Robert Brodnax Glenn (August 11, 1854 – May 16, 1920) was an American lawyer, prosecuting attorney, U.S. Attorney, and politician who served as a state senator and as the 51st Governor of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

from 1905 to 1909.

Early life and career

A native of

Rockingham County, North Carolina Rockingham County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 91,096. Its county seat is Wentworth, North Carolina, Wentworth. The county ...

, Glenn was born to Chalmers Lanier Glenn and Annie S. Dodge. He graduated from

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

in 1874(?), then attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

law school for a year then studied law under Chief Justice

Richmond Mumford Pearson Richmond Mumford Pearson (June 28, 1805 – January 5, 1878) was an American jurist who served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1859 to 1878. He was the father of Congressman Richmond Pearson and the father-in-law of Nor ...

. He began practicing law in

Stokes County Stokes County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,520. Its county seat is Danbury. Stokes County is included in the Winston-Salem, NC, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

before moving to

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

, where he joined the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

of Glenn, Manly & Henderson, a predecessor firm to the modern-day Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC. In 1885, he became prosecuting attorney for the state's ninth district. From 1893 until 1897, he served as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of North Carolina. Glenn was elected to the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

in 1898.

Governor

Glenn was known as the "

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

Governor" for his successful 1908 campaign to ban

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

statewide. Glenn was also interested in

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

, as evidenced by his remark at the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...

meeting of 1908: "our forests are being denuded...the failure of the People throughout the States to protect the great forest industry of our country...is one of the chief sources if not the greatest source of all atural resource waste..Our People, regardless of the future, have been living only for the present, thinking of themselves and not of their children and their children's children." Oher reforms were realized during his time in office. In 1906, a mob in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury ( ) is a city in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. ...

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

five black men who were accused of murdering a white family. Governor Glenn ordered three companies of state

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

to the scene, but it was too late; the five were already dead. The next day, Glenn, at the sheriff's request, sent the military companies to Salisbury to guard the jail now holding one alleged lyncher. Glenn went to Salisbury himself two days later to testify in the trial of the soon to be convicted lynching "leader," George Hall. Eventually, the lynch mob leader was tried and sentenced to fifteen years in prison, the first such conviction for lynching in North Carolina history. Hall, however, was pardoned by Governor Kitchin before serving the full term. Public outcry over the lynching and concern about its negative effect on North Carolina's business prospects prompted Glenn to send out an executive order to all county sheriffs and all state militia companies to inform him immediately of any rumor of a lynching in the future, and to shoot to kill if necessary to guard prisoners threatened by mob violence. In 1908, while still serving as governor, Glenn was ordained as an elder at

First Presbyterian Church (Raleigh, North Carolina) First Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church located at the corner of Morgan and Salisbury Streets in downtown Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The church was established in a meeting of Presbyterians at the Nor ...

, in what was believed to be the first instance of a sitting governor of the state assuming an ordained office in any church.Jonas, W. Glenn
''A Cloud of Witnesses from the Heart of the City''
p. 162.

Legacy

Glenn was a resident of

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

. Robert B. Glenn High School in

Kernersville, North Carolina Kernersville is a town in Forsyth County, North Carolina, Forsyth County, North Carolina, and the largest suburb of Winston-Salem. A small portion of the town is also in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County. The population was 26,481 ...

, is named after the former governor. His boyhood home, Lower Sauratown Plantation, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984.

References

Specific General
northcarolinahistory -Robert Brodnax Glenn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn, Robert 1854 births 1920 deaths Democratic Party governors of North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina state senators United States attorneys for the Western District of North Carolina People from Rockingham County, North Carolina American Presbyterians Temperance activists from North Carolina Burials at Salem Cemetery (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) Wilmington massacre conspirators 19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly