Robert T. Van Horn

Robert T. Van Horn

Robert Thompson Van Horn (born May 19, 1824 in East Mahoning , Indiana County , Pennsylvania , †  January 3, 1916 in Kansas City , Missouri ) was an American politician . Between 1865 and 1897 he represented the state of Missouri in the US House of Representatives several times .

Career

Robert Van Horn attended the public schools in his home country and then completed an apprenticeship in the printing trade. In 1844 he moved to Pomeroy , Ohio . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1850, he began to work in this profession in Pomeroy. In 1855 he moved to Kansas City, where he was elected to the city council in 1857. Between 1857 and 1861, Van Horn was a post office owner in Kansas City. There he also founded the newspaper "Kansas City Journal", which he published and edited himself. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Republican Party . He was elected Mayor of Kansas City in 1861 and 1863. He also served in the Missouri Senate between 1862 and 1864 . In addition to these activities, he served as a lieutenant colonel in the army of the Union during the civil war . He was a member of a volunteer infantry unit from Missouri.

In the 1864 congressional election , Van Horn was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the sixth constituency of Missouri , where he succeeded Austin Augustus King on March 4, 1865 . After two re-elections, he was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1871 . These were initially overshadowed by the tensions between his party and President Andrew Johnson , which culminated in a narrowly failed impeachment trial against Johnson. During this time the 13th , 14th and 15th amendments were ratified. Among other things, Van Horn campaigned for the expansion of the railway network. He was involved in the political planning of the first railroad bridge over the Missouri River .

In 1870 Van Horn decided not to run again. Between 1874 and 1876 he was President of the Republicans; from 1875 to 1881 he headed the Treasury in the Sixth Tax District of Missouri. Between 1864 and 1884 Van Horn took part as a delegate at all Republican National Conventions . He was also a member of the Republican National Committee in 1872 and 1884 . In the elections of 1880 Van Horn was re-elected to Congress in the eighth district of his state, where he replaced Samuel Locke Sawyer on March 4, 1881 . Until March 3, 1883 he could spend another term in the US House of Representatives. In 1894 he ran again for Congress in the fifth district of his state. He was defeated by incumbent John Charles Tarsney from the Democratic Party . Van Horn, however, appealed against the outcome of this election. When this was granted, he was able to take over the mandate from Tarsney on February 27, 1896 and end the current legislative period until March 3, 1897. In 1896 he was no longer nominated for re-election by his party.

After his final resignation from the US House of Representatives, Robert Van Horn also gave up his publishing activities and retired. He died on January 3, 1916 on his Honeywood estate near Kansas City.

Web links

• Robert T. Van Horn in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Robert T. Van Horn in the database of Find a Grave (English)