 Patterson engaged in the manufacture of fanning mills in Genesee County until 1825 when he settled in Leicester, Livingston County, New York and engaged in agricultural pursuits and the manufacture of farming implements.He was commissioner of highways of Leicester, and a justice of the peace.He served as a member of the New York State Assembly from Livingston County in 1832, 1833, and from 1835 to 1840; Patterson was Speaker in 1839 and 1840.