Robert Hamilton (December 9, 1809 – March 14, 1878) was an American lawyer, bank president and

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1873 to 1877.

Early life and career

Born in

Hamburg, New Jersey Hamburg is a borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 3,266, a decline of 11 (-0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 3,277,Newton, New Jersey Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrat ...

, in 1831, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1836, commencing practice in Newton. He was

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

of plea for

Sussex County, New Jersey Sussex County is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. Its county seat is Newton. ...

, from 1848 to 1858, 1868 and 1869, was a delegate to the

1860 Democratic National Convention The 1860 Democratic National Conventions were a series of presidential nominating conventions held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The first convention, held from April 23 t ...

, was a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

in 1863 and 1864, serving as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

, and was president of Merchant’s National Bank from 1865 to 1878.

Congress

Hamilton was elected a Democrat to the

in 1872, serving from 1873 to 1877. Afterward, he resumed practicing law and was director of the

Morris and Essex Railroad The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. History The M&E was incorporated January 29, 1835, to build a line from Newark in Essex Co ...

. He died in

Newton, New Jersey Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrat ...

, on March 14, 1878, and was interred in Newton Cemetery in Newton.

Private life

Hamilton and his wife were parishioners at Christ Church, Newton, the town's episcopal parish, and provided substantial financial support for the construction of the church's current house of worship completed in 1869.Merrit Ierley, ''An Inheritance of the Faithful: A 225th Anniversary History of Christ Episcopal Church, Newton, New Jersey'' (Newton, NJ: Christ Episcopal Church, 1993), 33.

References

External links

Robert Hamilton
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Robert 1809 births 1878 deaths Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly American prosecutors New Jersey lawyers 19th-century American railroad executives People from Hamburg, New Jersey Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey People from Newton, New Jersey Politicians from Sussex County, New Jersey Burials in New Jersey 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American lawyers