Frederick Robie (August 12, 1822 – February 3, 1912) was an American physician and politician who most notably served as the 39th Governor of Maine.

Early life

Robie was born in

Gorham, Maine Gorham is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,336 at the 2020 United States Census. In addition to its urban village center known as Gorham Village or simply "the Village," the town encompasses a number of s ...

and studied at the Gorham Academy. He graduated from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint e ...

in 1841. After graduation, he taught at academies in the Southern states and served as a tutor to the family of Dennis DuPont Hankins, a plantation owner in the Territory of Florida. He then took a medical course at

Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the unive ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and received his medical degree in 1844. He had a successful medical career and established medical practices in

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddeford P ...

, and then in

Waldoboro, Maine Waldoboro is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 5,154 at the 2020 census. Waldoboro was incorporated in 1773 and developed a reputation as a ship building and port facility from the banks of the Medomak R ...

. He later practiced medicine in his hometown of Gorham.

Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, Robie accepted an appointment from President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

Paymaster A paymaster is someone appointed by a group of buyers, sellers, investors or lenders to receive, hold, and dispense funds, commissions, fees, salaries (remuneration) or other trade, loan, or sales proceeds within the private sector or public secto ...

United States Volunteers United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army and t ...

. He served with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

from 1861 to 1863. Robie then was transferred to Boston as Chief Paymaster of the Department of New England. He later served in Maine administering the final payments of discharged soldiers.

Politics

Robie was elected to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

in 1859. Re-elected in 1860, he left office to serve in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. At the end of the war, Robie was elected to the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constituti ...

in 1866 and 1867. He was

Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives The Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives is the speaker and presiding officer of the Maine House of Representatives, the lower house of the Maine Legislature. List of speakers {{Years in Maine * Maine Maine () is a U.S. s ...

in 1872 and 1876. He served as a member of the

Executive Council of Maine The Executive Council of Maine was a government body established with the Maine Constitution in 1820 and dissolved via statewide referendum in 1975. It was made up of seven members, traditionally defeated members of the majority legislative party, a ...

in 1880 and from 1881 to 1882. In 1882 he was the Republican nominee for Governor and was elected by a popular vote. He was re-elected in 1884 by nearly 20,000 votes. He left office on January 5, 1887.

Later years

After leaving office, Robie continued his medical practice. He also served on the boards of directors of the First National Bank of Portland and the Portland and Rochester Railroad Company. He died on February 3, 1912.

References

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978''. Greenwood Press, 1988. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robie 1822 births 1912 deaths Bowdoin College alumni Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Republican Party Maine state senators Members of the Executive Council of Maine Politicians from Gorham, Maine Physicians from Maine Republican Party governors of Maine Speakers of the Maine House of Representatives United States Army paymasters 19th-century American politicians