John Rutherfoord (December 6, 1792August 3, 1866) was a U.S.
political figure
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He served as
Acting Governor of Virginia between 1841 and 1842. He was the brother-in-law of
Edward Coles
Edward Coles (December 15, 1786 – July 7, 1868) was an American planter and politician, elected as the second Governor of Illinois (1822 to 1826). From an old Virginia family, Coles as a young man was a neighbor and associate of presidents ...
.
Biography
Rutherfoord graduated from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 1816, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He served in a militia unit called the Richmond Fayette Artillery, advancing through the ranks from captain to regimental commander with the rank of colonel.
He became president of the Mutual Assurance Society, Virginia's first insurance company. Originally a
Democratic-Republican
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
, and later a
Whig, and then a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, he served in 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 December 1826 to March 1834. Rutherfoord was a member of the state Executive Council from 1839 to 1841.
In 1841 Governor
Thomas Walker Gilmer
Thomas Walker Gilmer (April 6, 1802 – February 28, 1844) was an American statesman. He served in a number of political positions in Virginia, including election as the 28th Governor of Virginia. Gilmer's final political office was as the 15th S ...
resigned to accept election to a seat in 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 ...
. His place was taken by
John M. Patton
John Mercer Patton (August 10, 1797October 29, 1858) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Virginia. Patton served in the United States House of Representatives representing two different Virginia Districts and was the acting gove ...
, who was first in the line of succession as the Executive Council's senior member. Patton served just 12 days before he resigned. Having been designated as the senior member of the Executive Council, Rutherfoord then succeeded to the governorship.
Rutherfoord served one year, from March 31, 1841, to March 31, 1842. Upon his resignation, he was succeeded by another Executive Council member,
John Munford Gregory
John Munford Gregory (July 8, 1804April 9, 1884) was a US political figure and Acting Governor of Virginia from 1842 to 1843.
Biography
Gregory was born in Virginia on July 8, 1804, and was a member of the Virginia state House of Delegates fr ...
, who completed the term to which Gilmer had been elected.
After resigning from the governorship, Rutherfoord returned to his business interests. He died in Richmond on August 3, 1866, and was buried in Richmond's
Shockoe Hill Cemetery
The Shockoe Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery located on Shockoe Hill in Richmond, Virginia.
History
Shockoe Hill Cemetery, as it is presently called, was established in 1820, with the initial burial made in 1822. It was earlier known as the ...
.
References
*
A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor John Rutherfoord, 1841-1842' a
The Library of Virginia*
' a
National Governors Association*
The Peculiar Democracy: Southern Democrats in Peace and Civil War'. Wallace Hettle. 2001.
*
History of Virginia from Settlement of Jamestown to Close of the Civil War'. Robert Alonzo Brock, Virgil Anson Lewis. 1888.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherfoord, John
1792 births
1866 deaths
Princeton University alumni
Virginia lawyers
American militia officers
Members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Governors of Virginia
Virginia Democratic-Republicans
Virginia Whigs
Virginia Democrats
Politicians from Richmond, Virginia
Democratic Party governors of Virginia
Burials in Virginia
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers
19th-century American businesspeople
Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia
American businesspeople in insurance