John Marshall Slaton (1866-1955) was born in Meriwether County, Georgia, to parents William Franklin Slaton (1831-1916) and Nancy Jane Martin Slaton (1834-1901). Slaton received a master of arts degree with highest honors from the University of Georgia in 1886 and married Sarah Frances Grant in 1898. Slaton served in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing Fulton County, from 1896 to 1909, and as the Speaker of the Georgia House from 1905 to 1909. He served in the Georgia Senate, representing the 35th District, from 1909 to 1913 and was the President of the State Senate from 1909 to 1911. In 1911, Slaton was appointed acting governor and served from 1911 to 1912. He was later elected to the governorship for a non-consecutive second term from 1913 to 1915. Slaton's political career ended in controversy after he commuted the death sentence of Leo Frank, who had been convicted for the murder of Mary Phagan in 1915. After Slaton's final term as governor, he and his wife moved to Florida where they would remain for the next decade. After they returned to Georgia, Slaton served as president of the Georgia State Bar Association from 1928 to 1929, and as a member of the General Council of the American Bar Association.