Robert H. Whittaker or Robert H. Whitaker (died September 7, 1905) was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in the U.S. state of Virginia, from 1874 - 1877.[1]

Biography

Whittaker was born enslaved sometime between 1830 and 1845 based on the 1870 and 1900 census recorded ages and was probably a native of Brunswick County.[2]

He was elected justice of the peace of the Totaro Magisterial District in May of 1871.[2]

He was selected by the Brunswick County Republican party to be the nominee for the Virginia House of Delegates in August of 1873.[2] The newspapers described him as a Radical Republican while he was campaigning.[2] Whittaker was duly elected to the House of Delegates in November 1873 defeating by 1448 to 961 the white conservative candidate.[2] He was thus elected to serve in the 1874 general assembly representing Brunswick County as a Republican.[3][4] Thomas E. Chambliss contested the seat on the basis that Whittaker was "ignorant and incapable of performing the duties",[5] sources described Chambliss as a "chronic campaigner" and no official receipt of a challenge has been found to be recorded.[2]

During this first session Whittaker served as a low ranking seat on the low importance Committee on Public Property.[2] In August 1875 he attended a state convention to "discuss the economic inequalities faced by African Americans in Virginia".[2]

Whittaker was re-elected in November 1875 again beating the white conservative opponent by a strong margin of 1227 to 827.[2] He was again nominated to run for a third term in October 1877 but he did not run.[2]

In 1881 he went to a Convention of African American Republicans in Petersburg.[2]

Around 1884 he married a Minerva Ann of unknown maiden name (which may have been his second marriage) and together they had a child that did not live into adulthood.[2]

Whittaker won the first of his three two year terms to the office of Brunswick County Board of Supervisors from Totaro Magisterial District in May 1887.[2] Towards the end of his service he was in serious financial issues that resulted in the courts ordering that his land be sold at a public auction to pay his debts around 1902.[2]

He died September 7, 1905[2] described as about seventy.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "House History". history.house.virginia.gov.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Tarter, Brent. "Robert H. Whittaker (d. September 7, 1905)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  3. ↑ Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 513.
  4. ↑ "General Assembly of Virginia (1874)". The Norfolk Virginian. 3 January 1874. p. 4. Retrieved 14 November 2022.Open access icon
  5. ↑ "Mr Thomas E. Chambliss challenges Robert H. Whittaker". The Daily State Journal. 9 January 1874. p. 1. Retrieved 14 November 2022.Open access icon
  6. ↑ "Dictionary of Virginia Biography - Encyclopedia Virginia: Source list". www.lva.virginia.gov. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
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