Jonathan Roberts (politician)
Jonathan Roberts | |
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United States Senator from Pennsylvania | |
In office February 24, 1814 – March 4, 1821 | |
Preceded by | Michael Leib |
Succeeded by | William Findlay |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district | |
In office March 4, 1811 – February 24, 1814 | |
Preceded by | Robert Brown, John Ross and William Milnor |
Succeeded by | Roger Davis and Samuel Henderson |
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate | |
In office 1807-1811 | |
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives | |
In office 1799-1800 | |
Personal details | |
Born | near Norristown, Province of Pennsylvania, British America | August 16, 1771
Died | July 24, 1854 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 82)
Resting place | Near Norristown |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Occupation | Farmer[1] |
Committees | Committee on Claims Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses Committee on Public Buildings |
Jonathan Roberts (August 16, 1771 – July 24, 1854) was a United States Representative and Senator from Pennsylvania from 1811 to 1814 and 1814 to 1821 respectively.
Life and career[]
Roberts was born near Norristown in the Province of Pennsylvania and was educated by a private tutor.[2] He later worked as a wheelwright apprentice.[2] From 1799 to 1800 Roberts served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1807 to 1811.[2]
On March 4, 1811, he began his tenure as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district,[3] having been elected as a Democratic-Republican.[2] Working through the 12th and 13th United States Congresses he resigned on February 24, 1814, having been elected to the United States Senate to replace Michael Leib, who himself had resigned.[2] He started his service in the Senate on the same day.[2]
Re-elected to a full term later in 1814, Roberts was the chairman of the Committee on Claims from the 14th through to the 16th Congress inclusive.[2] During the 16th he was also on the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses and the Committee on Public Buildings.[2] He left the Senate on March 4, 1821.[2]
From 1823 to 1826 he was again a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and later became the collector of customs at the port of Philadelphia from 1841 to 1842.[2] In 1848, Roberts built a school in Upper Merion for poor children who had to walk some distance from mill workers' houses to their previous school.[1]
He died at the age of 82 on his farm, Robertsville, in King of Prussia, and was interred in the Roberts family cemetery In Upper Merion township, near Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.[2]
Footnotes[]
Sources[]
- Morrison, J. "Roberts School". Upper Merion Park and Historic Foundation. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- "Roberts, Jonathan, (1771 - 1854)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- "Index to Politicians: Roberts, J". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- 1771 births
- 1854 deaths
- Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania state senators
- People from Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania
- United States senators from Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Democratic-Republicans
- Democratic-Republican Party United States senators
- Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives