Mattocks was elected to the Seventeenth Congress (March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823).[2] He was elected to the Nineteenth Congress (March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827); and served as chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Nineteenth Congress).[2] He was a judge of the Vermont Supreme Court in 1833 and 1834, and declined to be a candidate for renomination.[2] Mattocks was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1836[2] He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843).[3]
In 1843, the major candidates for Governor of Vermont were Mattocks (Whig), Daniel Kellogg (Democrat), and Charles K. Williams (Liberty).[5] In the general election, they received 24,465 votes (48.7%), 21,982 (43.8%), and 3,766 (7.5%).[5] Because no candidate had the majority required by the Vermont Constitution, the Vermont General Assembly made the selection, and chose Mattocks.[5] During his term, his son, George, committed suicide and, grief-stricken, Mattocks declined to run for another term.[4]
Death and legacy
Mattocks died in Peacham, Vermont, August 14, 1847;[3] is interred at Peacham Village Cemetery, Caledonia County, Vermont.[6] His house, built in 1805 and purchased in 1807, stands in the center of town and is a local landmark.[7] His son John was a minister, and his son, William became a lawyer and served as Caledonia County's state's attorney.