Stuart Hayt Patterson was born on 12 February 1871 in New York City, and grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey. He worked as a cowhand and lawman in Texas during the early 1890s. In 1893, Patterson befriended Ernest Thompson Seton while they were both working for the rancher L. V. F. Randolph, and the two remained lifelong friends. According to correspondence in the collection, the composite character of "the Dude" from Seton's autobiography, Trail of an Artist-Naturalist, was based in part on Patterson. Patterson returned to New York in 1894, and worked as an accountant and businessman, retiring as Vice President and Comptroller of the Guaranty Trust Company in 1940. He went on to write a memoir, which was never published, chronicling his time in the Southwest and his experiences with Seton.
From the guide to the Stuart H. Patterson papers, circa 1880-1963, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
