van Patten, whose death occurred in New York City late Friday night after a brief illness, arrived in this city yesterday morning, accompanied by his daughter Miss Elizabeth Van Patten, and his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Charles S. Van Patten. The body was taken to his residence at 433 South Union street.
The funeral services will be held at the First Church to-morrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock and the interment will be made in the family lot at Lake View cemetery. The body will be taken to the First Church to-morrow to lie in state from 12:30 until 1:30 o'clock.
Without question no man in Burlington, from the earliest days of its settlement down to the present, ever gave so muich to good causes as William J. Van Patten. He actually gave away more than any other man had ever given, and where his money went his heart and thought and influence also went. He was a leader in developing all those advantages which made Burlington unique as a place to live in among cities of its size.
The story of his life is a kind of modern fairy tale; a story of dreams come true such as could only have happened in America. It is the story of a boy who came to Burlington with a dollar in his pocket, whose enterprise and resource were determining factors in the upbuilding of a fabulously lucrative business, whose natural goodness caused him to turn back practically all of his gains for the benefit of his fellow men. In other countries men rise by ability to great heights, but the kind of self-effacing devotion to the public welfare which found expression in the life of Mr. Van Patten is absolutely unknown outside of America.
Mr. Van Patten was by nature a remarkably conscientious man. The old farmer with whom he lived as a boy in Bristol, Vt., said: "When he brought in the cows, I always knew that all the bars would be put back up as they should be." He was by nature a pioneer. A. C. Spear, Burlington's old druggist, with whom he served his apprenticeship, used to say that he was always studying and learning about new things.
This pioneering quality co-operating with the wonderful salesmanship of Mr. Richardson and the judgement of the Wells brothers made a business team which was hard to equal, and resulted in the development of a business of world-wide influence. Mr. Van Patten took up the idea of aniline dyes which had been recently discovered in England, and beat the world in producing the best dyes for household use. He and his associates introduced the manufacture of milk-sugar into this country. He was a pioneer in the production of condensed milk. First and last, he probably has started here or brought here more industries than any other man.
Though Mr. Van Patten's business career was remarkable, it was his personality that people loved. He was as unassuming and friendly in the days of his greatest success as the humblest citizen. The silly swagger, the feeling that they must act rich which wealth reveals in lesser men, was absolutely foreign to his nature. The only way in which he desired to act rich was by giving grandly. The only way in which he cared to assert his leadership was by working harder than anyone else in every good cause.
It would be impossible to sum up all that Mr. Van Patten did for the people of Burlington. Probably few of his fellow citizens ever knew of a tenth part of his labors in their behalf. As mayor of the city, in 1894 and 1895, he put not only his unusual energy and ability into the work, but also his fortune. He introduced the paid fire department at that time, saying to the people of Burlington: "If after a year's trial you find that you do not want the chemical engine, I will take it off your hands personally." He went to great personal expense in setting out trees and shrubbery to beautify the streets and parks of the city. He backed anything that tended to promote the health and happiness of the people of Burlington, particularly of the poorer people, regardless of expense.
Even in those days before the coming of the automobile had made good roads the burning issue of the present day, he gave studious attention to this subject, and was instrumental in procuring for the city its first permanent roads, which also were the best roads that we have ever had. Through his efforts an expert in road construction was induced to come to this city, and make a thorough investigation of our road problems, whose report remains to this day the authority on the best sources of road material in and around Burlington. If the start then made had been followed, the city would have been saved thousands of dollars wasted in the attempt to build our roads from crumbling sandstone, which, as then pointed out, was worthless as road material.
For many years it was his great joy to plan and labor for the upkeep and improvement of the parks of the city. Ethan Allen Park, which is said to be the most beautiful and extensive out-of-door play-ground possessed by any city of this size in the world, was his gift to the people of Burlington. The new bathing beach was his plan. He made himself an expert on matters pertaining to public parks in order that he might serve the city better as park commissioner. Year after year he served the city in this capacity, giving to the parks of the city the same kind of personal attention that a man gives his own garden.
Mr. Van Patten was a thorough student of the principles of municipal government. Long after his term as mayor had expired he kept in touch with the theories of the best thinkers along these lines, and succeeded in having embodied in the city charter many features which at the time of their enactment were decidedly advanced.
He was in the lead in all kinds of good movements, not only locally, but in a national way. When the idea of appealing to the better side of young men through physical betterment swept over the country in the Y.M.C.A. movement, Mr. Van Patten was one of the national leaders. From 1882 until 1889 he was national president of that great organization. It was through his untiring efforts and the generosity of his support that the local Y.M.C.A. secured the fine building in which it is housed. When the Christian Endeavor movement was at its height, he was national president of that organization. for almost half a century he gave the deepest and best that was in him to the old First Congregational Church, of which he was a member.
He purchased and turned over for public service the fine old mansion on lower College street, which is now known as the Blue Triangle House. He has been for many years president of the Kurn Hattin Home at Westminister, Vt., for the care and training of indigent children, from the time of its founding in 1894, and has supported it with generous donations. For many years he has been a trustee of the Fletcher Free Library. He was instrumental in procuring legislation providing for the founding of building and loan associations, and was a director in the local association from the time of its formation until his death.
It would be impossible to enumerate even a small part of Mr. Van Patten's good works. He lived a long life, which was as full of good deeds as his remarkable energy and capacity for keeping busy could make it. Many were his unrecorded acts of generosity which helped a boy get an education or started some young man in business.
Perhaps he revealed the secret of his career when he told a friend that when he was a young man there were so many things which he wanted and could not have that he intended to do all that one man could toward securing those advantages for young men of coming generations. One of our older and more successful businessmen once said: "Take him all in all, Mr. Van Patten is the best man I ever knew. If he ever made a mistake in his life, it was in trying to help somebody."
"Free Press" Burlington, Vermont - February 18, 1920:
LAST TRIBUTE PAID TO W. J. VAN PATTEN -
Large and Representative Gathering Attend Funeral Services at First Church - Some of His Traits of Character Referred to in Pastor's Sermon -
The funeral services of the Hon. William J. Van Patten were held yesterday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the First Church in the presence of a large gathering, a gathering representative of the many activities of Mr. Van Patten's life. The Rev. C. C. Adams, pastor of the church, paid a touching tribute to the memory of one of Burlington's great benefactors, and the Rev. E. G. Guthrie, a former pastor, made the prayer. Services for the family were held yesterday morning at 11:30 o'clock at the residence, conducted by the Rev. Mr. Adams, and at 12:30 the body was taken to the church to lie in state until 1:30 o'clock.
The honorary bearers were: Dean G. H. Perkins of the University of Vermont, C. P. Smith, W. B. Howe, Howard Crane, the Rev. S. G. Barnes, D. D., Prof. Evan Thomas, C. P. Cowles and C. E. Barclay of Boston. The body bearers were: Byron N. Clark, F. L. North, W. H. Wood, George D. Smith, C. L. Smith and Dr. T. S. Brown.
Preceding the service, Miss Nash, at the organ, played the following: The Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony; the Prelude in D flat, Chopin; Andante Cantabile, Tsckaikowsky; Adagio, Reinecks; Marche Funebre, Chopin; and the following hymns, "Abide With Me," "Lead, Kindly Light," "Peace, Perfect Peace," and "My Jesus As Thou Wilt." As the body was borne from the church "For All Thy Saints Who From Their Labors Rest" was played.
The officials of the city government attended in a body, as did also the employes of the Malted Cereal company; the trustees, the medical staff, and nurses of the Mary Fletcher hospital; the Y.M.C.A. officers and the Ladies' Auxiliary to the Y.M.C.A.; the Fletcher Free Library staff; the Vermont Society of Colonial Wars; the Sons of the American Revolution; and the Merchants' Association."
..........
"Interment at Lake View
The interment was made in the family lot at Lake View cemetery, the Rev. Mr. Guthrie conducting the service at the grave. There was a profusion of beautiful flowers."
"Memoriam" adopted by the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Vermont - February 21, 1920:
"In Memoriam
The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Vermont, assembled for the twenty-sixth General Court, 21 February, 1920, unanimously adopted these resolutions on the death of
William James Van Patten
which occurred in New York City, on 13 February, 1920, while he was on a business trip.
Mr. Van Patten became a member of this Society on 22 February, 1897, in right of descent from John Douglas, who was in Lieutenant Sharpe's Company, at Albany, N.Y. in 1689. He was also on duty guarding the frontiers near Albany, from November, 1697, to May, 1698, under Col. Richard Ingolsby.
He had held many offices in the Society. He was a member of the Committee on Installation 1899-1900; of the Committee on Historical Documents from 1901 to 1906; Gentleman of the Council from 1899 to 1901, and from 1906 to 1908; Chaplain 1904-1905; Lieutenant Governor 1910; Deputy Governor 1911; Governor 1912; Delegate to the General Assembly 1915 and 1916. In each of these offices he gave effective service, because of his interest in true patriotism.
Mr. Van Patten was one of the leading men of Vermont. As a citizen, businessman, public official, philanthropist, and Christian worker, he occupied a unique position in the life of the State, which he loved so sincerely, and to whose best welfare he devoted his time, his service, and his means, without limit.
He was deeply interested in the work of the Church, Sunday School, Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor, Young Men's Christian Association, Kurn Hattin Home, Mary Fletcher Hospital, Vermont State Board of Charities, Vermont Anti-Saloon League, Fletcher Free Library, various Patriotic Societies, and many other organizations which are working for the benefit of humanity. His work as Mayor of Burlington, Senator from Chittenden County, and in other public offices, was always conscientiously done, and with a view to the best interests of all.
While he did not leave a large fortune, for he had given away fortunes for the building up of humanity, he did have much greater possessions than most men. He was rich in what he gave away, and in the rewards which came to him - results which appeared in the lives of those whom he was glad to serve.
We extend to Mrs. Van Patten and family the heartfelt sympathy of the members of this Society, in their great sorrow. We mourn, with them, the loss of a loyal friend, a truly public-spirited citizen, a genuine Christian gentleman.
Byron Nathaniel Clark,
Merritt Darrow Chittenden,
Joseph Lawrence Hills,
Committee on Resolutions."
Inscription:
WILLIAM JAMES
VAN PATTEN
Sept. 9, 1848
Feb. 13. 1920
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Father
| | | Burial:
Lakeview Cemetery
Burlington
Chittenden County
Vermont, USA
Plot: Section: Pine Grove 2 - Lots: 7-8 |
Created by: Chazmanbsr
Record added: Aug 07, 2008
Find A Grave Memorial# 28843682 |
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