Riley Edward Robinson (November 4, 1847 – February 1921) was a carpenter, minister in the Episcopal Church, councilman, custom house inspector, and state legislator in Florida. He served on the city council in

Fernandina, Florida Fernandina Beach is a city in northeastern Florida and the county seat of Nassau County, Florida, United States. It is the northernmost city on Florida's Atlantic coast, situated on Amelia Island, and is one of the principal municipalities comp ...

from 1875 to 1879 and from 1883 to 1890, as well as from 1892 to 1894. He represented Nassau County in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

in 1883 and 1885.Florida's Public Officials
Carter Brown Jr. University of Alabama Press (1998) He was born in Tennessee in 1847. He was described as having been enslaved and categorized as "

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

". He moved to Alachua County, Florida in 1858 and lived there until after the American Civil War when he moved to Duval County, Florida and apprenticed as a carpenter. He moved to Nassau County in 1870. He belonged to the mason fraternal order. He was a leader in Nassau County's Republican Party. He was listed as a state legislator as R. E. Robinson. He served as postmaster of the Kings Ferry post office in Nassau County. The ''

Christian Advocate The ''Christian Advocate'' was a weekly newspaper published in New York City by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It began publication in 1826 and by the mid-1830s had become the largest circulating weekly in the United States, with more than 30 ...

'' noted his assigned area.

References

1847 births 1921 deaths Florida city council members American Freemasons Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era African-American state legislators in Florida 19th-century American legislators American carpenters People from Duval County, Florida American Episcopal clergy People from Fernandina Beach, Florida American former slaves People from Alachua County, Florida 19th-century Florida politicians {{Florida-politician-stub

See also

References