John Patten

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under John Patten (disambiguation) .

John Patten

John Patten (born April 26, 1746 in Kent County , Delaware Colony , † December 26, 1800 in Dover , Delaware ) was an American politician . Between 1793 and 1794 and again from 1795 to 1797 he represented the state of Delaware in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Patten attended public schools in his home country and then worked in agriculture. During the War of Independence , he rose from lieutenant to major in the Continental Army . He took part in several battles and in the meantime became a prisoner of war. In 1785 he became a member of the House of Representatives from Delaware ; In 1786 he sat in the Continental Congress .

In 1792 Patten was elected to the US House of Representatives as a candidate for the Democratic Republican Party . At that time, Delaware only had one congressman who was elected nationwide ("At Large"). This system has been preserved in Delaware to this day. Between 1813 and 1823 there was a second seat for this state, but it was also elected nationwide. In Congress on March 4, 1793, Patten succeeded John M. Vining . His election was challenged by Henry Latimer , the candidate of the Federalist Party . After this objection was granted, Patten had to cede his mandate on February 14, 1794 to Latimer. In the congressional elections of the same year, Patten managed to beat Latimer and win his seat back. Between March 4, 1795 and March 3, 1797 he was then able to complete a full legislative period in Congress.

In 1796 Patten declined to run again. After that he worked in agriculture again. In 1800 he ran unsuccessfully to return to the House of Representatives. Patten died in December of that year and was buried in Dover. He was married twice.

Web links

• John Patten in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John Patten in the database of Find a Grave (English)