Representative William McKendree Robbins

William McKendree Robbins served as a Representative from North Carolina in the United States Congress from 1873 to 1879. A member of the Democratic Party, William McKendree Robbins contributed to the legislative process during 3 terms in office.

William McKendree Robbins’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, William McKendree Robbins participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

William McKendree Robbins (October 26, 1828 – May 5, 1905) was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina. Born in the old homestead near Trinity, North Carolina, Robbins pursued classical studies. He attended Old Trinity College and graduated from Randolph–Macon College, Virginia, about 1850. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1854 and commenced practice the same year in Eufaula, Alabama. He served four years as major in the Fourth Alabama Regiment of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. In 1865, Robbins moved in Salisbury, North Carolina and continue to practice law. He served as member of the North Carolina Senate in 1868 and 1872. Robbins was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-third, Forty-fourth, and Forty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1873 – March 4, 1879). He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Forty-fourth Congress). He was appointed by President Cleveland as the southern commissioner on the Gettysburg Battle Field Commission in 1894, which position he held until his death in Salisbury, North Carolina, on May 5, 1905. He was interred in Oakwood Cemetery, Statesville, North Carolina.