Robert Henry Whitfield

Robert Henry Whitfield (born September 14, 1814 in Suffolk , Virginia , † October 5, 1868 in Smithfield , Virginia) was an American lawyer and politician .

Career

Robert Henry Whitfield, son of Henry Whitfield, was born during the British-American War on his grandfather's plantation in Nansemond County , which is now part of the independent city of Suffolk. Much is not known about his youth. At one point he studied law and began practicing as a lawyer after receiving his license. His student days were overshadowed by the economic crisis of 1837 and the following years by the Mexican-American War . He married Rebecca Ann Peebles († 1871). The couple had at least three children together: Henry (1850–1887), Samuel (1854–1889) and Robert (1856–1910). In 1851 he ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives . Whitfield became Commonwealth's Attorney in Isle of Wight County in 1852 - a post he held until 1860. In 1861 he participated as a delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention. He was elected to the Second Confederate Congress in 1863 , where he served from March 1864 until his resignation on March 2, 1865. He probably resumed his work as a lawyer after the end of the civil war . Whitfield died in Smithfield (Isle of Wight County) in 1868. He was then buried in a private or family cemetery, but later reburied in the Old St. Luke's Church Graveyard near Smithfield.

literature

Gaines, William Harris: Biographical Register of Members: Virginia State Convention of 1861, First Session , Virginia State Library, 1969, p. 78
Whitfield, Vallie Jo Fox: Virginia history and Whitfield biographies , Whitfield, 1976

Web links

Robert Henry Whitfield on the Encyclopedia Virginia website

personal data
SURNAME	Whitfield, Robert Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH	September 14, 1814
PLACE OF BIRTH	Suffolk , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH	October 5, 1868
Place of death	Smithfield , Virginia