George ROBERTSON, Congress, KY (1790-1874)

ROBERTSON George , a Representative from Kentucky; born near Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Ky., November 18, 1790; pursued preparatory studies and attended Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky., until 1806; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1809 and commenced practice in Lancaster, Ky.; elected as a Republican to the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Congresses and served from March 4, 1817, until his resignation in 1821, before the convening of the Seventeenth Congress; chairman, Committee on Private Land Claims (Fifteenth Congress); member of the State house of representatives 1822-1827, serving four years as speaker; declined the appointment as Governor of Arkansas Territory tendered by President Monroe and the diplomatic posts of United States Minister to Colombia in 1824 and to Peru in 1828; secretary of state of Kentucky in 1828; appointed associate justice of the court of appeals of Kentucky in 1829 and served as chief justice from 1829 to 1834, when he resigned; resumed the practice of law in Lexington, Ky.; professor of law in Transylvania University 1834-1857; elected as a Whig a member of the State house of representatives in 1848, 1851, and 1852, and served as speaker in the two last-named years; justice of the court of appeals for the second district of Kentucky 1864-1871 and acting chief justice part of the time; died in Lexington, Ky., May 16, 1874; interment in Lexington Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present