Patterson, Edith McClure, 1881-1962

Edith McClure Patterson was born June 23, 1881, in Greene County, Ohio. Edith McClure Patterson was the niece (by marriage) of John H. Patterson, founder of National Cash Register (NCR). She was a graduate of Steele High School (Dayton, Ohio) and Lassell Junior College and attended the Boston School of Social Services and the University of Chicago Teachers College. In 1934, she graduated from the University of Dayton. She was married to John Johnston Patterson who held a position with his uncle, John H. Patterson, at NCR. (John J. Patterson died June 20, 1941.) They had one son, John McClure Patterson.

Mrs. Patterson served as president of the Dayton Board of Education from 1930-1935. In 1935, she resigned from the board to accept an appointment to the Ohio Board of Liquor Control. She was the first woman commissioner on the state's liquor control authority and served in that capacity until 1939. Mrs. Patterson was the first Republican woman to run for Congress (1932).

Active with welfare and education work for NCR from 1917 to 1933, she traveled widely in a study of schools and as a lecturer. During World War I, she gained recognition for her work in founding an education program for rehabilitation of soldiers, and in 1921, she conducted a survey in Europe for the federal board of vocational education. In 1925, she created and directed the first school for adult women in industry in America.

Mrs. Patterson made a life-long study of problems affecting the home and children, and, through her interest in women's affairs, became nationally prominent in women's club work. A recognized leader in budgetary control and home management, she was chairperson of the budget committee of the National Federation of Women's Clubs.

Mrs. Patterson died on November 1, 1962. She is buried in the Patterson's family plot in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.

From the guide to the Edith McClure Patterson Papers, 1920-1959, 1920-1935, (Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives)