John ROBBINS, Congress, PA (1808-1880)

ROBBINS, John, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Bustleton (now a part of Philadelphia), near Lower Dublin, Pa., in 1808; attended the public schools; student at the Gunmere Academy in Burlington, N.J.; moved to Philadelphia in 1836 and engaged in the manufacture of steel; member of the board of commissioners of the district of Kensington and served as president several years; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first, Thirty-second, and Thirty-third Congresses (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1855); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1854; unsuccessful candidate for office of mayor of Philadelphia in 1862; resumed the steel manufacturing business and held several municipal offices; elected to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1876; member of the board of education and served as president for many years; president and director of the Kensington National Bank; died in Philadelphia, Pa., April 27, 1880; interment in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present