Thomas J. Robertson

Thomas James Robertson
United States Senator from South Carolina
In office July 15, 1868 – March 4, 1877
Preceded by	James Chesnut, Jr.
Succeeded by	Matthew Butler
Personal details
Born	(1823-08-03)August 3, 1823 near Winnsboro, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	October 13, 1897(1897-10-13) (aged 74) Columbia, South Carolina
Resting place	Elmwood Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	South Carolina College

Thomas James Robertson (August 3, 1823 – October 13, 1897) was a United States senator from South Carolina. Born near Winnsboro, he completed preparatory studies and graduated from South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) at Columbia in 1843. He engaged in planting and owned slaves.[1] He was a member of the State constitutional convention in 1865.

Upon the readmission of the State of South Carolina to representation in Congress in 1868, Robertson was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate; he was reelected in 1871 and served from July 15, 1868, to March 4, 1877, and was not a candidate for reelection amidst the end of Reconstruction. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Manufactures (Forty-second through Forty-fourth Congresses). Robertson voted against the Ku Klux Klan Act, but voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1875.[2][3] After serving in Congress, Robertson retired from public life and active business due to ill health, and in 1897 died in Columbia. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

References

1. "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-19, retrieved 2022-07-08
2. "TO PASS H.R. 320. -- Senate Vote #50 -- Apr 14, 1871". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
3. "TO PASS H.R. 796. -- Senate Vote #379 -- Feb 27, 1875". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

Sources

• United States Congress. "Thomas J. Robertson (id: R000327)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

• Thomas J. Robertson at Find a Grave
• New York Times article Attitude of President Grant Toward the Robbers
• New York Times article South Carolina Senatorial elections
• Bio of son Edwin Wales Robertson Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine

U.S. Senate
Preceded by vacant^1	U.S. senator (Class 2) from South Carolina 1868–1877 Served alongside: Frederick A. Sawyer, John J. Patterson	Succeeded by Matthew C. Butler
Notes and references
1. Because of South Carolina's secession from the Union in 1860, seat was declared vacant from 1860-1868 when James Chesnut, Jr. withdrew from the Senate.