Robert Mitchell (December 30, 1778November 13, 1848) was a member of 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

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Formative years

Mitchell was born in

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 364,663. The county seat is Greensburg. Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford co ...

on December 30, 1778. He studied medicine before he moved to Ohio in 1807.

Career

Mitchell practiced medicine in

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...

, and later held various positions in

Muskingum County Muskingum County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,410. Its county seat is Zanesville. Nearly bisected by the Muskingum River, the county name is based on a Delaware American Indian ...

. He served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

in John De Vault's company. From 1815 to 1817, Mitchell was a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

. He then served as a judge of the

court of common pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. In 1822, he held the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the Ohio Militia. He was elected to represent

Ohio's 12th congressional district Ohio's 12th congressional district is a United States List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in central Ohio, covering Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware County, Morrow County, Ohio, Morrow County, and Licking County ...

(

Licking Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to communicate with other animals. Many animals both gro ...

and Muskingum Counties) in Congress in 1832. He lost his bid for reelection in 1834 and then returned to the practice of medicine.

Death

Mitchell died on November 13, 1848.

Sources

*Martis, Kenneth C. ''Historical Atlas of Political Parties in Congress''. (New York: MacMillan, 1989) p. 92 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Robert 1778 births 1848 deaths Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Politicians from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania People from Zanesville, Ohio Physicians from Ohio American military personnel of the War of 1812 American militia generals Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 19th-century American legislators