To George Washington from Philip Pendleton, 1 March 1790
From Philip Pendleton
Virginia Berkeley Co: March 1st 1790
Sir
I am informed that a vacancy has happened in the Supreme Court, for the Western Territory by the Death of General Parsons.1 It is with great diffidence I now take the Liberty to Solicit the appointment to that vacancy, if it is not as yet filled—From a Steady and uniform attachment to the Goverment of the United States from my situation And from a long and Labourious attention to the practice of the Bar I cannot help flattering myself that I am not altogether unqualified to fill that office—I will beg leave to assure you Sir, that should you think proper to Honour me with the appointment, a Strict and regular attention to and a faithfull discharge of its duties shall not be wanting on my part. I have the Honour to be with the most perfect respect Sir, Yr Obt Hble servt
Phil. Pendleton
ALS, DLC:GW.
Philip Pendleton (1752–1802), a Berkeley County, Va., attorney, was the son of Nathaniel Pendleton of Culpeper County and the brother of Nathaniel Pendleton who had served as Nathanael Greene’s aide-de-camp during the Revolution. GW sold Pendleton a portion of his Bullskin plantation in 1771 (, 3:37). He received no appointment from GW.
1. Samuel Holden Parsons was appointed a judge in the Northwest Territory in 1787 and confirmed in that position under the new government in August 1789. He drowned in the rapids of Big Beaver Creek in November 1789. See Winthrop Sargent to GW, 27 Nov. 1789, and notes.