John Critcher (March 11, 1820 – September 27, 1901) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Early and family life

Born at

Oak Grove, Westmoreland County, Virginia Oak Grove is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Washington District of Westmoreland County, Virginia. The community, on the historic Northern Neck of Virginia (the peninsula between the Potomac River, Potomac and Rappahanno ...

on March 11, 1820 to John Critcher and his wife, the former Sally Winter Covington, Critcher had a younger brother, Henry Payson Critcher (1826–1904), but his mother died shortly after the birth of her daughter Sarah, who died as an infant. John Critcher attended Brent's Preparatory School. He then went to

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

and attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, graduating in 1839, and later pursued higher studies in France for three years. About three years after his father's death at the family's plantation, "Waterview", on November 10, 1857, in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

, John Critcher married Elizabeth Thomasia Kennon Whiting. Their first daughter, Elizabeth Whiting Critcher (1858–1863) did not survive to adulthood. However, their son John Critcher (1861–1939), born at the plantation "Audley" in Oak Grove and three daughters did survive their parents: Anne Wythe Mallory Critcher Gatewood (1860–1924), Louisa Kennon Critcher (1866–1939) and the painter Catharine Carter Critcher (1868–1964).

Career

Critcher was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1842 and commenced practice in

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...

American Civil War

He served in the Virginia State Senate 1861 and as a member of the State secession convention in 1861. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Critcher enlisted as a major and later served as lieutenant colonel of the 15th Virginia Cavalry in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

. Shortly after the war's end, the Virginia General Assembly appointed him judge of the eighth judicial circuit, but he was removed under

Congressional Reconstruction The Reconstruction era was a period in US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the abolition of slavery and reintegration of the former Confederate Sta ...

, specifically the resolution dated February 18, 1869, which provided that anyone who had borne arms against the United States should be dismissed from office within thirty days, although Critcher later became a judge in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

after Reconstruction ended.

Postwar career

When former Union officer

Richard S. Ayer Richard Small Ayer (October 9, 1829 – December 14, 1896) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia. Early and family life Born in Montville, Maine, Ayer attended the common schools. Career Ayer farmed and worked as a merchant for several years ...

declined to run for re-election, Critcher was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Forty-second Congress (March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873).

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The P ...

voters then elected Critcher again to the Virginia Senate (still a part-time position), where he served another four-year term (1873–1877), and was succeeded by William Mayo.Cynthia Miller Leonard, The General Assembly of Virginia, 1619–1978 (Richmond, Virginia State Library, 1978) pp. 520, 524 Critcher still operated a Westmoreland County farm during the 1880 census, but moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where he was a judge by 1894.

Death and legacy

Critcher died in

, September 27, 1901. He was interred in Ivy Hill Cemetery.

Elections

*1857; Critcher ran on the American Party ticket for the U.S. House of Representatives and lost to Democrat Muscoe R.H. Garnett. *1870; Critcher was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives unopposed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Critcher, John 1820 births 1901 deaths Virginia lawyers Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Alexandria, Virginia) Confederate States Army officers People from Westmoreland County, Virginia Democratic Party Virginia state senators People of Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia Secession Delegates of 1861 Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly