Left to right: Carl, Charles, Minnie and Paul Patton, Robinson, Il, May 1940. Photo by John Vachon.

Paul E. Patton was born March 5, 1906, in Illinois. He married Minnie May Roy in about 1927. She was born in Missouri on September 29, 1910. When they married, Paul was 22 and Minnie was 16. In April of 1930, according to the census, they lived in Robinson with Paul’s parents, Thomas and Stella, both natives of Indiana. Their first son, Charles, would be born later that year. I interviewed Charles. See the text of that interview on the next page.

Minnie Patton with son Donald, May 1940. Photo by John Vachon.

Interview with Charles Patton, and more photos