When James Bernard Patterson was born on 23 April 1823, in Grayson, Kentucky, United States, his father, John Patterson, was 42 and his mother, Rebecca Troutman, was 31. He married Parmelia Mattingly on 21 November 1847, in Grayson, Kentucky, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Leitchfield, Grayson, Kentucky, United States in 1880. He died on 2 October 1896, in Grayson, Kentucky, United States, at the age of 73, and was buried in Beaver Dam Cemetery, Leitchfield, Grayson, Kentucky, United States.