Robert Emmett Bledsoe BAYLOR, Congress, AL (1793-1874)

BAYLOR, Robert Emmett Bledsoe, (nephew of Jesse Bledsoe), a Representative from Alabama; born in Lincoln County, Ky., May 10, 1793; served in the War of 1812; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced; member of the Kentucky house of representatives in 1819, but resigned and moved to Alabama in 1820, continuing the practice of law; studied theology, was licensed to preach, and was ordained to the Baptist ministry; member of the Alabama house of representatives in 1824; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1829-March 3, 1831); unsuccessful candidate for election in 1830 to the Twenty-second Congress; commanded an Alabama regiment during the Creek War; moved to Texas in 1839; elected judge of the district and supreme courts of the Republic; member of the convention that framed the State constitution of Texas in 1845; district judge for twenty-five years; one of the founders of Baylor University at Independence, Tex. (now located at Waco, Tex.), and Baylor Female College at Belton, Tex.; professor of law in Baylor University; died at Gay Hill, Washington County, Tex., on January 6, 1874; interment in the Baylor University grounds; later the remains were removed to the campus of Baylor Female College at Belton, Tex.

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