John Mattocks

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates John Mattocks (March 4, 1777 – August 14, 1847) was an American Whig politician, a brigadier general in the War of 1812, U.S. Representative, and 16th governor of Vermont.

Biography

Mattocks was born in Hartford, Connecticut on March 4, 1777, and moved with his parents to Tinmouth, Vermont in 1778.Template:Sfn His father, Samuel Mattocks, was a veteran of the American Revolution and served as Vermont State Treasurer from 1784 to 1800.Template:Sfn John Mattocks pursued an academic course, studied law in Middlebury, Vermont and Fairfield, Connecticut, and was admitted to the bar in 1797.Template:Sfn He married Esther Newell and they had five children; three sons, George, John, and William; and two daughters named Esther who died in their first years.

Career

Mattocks commenced practice in Danville; moved to Peacham, Vermont.Template:Sfn He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1807, 1815, 1816, 1823, and 1824.Template:Sfn During the War of 1812, he served as a brigadier general of militia.Template:Sfn

Mattocks was elected to the Seventeenth Congress (March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823).Template:Sfn He was elected to the Nineteenth Congress (March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827); and served as chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Nineteenth Congress).Template:Sfn He was a judge of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1833 and 1834, and declined to be a candidate for renomination.Template:Sfn Mattocks was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1836Template:Sfn He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843).Template:Sfn

In 1843, the major candidates for Governor of Vermont were Mattocks (Whig), Daniel Kellogg (Democrat), and Charles K. Williams (Liberty).Template:Sfn In the general election, they received 24,465 votes (48.7%), 21,982 (43.8%), and 3,766 (7.5%).Template:Sfn Because no candidate had the majority required by the Vermont Constitution, the Vermont General Assembly made the selection, and chose Mattocks.Template:Sfn During his term, his son, George, committed suicide and, grief-stricken, Mattocks declined to run for another term.Template:Sfn

Death and legacy

Mattocks died in Peacham, Vermont, August 14, 1847;Template:Sfn is interred at Peacham Village Cemetery, Caledonia County, Vermont.Template:Sfn His house, built in 1805 and purchased in 1807, stands in the center of town and is a local landmark.Template:Sfn His son John was a minister, and his son, William became a lawyer and served as Caledonia County's state's attorney.

External links

• Template:PAGENAMEBASE at Find a GraveTemplate:EditAtWikidata