Robert Augustine THOMPSON, Congress, VA (1805-1876)

THOMPSON Robert Augustine , a Representative from Virginia; born near Culpeper Court House, Culpeper County, Va., February 14, 1805; attended a private school at Gallipolis, Ohio, and the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced practice in Charleston, Kanawha County, Va. (now West Virginia); member of the State senate 1839-1846; elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847-March 3, 1849); declined to be a candidate for reelection; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1852; member of the board of visitors to the University of Virginia in 1852; moved to San Francisco, Calif., in 1853; appointed in 1853 a member of a commission to settle private land claims in California; appointed by the Governor a reporter of the California Supreme Court in 1870; member of the justices' court of San Francisco from 1870 until his death in San Francisco, Calif., August 31, 1876; interment in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

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