As an adult, Pendleton settled in Tazewell County, Virginia and began a law practice. Later he was appointed Commonwealth’s Attorney there.[2]
In 1833, Pendleton moved to Giles County and served in the Virginia House of Delegates from Giles in the 1840s sessions of 1843/44, 1845/46, and 1849/50.[3]
In 1850, Pendleton was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850. He was one of three delegates elected from the transmontane delegate district made up of his home district of Giles County as well as Mercer, Tazewell, and Monroe Counties.[4]
In the 1850s, Pendleton was elected to the House of Delegates from Giles and Mercer Counties for the session 1855/56, declined Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor in 1855, and was a presidential elector in 1856.[5]
Pulliam, David Loyd (1901). The Constitutional Conventions of Virginia from the foundation of the Commonwealth to the present time. John T. West, Richmond. ISBN978-1-2879-2059-5.
Swem, Earl Greg (1918). A Register of the General Assembly of Virginia, 1776-1918, and of the Constitutional Conventions. David Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. ISBN978-1-3714-6242-0.