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John Marshall Slaton (1866-1955) was born to William Franklin and Nancy Jane (Martin) Slaton on 25 December in Meriwether County, Georgia. He graduated at the age of thirteen from the Boys' High School in Atlanta. At sixteen, Slaton entered the University of Georgia. In 1886, he received his Master of Arts degree with highest honors. After graduating, Slaton read law under John Thomas Glenn in Atlanta. Slaton was admitted to the state bar in 1887 and, in 1890, became a partner in Glenn's firm. The firm became known as Slaton and Phillips after Glenn's death. John Slaton became involved in politics as a young man. He was elected President of the Young Men's Democratic League in 1891. In 1896, Slaton was elected to his first term as a state representative from Fulton County. He served in that capacity until 1908; during the last three years he was Speaker of the House. In 1908 he was elected to the state senate and was named President of the Senate in 1909. In 1912 Slaton was elected (by all but ten counties) to become Governor of Georgia. While in office, the murder of Mary Fagan and the subsequent trial of Leo Frank occurred. Governor Slaton commuted Frank's death penalty to life imprisonment, a move that cost him any future in Georgia politics. He lost his bid for re-election. After his term as governor expired, Slaton returned to his law career. In 1928, he was elected President of the Georgia Bar Association. John M. Slaton died on 11 January 1955. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta. John Slaton married Sarah Francis Grant on 12 July 1898. Sarah Grant (1870-1945) was born to William Daniel and Sallie Fannie (Reid) Grant near West Point, Troup County, Georgia. John and Sarah Slaton had no children. John Slaton had many siblings, one of whom was Anna May Slaton (1861-1927). She married Albigence Lamar Waldo (1855-1955) and became the parents of Katherine Waldo (1887-1938). Katherine married Robert Harrison Jones, Jr. (1884-1963); their son, Albigence Waldo Jones (1912-1983), married Eliza Leiper Woolford (1916-1992).