Robert Norton (Virginia politician)

Robert Norton (born about 1840) was a former slave who became a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1869 until 1874 and 1876 until 1883.^[1] He was one of three brothers who held office. His much older brother Frederick S. Norton was a member of the House of Delegates from 1869 until 1871, and his younger brother was Daniel M. Norton. They were reportedly the children of a slave and her owner and escaped to Troy, New York.

Robert Norton

Norton and his brother Daniel returned to Yorktown, Virginia after the American Civil War. He was a shopkeeper and farmer.^[2]

Running as an independent in 1874 for a seat in the U.S. Congress, he criticized his White Republican incumbent opponent, James H. Platt Jr., as a carpetbagger and urged voters to elect a "colored" man.^[3] Democrat John Goode won the election in November 1874.

Norton appeared on the Readjuster Party ticket in November 1881.^[4]

See also

• African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era

References

1. "Dictionary of Virginia Biography: Robert Norton" (PDF). Library of Virginia.
2. Kale, Wilford (May 17, 2018). Yorktown, Virginia: A Brief History. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467139571 – via Google Books.
3. Friedlander, Alan; Gerber, Richard Allan (November 22, 2018). Welcoming Ruin: The Civil Rights Act of 1875. BRILL. ISBN 9789004384071 – via Google Books.
4. "robert_norton". February 26, 2012 – via Flickr.