Anthony Ellmaker Roberts

Anthony Ellmaker Roberts (October 29, 1803 – January 23, 1885), was an American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives from 1855 to 1859, an abolitionist and close associate of Thaddeus Stevens.

Anthony Ellmaker Roberts was born near Barneston Station in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John Roberts and Mary Ellmaker. His family moved to Lancaster County in 1804. Growing up, Roberts received the limited education available from the local common school. In 1816, at the age of thirteen, Roberts began working for his uncle Isaac Ellmaker as a clerk in Isaac's country store in New Holland; at the age of twenty, Anthony received a share in the ownership of the store, and continued in the business until 1839.

On October 8, 1839, Roberts was elected on the Democratic Antimasonic ticket as Sheriff of Lancaster County. He then moved to Lancaster City, where he served his three-year term as sheriff from 1839 to 1842. In the fall of 1843, Roberts ran for a seat on the Twenty-Eighth Congress on the Anti-Masonic Party ticket, but he was defeated by the Whig Party candidate, Jeremiah Brown. On May 16, 1850, Roberts was appointed by US President Zachary Taylor as the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a position he held until May 29, 1853.

Just a few months after Roberts was appointed Marshal, the United States Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law as part of the Compromise of 1850. The law put Roberts in a difficult position as a Marshal who was also an abolitionist, because he was expected to enforce laws promoting the return of runaway slaves to the South or risk a fine of one thousand US$ per incident.

...
Wikipedia