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John Mattocks
16th Governor of Vermont
In office October 13, 1843 – October 11, 1844
Lieutenant	Horace Eaton
Preceded by	Charles Paine
Succeeded by	William Slade
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont's 5th district
In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	Isaac Fletcher
Succeeded by	District eliminated
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont's 5th district
In office March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827
Preceded by	Samuel C. Crafts
Succeeded by	Daniel Azro Ashley Buck
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont's 6th district
In office March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	None
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1807 1815–1816 1823–1824
Personal details
Born	(1777-03-04)March 4, 1777 Hartford, Connecticut
Died	August 14, 1847(1847-08-14) (aged 70) Peacham, Vermont
Political party	Whig
Spouse	Esther Newell
Profession	Lawyer Judge Politician
Signature

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. His father, Samuel Mattocks, was a veteran of the American Revolution and served as Vermont State Treasurer from 1784 to 1800. John Mattocks pursued an academic course, studied law in Middlebury, Vermont and Fairfield, Connecticut, and was admitted to the bar in 1797. 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. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives in 1807, 1815, 1816, 1823, and 1824. During the War of 1812, he served as a brigadier general of militia.

Mattocks was elected to the Seventeenth Congress (March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823). 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). He was a judge of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1833 and 1834, and declined to be a candidate for renomination. Mattocks was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1836 He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843).

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

Death and legacy

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

References

1. ^ Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont, p. 9.
2. ^ "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress".
3. ^ Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College, p. 470.
4. ^ "National Governors Association".
5. ^ "The Political World: Vermont", p. 490.
6. Where They're Buried, p. 309.
7. "Peacham Corner Historic District", p. 10.

Sources

Books

• Wiley, Edgar J. (1917). Catalogue of Officers and Students of Middlebury College. Middlebury, VT: Middlebury College.
• Redfield, Isaac (1886). Baldwin, Frederick W. (ed.). Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont: John Mattocks. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press.
• Spencer, Thomas E. (1998). Where They're Buried. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield Company. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-8063-4823-0.

Internet

• "John Mattocks". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
• "John Mattocks". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
• National Park Service (2003). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Peacham Corner Historic District" (PDF). NPS.gov/. Washington, DC: US Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 21, 2017.

Magazines

• Benjamin, Park, ed. (October 21, 1843). "The Political World: Vermont". The New World. New York, NY: J. Winchester.

External links

• John Mattocks at Find a Grave

v t e Governors of Vermont
Vermont Republic (1777–1791)	Chittenden Robinson Chittenden
State of Vermont (since 1791)	Chittenden Brigham Tichenor I. Smith Tichenor Galusha M. Chittenden Galusha Skinner Van Ness Butler Crafts Palmer Jennison Paine Mattocks Slade Eaton Coolidge Williams E. Fairbanks Robinson Royce Fletcher Hall E. Fairbanks Holbrook G. Smith P. Dillingham Page Washburn Hendee Stewart Converse Peck H. Fairbanks R. Proctor Sr. Farnham Barstow Pingree Ormsbee W.P. Dillingham Page Fuller Woodbury Grout E. Smith Stickney McCullough Bell F. Proctor Prouty Mead Fletcher Gates Graham Clement Hartness R. Proctor Jr. Billings Weeks Wilson C. Smith Aiken Wills M. Proctor Gibson Arthur Emerson Johnson Stafford Keyser Hoff Davis Salmon Snelling Kunin Snelling Dean Douglas Shumlin Scott
Italics indicate acting governor

• 1777 births
• 1847 deaths
• People from Tinmouth, Vermont
• People from Caledonia County, Vermont
• Governors of Vermont
• Members of the Vermont House of Representatives
• Vermont Whigs
• Vermont lawyers
• Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court
• American militiamen in the War of 1812
• American militia generals
• Vermont National Republicans
• Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont
• National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
• Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives
• Whig Party state governors of the United States
• 19th-century American lawyers
• 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly