General Patrick Henry Brittan was born in

Thornton Gap Thornton Gap is a wind gap located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia separating the Shenandoah Valley from the Piedmont region of the state. History Thornton Gap was named for Francis Thornton (1711–April 14, 1749), owner of the land ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

on September 21, 1815.

Biography

He learned

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and then migrated to

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

in 1839 to practice his trade. He married Ora Williams of

Morgan County, Georgia Morgan County is a county located in the north central Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,097. The county seat is Madison. Since the early 21st century, the county has had a housing boom ...

in that same year. They would have nine children together. They moved to

LaFayette, Alabama LaFayette ( , ) is the county seat of Chambers County, Alabama, United States, northwest of Columbus, Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 3,003. History Chambers County was formed in 1832. The newly elected county of ...

in 1843, where he established the ''LaFayette Tribune''. He relocated again in 1847 to

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, where he bought a half-interest in the ''

Montgomery Advertiser The ''Montgomery Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper and news website located in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1829. History The newspaper began publication in 1829 as ''The Planter's Gazette.'' Its first editor was Moseley Baker. It ...

''. He maintained his interest in the paper throughout several partnerships. In 1853, the ''Advertiser'' became the first newspaper in the state to be published using a

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

. He started another newspaper, the ''Montgomery Messenger'', in 1856. It was a small daily that he merged with the ''Confederation'' in 1858, in a new joint venture with two other partners. It was in this year that his new home at 507 Columbus Street was completed. The Patrick Henry Brittan House is a historic

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style house in Montgomery. Completed in 1858, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on December 13, 1979. Brittan served as quartermaster general of Alabama from 1857 until 1859. In 1859, he was elected as the 10th

Secretary of State of Alabama The secretary of state of Alabama is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Alabama. The office actually predates the statehood of Alabama, dating back to the Alabama Territory. From 1819 to 1901, the secretary of state served ...

. He served in this capacity from 1860 until the end of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Personal life

Brittan and his wife had nine children: Kate, Mary, Henry S., Emmett, Grattan, Lizzie B., Lucy, Sallie, and Belle. He died in Montgomery on March 18, 1868. Brittan was the uncle of the sculptor, William Randolph Barbee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brittan, Patrick Henry 1815 births 1868 deaths Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama Secretaries of State of Alabama People from Page County, Virginia 19th-century American politicians