John Pride III (after around 1737 – 1794) was an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

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 ...

. Pride served in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, and as Clerk of Court for Amelia County. He was a delegate to the

Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...

of 1788, and a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

in 1789 and 1792.

Family

He was a son of John Pride Jr (? - lived at least until 1773) and Frances Rowlett (born perhaps around 1717 - lived at least until 1785). His parents 'apparently married, perhaps around 1737'. His father had received on Swift Creek in 1733 and his parents moved to Amelia County by 1746. John Pride III served as Clerk of Court for Amelia in the years before the Revolution.

State elective office

He served as member of 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 Amelia County (1778–82, 1786–87) and the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

(1787–93). On 4 January 1779 he received £82-8-0 for his wages as delegate from Amelia County. On 22 December 1781, the serjeant at arms was ordered to take Pride and a number of other delegates into his custody On 1 December 1790, as Speaker of the

, he signed a letter to the other state legislatures requesting their co-operation in procuring 'the admission of the citizens of the United States to hear the debates of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

whenever they are sitting in their legislative capacity.' Again as Speaker of the

, he signed the resolutions dated 15 December 1791 ratifying the Bill of Rights.

1788 Convention

Pride served as a representative from Amelia County to the

of 1788 which ratified the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. He voted against ratification.

Presidential Elector

He was chosen as an elector for the 1789 election from Amelia District. That District consisted of Amelia County, Brunswick County, Chesterfield County,

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

, Greensville County, Lunenburg County, Mecklenburg County and

Powhatan County Powhatan County () is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,033. Its county seat is Powhatan. Powhatan County is included in the Greater Richmond Region. The James River forms the cou ...

, which cover the area west of

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

and then south to the state border with

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. All of the 10 electors from

who voted cast one of their two votes for

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. 5 of them cast their other vote for

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

. 3 cast theirs for George Clinton. 1 cast his for

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...

. 1 cast his for

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

. Clinton was a leading Antifederalist, a view which he shared with Pride, who had voted against ratification as set out above. It therefore seems likely that Pride was one of the three electors who cast their other vote for Clinton. He was again chosen as an elector in 1792. In that year his District comprised Amelia County, Chesterfield County,

Nottoway County Nottoway County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,642. Its county seat is Nottoway. It is situated south of the James River, thus making it a part of the Southside Virginia Regio ...

, (which had been formed out of Amelia County by an Act of 1788) and

, which cover the area west of

Vestry of Raleigh Parish

He was elected as a vestryman of Raleigh Parish in Amelia County in 1790.

Trustee

In an Act of the

passed on 17 December 1787 he was named as a trustee of funds to be raised for clearing, improving and extending the navigation of the Appomattox River In an Act of the

passed on 1 December 1791 he was named as a trustee of funds to be raised by Scottville Lodge of Free Masons for building an Academy Volume 13 of The Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature, in the Year 1619 : Published Pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly of Virginia, Passed on the Fifth Day of February One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eight, Virginia. Page 293

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pride, John 1794 deaths 18th-century American people Members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia state senators Year of birth unknown County clerks in Virginia Delegates to the Virginia Ratifying Convention 18th-century American politicians People from Amelia County, Virginia