Jonathan Robinson (American politician)

Jonathan Robinson (August 11, 1756 – November 3, 1819) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge from the state of Vermont who served as Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court and a United States Senator.

Biography[]

Robinson was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts. He moved with his family to Bennington, Vermont at the age of five. Robinson did not enter politics until he was about thirty years old, when his brother Moses Robinson became a successful politician.

Jonathan Robinson was elected to the Vermont Legislature in 1789.^[1] A few years later he decided to study law and passed the bar exam in 1795. He was admitted to the bar in 1796. Immediately after, he became a judge of the Vermont probate court and the town clerk of Bennington. He was a probate judge until 1798.

In 1801, Robinson was appointed to be the chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court,^[2] and soon left his positions as state representative and town clerk. He remained the chief justice until 1807, when he gained a position in the United States Senate from Vermont, filling the unexpired term of Israel Smith, who had resigned. Robinson was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was elected to a full term in the Senate in 1809 and remained a senator until 1815, when he retired after the end of his term.^[3] Robinson then served again as a probate judge from 1815 until his death four years later, and served for one more year in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1818.^[1]

Family life[]

Robinson married Mary Fassett Robinson and they had two children, Jonathan Edwards Robinson and Isaac Tichenor Robinson.

Robinson's brother Moses Robinson served as governor during the Vermont Republic and helped steward Vermont's transition to U.S. statehood.^[4] His brother David Robinson was a major general in the Vermont Militia. Brother Samuel was a colonel in the militia and served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.

Death[]

Robinson died on November 3, 1819 in Bennington, Vermont. He is interred at the Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington.

See also[]

• Politics of the United States

References[]

External links[]

• United States Congress. "Jonathan Robinson (id: R000346)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Jonathan Robinson at Find a Grave
• The Political Graveyard: Robinson, Jonathan (1756–1819)
• Govtrack.us: Sen. Jonathan Robinson