XCIX.
XCIX. JOHN MERCER PATTON.
XCIX. Senior Councillor
and
Acting Governor.
XCIX. March 18, 1841, to March 31, 1841.
John Mercer Patton was the son of the worthy Robert
Patton, a native of Scotland, who emigrated to America
some time before the Revolution. He settled first in Charleston,
South Carolina, but eventually moved to Fredericksburg,
Virginia, where he established himself as a merchant.
Robert Patton married Anna Gordon, daughter of the distinguished
General Hugh Mercer, who fell mortally wounded at
the battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777. Their third son, John
Mercer, is the interesting subject of this sketch. He was
born August 10, 1797, and enjoyed a liberal education.
Adopting the profession of law, he entered upon its practice
in his native town, Fredericksburg, and soon acquired an
enviable distinction at the bar. This being the usual path
to political preferment, he was in 1830 elected to the United
States Congress, and continued to serve there with conspicuous
ability until 1838, when he removed to Richmond, and
was elected a member of the Council of State. Upon the
resignation of Governor Gilmer, March 18, 1841, Mr. Patton,
Senior Councillor, succeeded him as chief executive of
Virginia until the expiration of his yearly term as Senior
Councillor on the 31st March following. At that date he
was succeeded by Senior Councillor John Rutherfoord in this
highly important office.
In ability and legal acquirement, Mr. Patton took rank
among the first minds in his section of country. In 1849 he
assisted in a revision of the Code of Virginia, and his high
reputation as a lawyer was acknowledged amidst an array of
talent which has been scarcely surpassed at any period in the
Old Dominion.
Mr. Patton died at Richmond, Virginia, October 28, 1858,
and his remains were interred in Shockoe Hill Cemetery
there. A handsome fluted column of white marble, emblematically
crowned with several volumes, marks his last resting
place. He left a large and interesting family to mourn his
loss and to perpetuate his name and virtues.
