John Patten (representative) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Major John Patten was an American farmer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman, and a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U.S. Representative from Delaware.

Early life and family

Patten was born at Tynhead Court, near Dover, Delaware, son of John Patten and Ann Maxwell. This property was on the present Dover Air Force Base

Dover Air Force Base

Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base located two miles southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware.-Units:...

, near the farms of Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney

Caesar Rodney was an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover...

and John Dickinson

John Dickinson (delegate)

John Dickinson was an American lawyer and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. He was a militia officer during the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Pennsylvania and Delaware, a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, President of...

. He was a farmer, who after the American Revolution married Ann Haslet, daughter of the first Colonel of the 1st Delaware Regiment

1st Delaware Regiment

The 1st Delaware Regiment was raised on December 9, 1775 for service with the continental army under the command of Colonel John Haslet. The regiment would see action during the New York Campaign, Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown and the Battle of...

, John Haslet

John Haslet

John Haslet was an American clergyman and soldier from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War and an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, serving as the first Colonel of the 1st Delaware Regiment...

. She died soon thereafter, and he married Mary Miller Loockerman, daughter of the Rev. John Miller and widow of Vincent Loockerman.

American Revolution

Patten was commissioned a first lieutenant in Captain John Caldwell's 2nd Company of the 1st Delaware Regiment

1st Delaware Regiment

at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. He was soon promoted to captain of the 1st Company and in February 1779 and was promoted to the rank of major. He fought in every major battle from the Battle of Long Island

Battle of Long Island

The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict, and the...

until the Battle of Camden

Battle of Camden

The Battle of Camden was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War...

, where the Delaware Regiment suffered grievous losses, and he was taken prisoner. Paroled in 1781, after the fighting was over, he is said to have walked home alone in rags from Charleston, South Carolina.

Political career

Patten was elected in 1785 to the State House or House of Assembly, as it was then known, and represented Kent County, during the 1785/86 session. At the same time he was elected to the Continental Congress in 1785 and served there one year. He won a closely contested election to the U.S. House in 1792 and took his seat in the U.S. House on March 4, 1793. However, Henry Latimer, the Federal candidate contested the election, claiming that many ballots were invalid because they were filled out incorrectly. After a lengthy study the Federalist majority in the U.S. House voted on February 14, 1794 to invalidate enough ballots to award the seat to Latimer. A few months later Patten again defeated Latimer, and this time served the whole term, from March 4, 1795 until March 3, 1797. Brought out of political retirement in 1800, Patten was defeated for the U.S. House seat by the incumbent Federalist James A. Bayard

James A. Bayard (elder)

James Asheton Bayard II was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served as U.S. Representative from Delaware and U.S. Senator from Delaware.-Early life and family:Bayard was born in Philadelphia,...

Death and legacy

Patten died at his home, Tynhead Court, near Dover, and is buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery, which is at Dover, on the grounds of the Delaware State Museum. He had a home on the north side of Front Street, between Orange and Tatnall Streets in Wilmington, Delaware, but was always a legal resident of Kent County. He was active in the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agriculture, the Society of the Cincinnati, and the Lyceum of Delaware.

Almanac

Elections were held October 1. Members of the General Assembly took office on October 20 or the following weekday. The State Assemblymen were elected for a one year term. They chose the Continental Congressmen for a one year term. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two year term.

After 1792 elections were moved to the first Tuesday of October and members of the General Assembly took office on the first Tuesday of January. The State Legislative Council was renamed the State Senate and the State House of Assembly was renamed the State House of Representatives.

{| class="wikitable" style="width:94%; text-align:center; margin:auto;"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
! colspan="8" style="background:#ccf;"|Public Offices
|-
| Office
| Type
| Location
| Party
| Began office
| Ended office
| notes
|-
| State House

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

| Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

| Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

| Legislature

Legislature

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

| Legislature

Legislature

| Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

United States House of Representatives

| Legislature

Legislature

| Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

| Republican
| March 4, 1795
| March 3, 1797
|

{| class="wikitable" style="width:94%; text-align:center; margin:auto;"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
! colspan="8" style="background:#ccf;"|United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1793–1795
|3rd

3rd United States Congress

The Third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Anti-Administration

Anti-Administration Party (United States)

Anti-Administration "Party" was the informal faction comprising the opponents of the policies of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in the first term of President George Washington. This was not an organized political party but an unorganized faction...

|George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

|
|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

|-
|1795–1797
|4th

4th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President: John Adams * President pro tempore:** Henry Tazewell , first elected December 7, 1795** Samuel Livermore , first elected May 6, 1796** William Bingham , first elected February 16, 1797...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Republican

Democratic-Republican Party (United States)

The Democratic-Republican Party or Republican Party was an American political party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Political scientists use the former name, while historians prefer the latter one; contemporaries generally called the party the "Republicans", along...

|George Washington

George Washington

|
|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

{| class="wikitable" style="width:94%; text-align:center; margin:auto;"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
! colspan="12" style="background:#ccf;"|Election results
|-
|Year
|Office
|
|Subject
|Party
|votes
|%
|
|Opponent
|Party
|votes
|%
|-
| 1792
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

Henry Latimer (senator)

Dr. Henry Latimer was an American physician and politician from Newport, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was elected to the Continental Congress from Delaware, and was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as U.S. Representative from Delaware, and U.S...

| | Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

| | 2,243
| | 50%
|-
|1794
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|
| | John Patten
| | Republican
|| 2,409
| | 51%
|
|| Henry Latimer

Henry Latimer (senator)

|| Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|| 2,285
|| 49%
|-
|1800
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|
| | John Patten
| | Republican
|| 2,340
| | 47%
|
| | James A. Bayard, Sr.

James A. Bayard (elder)

| | Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

| | 2,674
| | 53%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...

website 1300 Locust St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

(215) 732-6200.

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