John Pendleton

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

Born near Culpeper, Virginia, Pendleton pursued in preparatory studies as a child. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1824, commencing practice in Culpeper County, Virginia. He married Lucy Ann Williams, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Bruce Williams, on December 2, 1824 at "Soldiers Rest" in Orange County, Virginia. The two had no biological children, but did adopted Lucy's brother Philip's son, George Morton Williams, when he was three years old. Pendleton was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1830 to 1833 and again from 1836 to 1839. He was appointed by President John Tyler Chargé d’Affaires to Chile in 1841, serving until 1844 when he was elected a Whig to the United States House of Representatives, serving their from 1845 to 1849. In the House, he obtained the nickname "The Lone Star" due to the fact he was the only Whig from Virginia. Afterwards, Pendleton returned to being a statesman and was appointed by President Millard Fillmore Chargé d’Affaires to the Argentine Confederation in 1851, serving until 1854 and in 1852 was Minister to Brazil with Robert C. Schenck to negotiate a treaty of commerce with Paraguay and Uruguay. He returned to the United States and engaged in farming before his death on November 19, 1868 near Culpeper, Virginia. He was interned in the family cemetery at "Redwood" in Cupeper.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9597360 John Pendleton] at Find A Grave