Robert Witherspoon (January 29, 1767October 11, 1837) was an American politician who served as a

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Witherspoon was born near

Kingstree Kingstree is a city and the county seat of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,328 at the 2010 census. History The original town was laid out as Williamsburg by the Lords Proprietors in colonial times, but a ...

in the

Province of South Carolina Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...

as the son of a Scots-Irish father, Robert Witherspoon (1728–1778) who was born in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and settled in the

. His mother was Elizabeth Heathly Witherspoon (1740–1820), who was born in South Carolina. Robert Witherspoon attended local schools. Witherspoon was elected State treasurer in 1800 and served one term. He was a member of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...

from 1792 to 1794 from 1802 to 1804 and from 1806 to 1808. Witherspoon was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the Eleventh Congress (March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1811). He declined to be a candidate for reelection. He had large slave planting interests in

Sumter County, South Carolina Sumter County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,556. In a 2018 census estimate, the population was 106,512. Its county seat is Sumter. Sumter County comprises the Sumter, Sout ...

. He opposed the nullification act in 1832. He died near

Mayesville, South Carolina Mayesville is a town in Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 731 at the 2010 census, this was a decline from 1,001 in 2000. It is included in the Sumter, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town ...

, October 11, 1837. He was interred in the Salem Brick Church Cemetery. He was great-great-grandfather of

Robert Witherspoon Hemphill Robert Witherspoon Hemphill (May 10, 1915 – December 25, 1983) was a United States representative from South Carolina and later was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Educatio ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Witherspoon, Robert 1767 births 1837 deaths Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives People from Williamsburg County, South Carolina American people of Scotch-Irish descent Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina People from Mayesville, South Carolina