Robert Crozier (October 13, 1827October 2, 1895) was an attorney, judge and politician from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as Chief Justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the sta ...

(1864–1867) and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

from

(1873–1874).

Early life

Crozier was born in

Cadiz, Ohio Cadiz ( ) is a village in Cadiz Township, Harrison County, Ohio, United States located about 20 miles from Steubenville. The population was 3,353 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Harrison County. History Cadiz was founded in 1803 a ...

on October 13, 1827, the son of John Thomas Crozier (1790–1867) and Jane Ann (Ginn) Crozier (1801–1839). He attended the public schools and Cadiz Academy, then began to study law with an attorney in

Carrollton, Ohio Carrollton is a village in and the county seat of Carroll County, Ohio, located southeast of Canton. The population was 3,087 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History The village was e ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1848, and began to practice in Carrollton.

Start of career

While residing in Carrollton, Crozier also became editor of the ''Carroll Free Press'' newspaper. Originally active in politics as a Whig, from 1848 to 1850, Crozier served as

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

of Carroll County. In the 1850s, Crozier served on Carroll County's board of examiners, which was responsible for reviewing the qualifications of teachers in the public schools and approving them for employment.

Continued career

Crozier moved to

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the ...

, on March 7, 1857, where he established the '' Leavenworth Daily Times'' newspaper and continued to practice law. He became a Republican when the party was founded in the mid-1850s, and he served on the Kansas territorial council from 1857 to 1858. In 1861, and Crozier was appointed

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 district of Kansas by 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 ...

. He served until 1864, when he resigned. From 1864 to 1867, Crozier served as Chief Justice of the

. After leaving the bench, he resumed practicing law and also served as cashier and manager of the First National Bank of Leavenworth.

Later career

On November 24, 1873, Crozier was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Alexander Caldwell. He was not a candidate for election to the seat, and served until February 12, 1874, when a successor was elected. After leaving the Senate, Crozier resumed his banking and legal interests in Leavenworth. Crozier served as judge of the first judicial district of Kansas from 1876 to 1892. He was a member of the board of directors of the Kansas Historical Society from 1886 to 1889.

Death and burial

After retiring, Crozier continued reside in Leavenworth. He died in Leavenworth on October 2, 1895. Crozier was buried at Mount Muncie Cemetery in

Lansing, Kansas Lansing is a city in Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the west side of the Missouri River and Kansas-Missouri state border. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,239. It is the second most pop ...

Family

In August 1852, Crozier married Margaret Atkinson (1824–1865) of Carrollton. In October 1877, Crozier married Susan Eleanor Hunt (1838–1902) of

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

. With his first wife, Crozier was the father of son William (1855–1942) and daughter Margaretta (Maggie) (1863–1941). William Crozier was a career officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

who attained the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

and served as the Army's Chief of Ordnance from 1901 to 1917. Margaretta Crozier was the wife of

John Edgar Reyburn John Edgar Reyburn (February 7, 1845 – January 4, 1914) was an American politician from Ohio who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district from 1890 to 1897, Pennsylvania's ...

and mother of

William Stuart Reyburn William Stuart Reyburn (December 17, 1882 – July 25, 1946) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Background Reyburn was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Margretta (nee Crozier) and John E. R ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crozier, Robert 1827 births 1895 deaths American bankers People from Cadiz, Ohio Ohio Whigs Politicians from Leavenworth, Kansas Members of the Kansas Territorial Legislature Kansas Republicans United States Attorneys for the District of Kansas Kansas state court judges Chief Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Republican Party United States senators from Kansas American people of Norman descent 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American businesspeople