Abijah Gilbert (June 18, 1806November 23, 1881) was an American politician who served one term as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Florida, from 1869 to 1875.

Early life and career

Born in

Gilbertsville, New York Gilbertsville is a village in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 399 at the 2010 census. The village is in the town of Butternuts and is west of Oneonta. Geography Gilbertsville is located at (42.469492, −75.320980). ...

, Gilbert attended Gilbertsville Academy and entered

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

(in

Clinton, New York Clinton, New York may refer to: *Clinton County, New York *Clinton, Clinton County, New York *Clinton, Dutchess County, New York *Clinton, Oneida County, New York * Clinton, Manhattan, or Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood in New York City *East Greenb ...

) in 1822, as a member of the class of 1826, but did not return the following year. He spent the years, 1822 to 1850 engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York City before moving to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

in 1865.

Political career

An early advocate of

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...

, Gilbert was a strong supporter of the Whig Party and, later on, the Republican Party.

U.S. Senate

He was elected to represent Florida in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

as a Republican, and served from 1869 to 1875, as part of the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

effort. During that period of time, he missed 40.4% of roll call votes.

Later career and death

Gilbert retired from business and political life after his Senate term ended while continuing to live in St. Augustine. He moved back to Gilbertsville shortly before his death in 1881. He is buried in Brookside Cemetery in Gilbertsville.

References

External links