John S. Robinson, Governor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_S._Robinson_(governor)

John Staniford Robinson (November 10, 1804 – April 25, 1860) was an American, a lawyer, and the 22nd Governor of Vermont from 1853 to 1854.

Biography

Robinson was born in Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont. He graduated in 1824 from Williams College, studied law and passed the bar in 1827. He was also the grandson of United States Senator Moses Robinson and grandnephew of U.S. Senator Jonathan Robinson. He married Mrs. Julietta Staniford Robinson, widow of William Robinson, in October, 1847. The marriage bore no children.

Career

Robinson opened his own law office in Bennington and continued to practice until his death. He was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1822 to 1833 and the Vermont Senate from 1838 till 1839.

Robinson's political aspirations were somewhat thwarted by the fracturing of the Democratic Party over slavery. Serving from 1853 to 1854, he was the first Democratic Governor of Vermont and remained the only Democrat elected to the governorship for 110 years. He placed second in the election but was chosen by legislature over first place finisher and Whig, Erastus Fairbanks. The 110 year Republican winning streak ended when Democrat Philip H. Hoff became governor in 1962.

Death

In 1860, while Robinson was serving as chairman of the Vermont delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, he died from apoplexy (a stroke). He is interred at Old Bennington Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont.