Anna Patterson

Anna Patterson was listed as Marengo Public Library’s librarian in the 1916-1917 Iowa State Gazetteer. She was around 46 years old when she took the post and married in 1917 at the age of 47.[1]  Prior to serving as the librarian, it appears that Patterson was living and working on her parent’s farm.[2]   Patterson’s highest level of education was three years of high school in 1900.[3]

Anna Patterson was born to Hamilton E. Patterson and Caroline Patterson in approximately 1870 and lived until about 1950.[4]  Her father was born in Ireland and her mother was born in Switzerland.[5]  Her siblings were George, Mary A., Ida C., and Willie T.[6]  Patterson married Cassius Zimmerman in Marengo on June 28, 1917.[7]  It was Zimmerman’s second marriage and Patterson’s first.  In 1930, the couple lived at 506 Adams in Marengo.[8]  Cassius Zimmerman died in 1938, and Anna Zimmerman moved to Wichita, KS between the 1930 and 1940 census.[9]  It is likely that Anna lived with her sister, Mary Alice Patterson, in Wichita following Cassius’ death.[10]

-Alicia Henle

[1] While the Iowa State Gazetteers from 1918-1921 were not available at the State Historical Society in Iowa City, Iowa, it can be assumed that she left her post upon marrying Cassius Zimmerman.

[2]  Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600-Current: Anna Eliza Patterson Zimmerman, [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.; Patterson Zimmerman’s grave can be found in the I.O.O.F. cemetery in Marengo.

[5] Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[6] The History of Iowa County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & Biographical Sketches of its Citizens, War Record of its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early and Prominent Men, History of the Northwest, History of Iowa, Map of Iowa County, Constitution of Iowa, Miscellaneous Matters, &, Des Moines, IA, Union Historical Company, (Des Moines: Birdsall, Williams & co., 1881), p. 533.

[7] Ancestry.com, Iowa, Marriage Records, 1880-1940 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.

[8] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[9] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

[10] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600-Current: Mary Alice Patterson Wetmore, [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.; Mary Alice Patterson Wetmore’s grave can be found in Wichita, Kansas.