Jonathan Robinson (August 11, 1756November 3, 1819) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge from the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

who served as chief justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

and a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Early life

Robinson was born in

Hardwick, Massachusetts Hardwick is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States, about west of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 2,667 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Hardwick, Gilbertville, Wheelwright and Old Furnace. Hist ...

on August 11, 1756, a son of Samuel Robinson (1707–1767) and Mercy (Leonard) Robinson (1714–1793). He was raised in Hardwick, and in 1761 he moved with his family to Bennington, in what would later become Vermont but was then governed as part of New Hampshire – the

New Hampshire Grants The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the colonial governor of the Province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 (including 131 towns), were made o ...

. Robinson's father was an important leader in the New Hampshire Grants, and died while in England attempting to resolve a dispute over whether New Hampshire or New York had the right to grant land and town charters. After moving to Bennington, Robinson was educated locally, then served in the militia during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He served as a private and

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the company commanded by Joseph Safford, which was part of the regiment commanded by Ebenezer Walbridge. Safford's company was mobilized in May 1779, November 1780, August 1781, and August 1782. Robinson later went into business as the proprietor of the State Arms House tavern, which was located where the

Bennington Battle Monument The Bennington Battle Monument is a stone obelisk located at 15 Monument Circle, in Bennington, Vermont, United States. The monument commemorates the Battle of Bennington during the American Revolutionary War. In that battle, on 16 August 1777, ...

now stands. He later decided to study law, and he was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1796.

Career

Robinson was a longtime holder of local and state office, and became identified with the

Democratic-Republican Party 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 earl ...

at its founding. In addition to terms as a Bennington justice of the peace and member of the board of selectmen, among the offices in which he served were: member of the Vermont House of Representatives (1789–1796, 1797–1802, 1818–1819); Bennington town clerk (1795–1801); judge of probate for the Bennington district (1795–1798, 1800–1801, 1815–1818); and

chief judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the

(1801–1807). In addition to his business, legal, and political careers, Robinson was also active in the Vermont Militia; in April 1787, he was appointed a major in the militia's 1st Brigade. In August 1787, he was assigned as the brigade's

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

. In each year from 1803 to 1806, Robinson was the Democratic-Republican nominee for governor, and lost each time to

Isaac Tichenor Isaac Tichenor (February 8, 1754December 11, 1838) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the third and fifth governor of Vermont and United States Senator from Vermont. Biography Tichenor was born in Newark in the Province of ...

. In 1807, Robinson was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, filling the unexpired term of

Israel Smith Israel Smith (April 4, 1759 – December 2, 1810) was an American lawyer and politician. He held a wide variety of positions in the state of Vermont, including as a member of the United States House of Representatives, a member of the United ...

, who had resigned. He was elected to a full term in 1809 and served until retiring after the end of his term in 1815.

Awards

In 1790, Robinson received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. In 1803, Dartmouth awarded Robinson an honorary

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

Death and burial

Robinson died on November 3, 1819 in Bennington, Vermont. He is interred at the Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington.

Family

Robinson was the husband of Mary (Fassett) Robinson. They were the parents of four children: Jonathan Edwards, Mary, Henry, and Isaac Tichenor. Mary Robinson was the wife of Orsamus Cook Merrill. Robinson's brother

Moses Robinson Moses Robinson (March 22, 1741 – May 26, 1813) was a prominent Vermont political figure. When Vermont was an independent republic, he was its first chief justice and served a one-year term as governor. As governor he superintended the negoti ...

served as governor during the Vermont Republic as a U.S. senator. Brother

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

was a major general in the Vermont Militia and U.S. Marshal for Vermont. Brother Samuel was a colonel in the militia and served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.

Attempt to locate portrait

Robinson is one of approximately 45 U.S. senators for whom the Senate's photo historian has no likeness. Attempts to locate one have proved unsuccessful.

References

External links

*
Jonathan Robinson
at The Political Graveyard
Govtrack.us: Sen. Jonathan Robinson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Jonathan 1756 births 1819 deaths Vermont state court judges Chief Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Members of the Vermont House of Representatives United States senators from Vermont People from Hardwick, Massachusetts Vermont lawyers People from Bennington, Vermont Vermont Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Burials in Vermont 19th-century American lawyers