Rep. John Critcher

<br/>John Critcher (March 11, 1820 – September 27, 1901) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.

EARLY AND FAMILY LIFE
Born at Oak Grove, Westmoreland County, Virginia on March 11, 1820 to John Critcher (1799–1854) and his wife, the former Sally Winter Covington 1797–1828), 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 and attended the University of Virginia, 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, John Critcher married Elizabeth Thomasia Kennon Whiting (1829–1903). 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 in 1842 and commenced practice in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

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

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, 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 after Reconstruction ended.

POSTWAR CAREER
When former Union officer Richard S. Ayer declined to run for re-election, Critcher was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second Congress (March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873). Northern Neck 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.

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

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US Congressman. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1839, studied in France, then studied law and became an attorney in 1842. He served in the State Senate in 1861 and in the same year was also member of Virginia's secession convention. He joined the Confederate Army and served as a Lieutenant Colonel, commanding Calvary units throughout the Civil War. After the war he was appointed Circuit Court Judge, but was removed after Congress passed a temporary resolution barring from office anyone who had fought for the Confederacy. Critcher was elected to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1870. He served one term, 1871 to 1873, and did not run for reelection in 1872. After serving in Congress he returned to his law practice and served in the Virginia Senate from 1874 to 1877.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Nov 27 2022, 15:21:46 UTC