Philip Pendleton (soldier)

Colonel Philip Pendleton (1752 – 1828) was a Virginia lawyer and soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War, helped found Martinsburg as well as represented Berkeley County several times in the Virginia House of Delegates.[1]

Philip Pendleton
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the Berkeley County district
In office
October 7, 1776 – May 3, 1778
Serving with Thomas Hite
Preceded byWilliam Drew
Succeeded byJames Nourse
In office
October 17, 1785 – October 15, 1786
Serving with Moses Hunter
Preceded byAdam Stephen
Succeeded byJames Campbell
In office
June 23, 1788 – October 17, 1790
Serving with Joseph Swearingen
Preceded byJames Campbell
Succeeded byAndrew Waggoner
Personal details
Born1752
Martinsburg, Virginia
Died1802(1802-00-00) (aged 49–50)
Martinsburg, Virginia
Resting placeNorborne Parish Cemetery, Martinsburg, West Virginia
Spouse(s)Agnes Patterson
Children4 sons including Philip C. Pendleton and 3 daughters
Occupationlawyer, planter
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Branch/serviceVirginia militia
Years of service1777-1781
Rankcolonel
UnitPendleton's Regiment
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

Early and family life

Pendleton was the son of Elizabeth Clayton and her husband Nathaniel Pendleton, and thus descended from the First Families of Virginia. His ancestors, brothers Nathaniel and Philip Pendleton, emigrated from England in 1674, and their descendant Judge Edmund Pendleton would perhaps become the family's most prestigious member, as well as write an early genealogy.

In 1773, this Philip Pendleton married Agnes Patterson, daughter of Angus Patterson, who bore four sons and three daughters. Their firstborn, Philip Clayton Pendleton followed his father's example into the law, politics and military service.[2] His brothers James and William Henry died without having children, and his youngest brother Edmund Pendleton (1790-1823) had a son Isaac Purnell Pendleton, but only his daughter Serena Catherine (1816-1889) (who married her cousin Adam Stephen Dandridge Jr.) had children. This Philip Pendleton's daughters all married and had children: Elizabeth (1774-1822) married David Hunter (1761-1829) and their grandson David Hunter Strother would become a noted artist as well as Union General during the American Civil War; Anne Clayton Pendleton (1778-1854) married John Kennedy and gave birth to John Pendleton Kennedy; Sarah Pendleton (1785-1855) married Adam Stephen Dandridge (1782-1821), and their youngest daughter Maria Pendleton married lawyer John R. Cooke. Among their 13 children were the lawyer writers Philip Pendleton Cooke and John Esten Cooke, the latter becoming a Confederate officer during the Civil War.

Career

One of the first lawyers in Berkeley County, Col. Pendleton led the Berkeley County militia during the American Revolutionary War, receiving a commission on April 3, 1777. In 1778, he and seven other men were elected trustees of the newly chartered town of Martinsburg.[3]

Berkeley County voters elected this Philip Pendleton as one of their representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates (a part-time position) in 1776 and re-elected him the following year. He would also win election for a single term in 1785 and two sessions beginning in 1790.[4]

Death and legacy

Col. Philip Pendleton died in early 1802, since his will was admitted to probate and sons Philip C., James and William Pendleton, son-in-law David Hunter and Elisha Boyd named as executors on January 26, 1802.[5]

References
  1. Toby Drews (ed.) Genealogies of Virginia Families from the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. IV (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1981) p. 686
  2. Drews p. 686
  3. William Thomas Doherty, Berkeley County, U.S.A.: a bicentennial history (Parsons Printing Company 1972) p. 40
  4. Cynthia Miller Leonard (ed), The General Assembly of Virginia 1619-1978: A Bicentennial Register of Members (Richmond, 1978) pp. 122, 125, 156, 168, 175
  5. Berkeley County Executor Bonds, 1774-1847 Vol. 1-5 p. 326 of 702 on ancestry.com
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