Robert Wilson (November 1803May 10, 1870) was a United States senator from Missouri.

Biography

Born near

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...

, he moved to Howard County, Missouri in 1820 and taught school. In 1825 he was

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

judge of Howard County and was clerk of the circuit and county courts from 1829 to 1840. In 1837 he was appointed brigadier general of the State forces and served during the so-called Mormon War. He studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and commenced practice in 1840. Wilson moved to

Huntsville, Missouri Huntsville is a city in Randolph County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,376 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County. History Randolph County was organized February 2, 1829, and Huntsville was established as th ...

and was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives in 1844; in 1852 he moved to Andrew County, Missouri and in 1854 was a member of the Missouri Senate. In 1861, Wilson was a Union delegate to the

Missouri Constitutional Convention (1861-63) Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to t ...

called to determine the attitude on secession in 1861 and was elected vice president of the convention, later acting as president. He was appointed as a Unionist to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the expulsion of

Waldo P. Johnson Waldo Porter Johnson (born September 16, 1817August 14, 1885) was an American politician who served as a Confederate States Senator from Missouri from 1863 to 1865. Biography Born in Bridgeport, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), Waldo Porte ...

and served from January 17, 1862, to November 13, 1863, when a successor was elected. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and in 1870 he died in Marshall, Missouri. Interment was in

Mount Mora Cemetery Mount Mora Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri. Among those who are buried in the cemetery are three governors, a U.S. senator, soldiers from both sides in the American Civil War and riders of the Pony Express. In Octo ...

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

References

Retrieved on 2009-04-28 1803 births 1870 deaths Politicians from Staunton, Virginia Missouri state court judges Members of the Missouri House of Representatives Missouri state senators United States senators from Missouri People of Missouri in the American Civil War Missouri lawyers United States Army generals Missouri Unconditional Unionists Missouri Unionists Unionist Party United States senators People from Howard County, Missouri People from Huntsville, Missouri 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers {{Missouri-politician-stub