John Strother Pendleton (March 1, 1802 – November 19, 1868), nicknamed "The Lone Star", was a nineteenth-century congressman, diplomat, lawyer and farmer from

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 ...

Early and family life

Born near

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper Coun ...

, Pendleton studied with private tutors and at Cloverdale Academy, then read law. He married Lucy Ann Williams, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Bruce Williams, on December 2, 1824, at "Soldiers Rest" in

Orange County, Virginia Orange County is a county located in the Central Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,254. Its county seat is Orange. Orange County includes Montpelier, the estate of James Madison, the ...

. During the 1820s, he resided at the Slaughter-Hill House, listed on 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 ...

in 1989. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> The two had no

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

children, but adopted Lucy's brother Philip's son, George Morton Williams, when he was three years old.

Career

After admission to the Virginia bar in 1824, Pendleton began his legal practice in

Culpeper County, Virginia Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Culp ...

. Culpeper's voters elected Pendleton as their representative to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1831 to 1833, and not long after

Rappahannock County, Virginia Rappahannock County is a county located in the northern Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, US, adjacent to Shenandoah National Park. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 7,348. Its county seat is Washington. The name "Rappaha ...

was created from part of Culpeper County, Rappahannock County voters selected him to represent them from 1836 to 1839. President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...

, a fellow Whig from Virginia, appointed Pendleton Chargé d'Affaires to Chile in 1841, and he served until 1844 when he was elected a Whig to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. He was re-elected once, and served from 1845 to 1849. In the House, Pendleton obtained the nickname "The Lone Star" because he was the only Whig from

. Pendleton returned to his diplomatic career, as President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

appointed him Chargé d'Affaires to the Argentine Confederation in 1851. He served until 1854 and in 1852 also served as Minister to Brazil with

Robert C. Schenck Robert Cumming Schenck (October 4, 1809 – March 23, 1890) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, and American diplomatic representative to Brazil and the United Kingdom. He was at both battles of Bull Run and took part in Jack ...

to negotiate a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...

of commerce with

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Pendleton returned to the United States and engaged in farming, but his estate was devastated by the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, particularly the

Battle of Cedar Mountain The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate f ...

, such that he appeared before General Banks for permission to leave the county. However, by March 1863, he was able to extend hospitality to Confederate officers at his estate, "Redwood", after a St. Patrick's Day Party, although several would die in battles the following days including at Kelly's Ford.

Death and legacy

Pendleton survived the war and died on November 19, 1868, near

. He was interred in the family cemetery at "Redwood" in Culpeper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendleton, John 1802 births 1868 deaths Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia lawyers Farmers from Virginia Ambassadors of the United States to Argentina Ambassadors of the United States to Chile People from Culpeper, Virginia 19th-century American diplomats Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Pendleton family