Robert R. Reid, 4th Governor of Florida Territory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R._Reid

Robert Raymond Reid (September 8, 1789 – July 1, 1841) was the fourth territorial governor of Florida. He was also a Representative from Georgia. He also held several judicial positions.

Robert Reid was born in Prince William Parish, Beaufort District, South Carolina, in 1789. He was educated at the University of South Carolina and studied and practiced law in Augusta, Georgia. Reid began public service at age 27 as a judge and later served Georgia as an at-large Representative from Georgia to the 15th, 16th, and 17th United States Congresses and served from February 18, 1819, to March 3, 1823. He also held several judicial positions including judge in the superior court of Georgia, circuit court judge for Middle Georgia, city judge for Augusta, Georgia. In May 1832, he was appointed United States judge for the district of East Florida by U.S. President Andrew Jackson.

In 1836, he married Mary Martha Reid, who later became known for her nursing work during the American Civil War. They had two sons, William and Raymond.

U.S. President Martin Van Buren appointed Reid governor of Florida in December 1839. Reid presided at the convention that drafted Florida's first constitution and advocated a vigorous prosecution of the Second Seminole War.

He died at his home in Blackwood near Tallahassee, Florida, on July 1, 1841, a victim of a yellow fever epidemic