Nathaniel Pendleton


Nathaniel Pendleton was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Georgia.

Education and career

Born on October 27, 1756, in New Kent County, Colony of Virginia, British America, Pendleton read law. He served in the Continental Army starting in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War, serving as an aide-de-camp to General Nathanael Greene in the campaigns in the southern states. He was in private practice in Savannah, Georgia until 1789. He was Attorney General of Georgia from 1785 to 1786. He was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which drafted the United States Constitution, but did not attend. He was elected to the Congress of the Confederation in 1789, but did not attend.

Federal judicial service

Pendleton was nominated by President George Washington on September 24, 1789, to the United States District Court for the District of Georgia, to a new seat authorized by. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 26, 1789, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on September 1, 1796, due to his resignation.

Later career

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Pendleton resumed private practice in Dutchess County, New York starting in 1796. He was a Judge of the Dutchess County Court until 1821.

Duel

Pendleton served as a second to Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton’s duel with Aaron Burr.

Death

Pendleton died on October 20, 1821, in Hyde Park, New York. He was interred in St. James' Churchyard in Hyde Park.

Family

Pendleton was a nephew of Edmund Pendleton, the 1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and cousin of John Penn, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation from North Carolina. He was the father of Nathanael G. Pendleton, a United States Representative from Ohio.