Robert "Honest Bob" Wilson (1793 1856) was a land speculator and politician in Texas.

Early life

Robert Wilson was born in Talbot County, Maryland, on December 7, 1792, to James and Elizabeth (Hardcastle) Wilson. Robert received some schooling and learned a variety of skills in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, including carpentry, machining, and running boilers. He joined the military service of the United States during the War of 1812.

Career and personal life

Wilson fought in the

Battle of 1812 A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

. In 1819, Wilson married Margaret Prendergrast, after which they moved to St. Louis. Robert Wilson ran for the presidency of the Republic of Texas in 1838. Initially he was engaged in a four-way race with Vice-President Mirabeau Lamar, Peter Grayson, and James Collingsworth, but Grayson committed suicide on July 9, 1838, and Collingsworth drowned in

Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...

two days later. Lamar won the race by a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

, 6,987 votes to 252 for Wilson.

Death and legacy

Wilson died on May 25, 1858, and he is interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. Wilson's son, James Theodore Wilson, was a two-term mayor of Houston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Robert 1793 births 1856 deaths Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) Republic of Texas Senators