William R. Roberts

William R. Roberts

William Randall Roberts (born February 6, 1830 in County Cork , Ireland , † August 9, 1897 in New York City ) was an American politician . Between 1871 and 1875 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives .

Career

William Randall Roberts was born in County Cork a few months before the death of George IV , King of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover . He received a modest education. Roberts immigrated to the United States in July 1849 and settled in New York City, where he did business until 1869. In 1865 he became president of the Fenian Brotherhood , an Irish nationalist organization which carried out military attacks against British institutions in Canada in 1866 , for which he was arrested by the governor .

Politically, he belonged to the Democratic Party . In the congressional election of 1870 Roberts was elected to the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the fifth constituency of New York , where he succeeded John Morrissey on March 4, 1871 . He was re-elected once and then retired from Congress on March 3, 1875 .

He was then a member of the Board of Aldermen of New York City in 1877 . Two years later he ran unsuccessfully for the post of sheriff . On April 2, 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed him to succeed Cornelius Ambrose Logan as envoy ( Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary ) in Chile , a position he held until August 19, 1889. He died on August 9, 1897 in New York City and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Woodside .

Web links

• William R. Roberts in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• William R. Roberts in the database of Find a Grave (English)