Robert P. Aitken | |
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Assumed office January 1, 1865 |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1819 Perth, New York |
Died | 1873 Flint Township, Michigan |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Sarah J. Aitken (née Johnstone) |
Relations | David D. Aitken, son |
Profession | Farmer, Township Supervisor, Insurance company secretary |
Religion | Episcopalian |
Robert P. Aitken (1819–1873) was a Republican politician in the U.S. state of Michigan from 1865–1868, as well as a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War, a township supervisor, a fire insurance company secretary, and a farmer.
He was born in what is now Perth, New York to William Aitken and Helen Aitken (née Chalmers) and raised as an Episcopalian and remained a devout follower for his entire life. He was the fifth of six children. As a teenager he worked in his uncle William Hinton's office.
In 1842, he moved to Flint Township, Michigan.
Aitken served in the American Civil War in the Eighth Michigan Infantry.
In 1865 he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives for Genesee County's 2nd District, and was re-elected in 1867.
He held the office of Supervisor of Flint Township for twenty nine years. He also acted as secretary of the Genesee County Fire Insurance Company.
On March 12, 1843 he married Sarah J. Johnstone. They had ten children. One of his sons was David D. Aitken, also a politician.
He died in 1873 of unknown causes. He is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Flint, next to his wife and children.
Aitken's 1843 Greek Revival/Italianate style farmhouse at 1110 N. Linden Rd. in Flint Township, Michigan was added to The National Register of Historic Places as an example of high-quality 19th century architecture on November 26, 1982. It remains a private residence.