LUTHER PATTEN, who is numbered among the prominent farmers of Curry township, was born in Fairbanks township of Sullivan county. October 28, 1866, a son of Milton and a grandson of Miles and Elizabeth (Bundy) Patten, who were prominent early residents of Fairbanks township. Miles Patten was a life-long tiller of the soil, and he came from Ohio to this section of Indiana in an early day in its history.
Milton Patten, their son, was born in Fairbanks township, January 15, 1843, and after attaining to years of maturity on his father's farm and receiving a common school education in the schools of the neighborhood he, in the spring of 1866, bought twenty acres of land and farmed it for three years. Selling the land then he bought forty acres near by, but after ten years on that place sold the land and bought the one hundred and sixty acres in Curry township which he yet owns and lives upon. He married Anna Dilley, but she died in March of 1880, leaving four children: Luther, who is mentioned later; Della Taylor, a resident of Curry township; Ora E., who married Hud Hill and lives in Shelburn; and Annie Drake, of Fairbanks township. The father was a second time married, wedding Mrs. Lucy (Clark) Hopewell, a daughter of Hamilton and Nancy (All) Clark, who were born in Kentucky. By her first marriage to Sedley M. Hopewell, Mrs. Patten had two children, Sedley M. and Arthur, the latter residing in Farmersburg. Mr. Hopewell was a native son of Sullivan county and one of its life-long farmers, his death occurring here in May of 1880. Mrs. Patten was born September 16, 1848, and both she and her husband are members of the Christian church, and he is a Democrat in politics.
Luther Patten remained at home until his marriage, February 19, 1888, to his step-sister, Nancy Hopewell, who was born November 5, 1869, to Sedley and Lucy Hopewell, and during the first year following their marriage the young couple lived at home. During the two subsequent years they farmed on rented land in Curry township, and Mr. Patten then built on forty acres which belonged to his wife, and that was their home for twelve years. In 1904 they sold their forty-acre tract and bought their present homestead of one hundred acres, located three miles southwest of Farmersburg, and the estate now contains one hundred and twenty-six acres. Mr. Patten carries on both general farming and stock raising.
The three children born of this union are: Ira M., bom May 27, 1890, is attending the high school at Farmersburg: Ruth, born February 9, 1897, is a pupil in the public schools; and Esther, born March 14, 1903. Mr. Patten is a Democrat in his political views, and the family are members of the Church of Christ, in which he is serving as a trustee.