James F. Robinson | |
---|---|
22nd Governor of Kentucky | |
In office August 18, 1862 – September 1, 1863 |
|
Lieutenant | Vacant |
Preceded by | Beriah Magoffin |
Succeeded by | Thomas E. Bramlette |
Member of the Kentucky Senate | |
In office 1851 |
|
Personal details | |
Born |
Scott County, Kentucky |
October 4, 1800
Died | October 31, 1882 Scott County, Kentucky |
(aged 82)
Political party |
Democrat Whig |
Spouse(s) | Susan Mansell Willina Herndon Caroline Hening |
Relations | Brother of John McCracken Robinson |
Profession | Lawyer, Farmer |
Religion | Baptist |
James Fisher Robinson (October 4, 1800 – October 31, 1882) was the 22nd Governor of Kentucky, serving the remainder of the unfinished term of Governor Beriah Magoffin. Magoffin, a Confederate sympathizer, became increasingly ineffective after the elections of 1861 yielded a supermajority to pro-Union forces in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly. Magoffin agreed to resign the governorship, provided he could select his successor. He selected Robinson.
Politically, Robinson opposed both secession and abolition. Though he had Union sympathies, he was considered a moderate, opposing both fugitive slave laws and the enlistment of black soldiers. As a state senator, he supported the Crittenden Compromise and opposed the Civil War. As governor, he drew criticism from the administration of President Abraham Lincoln for opposing the Emancipation Proclamation.
Robinson was born to Jonathan and Jane Black Robinson in Scott County, Kentucky on October 4, 1800. His early studies were done under a private tutor, then under Presbyterian minister Robert Marshall. He was of English and Scottish descent. He attended Forest Hill Academy and Transylvania University, graduating in 1818. His brother, John McCracken Robinson graduated in the same class and moved to Illinois, where he eventually served two terms as a U.S. Senator. James Robinson studied law under William T. Barry, and was admitted to the bar, beginning his practice in Georgetown, Kentucky.