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

Early and family life

Born near Culpeper, Virginia, 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. During the 1820s, he resided at the Slaughter-Hill House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The two had no biological 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's voters elected Pendleton as their representative to the Virginia House of Delegates from 1831 to 1833, and not long after Rappahannock County, Virginia was created from part of Culpeper County, Rappahannock County voters selected him to represent them from 1836 to 1839.

President John Tyler, 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. 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 Virginia.

Pendleton returned to his diplomatic career, as President Millard Fillmore 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 to negotiate a treaty of commerce with Paraguay and Uruguay.

Pendleton returned to the United States and engaged in farming, but his estate was devastated by the American Civil War, particularly the Battle of Cedar Mountain, 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

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

References

1. • United States Congress. "John Pendleton (id: P000206)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
2. Eugene M. Scheel, Culpeper: A Virginia County's History through 1920 (Culpeper, The Culpeper Historical Society 1982), p. 70
3. Ann L. Miller (April 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Slaughter-Hill House" (PDF). Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. and Accompanying photo
4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
5. Cynthia Miller Leonard, Virginia's General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond, Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 359, 363, 381, 386, 390
6. Scheel, p. 190
7. Scheel, p. 194

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

v t e United States ambassadors to Chile
Minister Plenipotentiary	Allen
Chargé d'Affaires	Larned Hamm Pollard Pendleton Crump Barton
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Peyton Starkweather Bigler Nelson Kilpatrick Root Logan Osborn Kilpatrick Logan Roberts Egan Porter Strobel Wilson Hicks Dawson Fletcher
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Fletcher Shea Collier Culbertson Sevier Philip Armour Bowers Beaulac Lyon Howe Woodward Cole Dungan Korry Davis Popper Landau Theberge Barnes Gillespie Kamman Guerra-Mondragón O'Leary Brownfield Kelly Simons Wolff Hammer Perez Meehan

v t e United States ambassadors to Argentina
Chargé d'Affaires	Rodney Forbes Baylies Brent Harris Pendleton
Minister Resident	Peden Yancey Cushman Palmer Kirk Asboth Worthington Kirk White Osborn Hanna
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Hanna Pitkin Buchanan Lord Barrett Beaupre Eddy Sherrill Garrett
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Stimson Riddle Jay Bliss Weddell Armour Braden Messersmith Bruce Griffis Bunker Nufer Beaulac Rubottom McClintock Martin Burgess Lodge Hill Castro Shlaudeman Ortiz Gildred Todman Cheek Godard (a.i.) Rocha (a.i.) Walsh Gutierrez Wayne Martínez Mamet Prado Carlson (a.i.) Stanley

v t e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 9th congressional district
Bland Giles Eggleston Giles Thompson Love Hawes Hungerford Ball Stevenson Taylor Roane Hunter Chilton Pendleton Morton Strother Letcher Harris R. Bowen Terry Pridemore Richmond Fulkerson H. Bowen Trigg H. Bowen Buchanan Marshall Walker Rhea C. Slemp C. B. Slemp Peery Shaffer Flannagan Fugate Wampler Jennings Wampler Boucher Griffith

• 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
• Politicians from Culpeper County, Virginia
• 19th-century American diplomats
• Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
• 19th-century American lawyers
• Pendleton family
• 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly