Robert Crockett Gregory (February 15, 1811 – January 25, 1885) was an

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and

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who served in the Indiana Senate and as a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...

from January 3, 1865, to January 3, 1871.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 200 ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page

Biography

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in 1811, Robert Gregory was the son of James Gregory, a

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native who was a Ranger in the U.S. Army during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and later a member of the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...

. The Gregory family arrived in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

( Indiana Territory at that time) in 1813. In 1818, they moved to Lawrence County, settling near

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. Robert Gregory lived with his father until 1827, when he left home. He arrived in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, where he worked as a clerk at a dry goods store. In 1830, he moved to Fountain County, where he married. He worked as a trader until 1836. From 1832 to 1843, he lived in Crawfordsville, where he studied law with a local professor. He was admitted to the bar in 1838. He opened a private law practice in Crawfordsville with another lawyer named Alexander Thomson.

Political and military career

In 1841, Gregory, at that time a Whig, was nominated to represent Montgomery County in the Indiana Senate, filling the vacancy left behind following the former senator's resignation. Gregory served in the Senate until 1843, the same year he moved to Lafayette. Gregory would reside in the city for the rest of his life, opening up a new private law practice there. In 1850, Gregory ran as a Whig in an election to choose a local delegate to the state's upcoming

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but was defeated by a pro-

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Democratic candidate. In 1852, Gregory ran as a Whig for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, but was defeated by Democrat Daniel Mace. In 1863, following

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General John Hunt Morgan's raid into Indiana,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Oliver P. Morton issued a call for volunteers to enlist to help protect the state. Gregory was one of the 65,000 Hoosier men who volunteered. Gregory was made

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

of the newly formed regiment and the men were sent to

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, though they were never called to action.

Judicial career and later life

By 1864, Gregory had become a Republican, and was elected to the

during a statewide Republican landslide. Gregory and the other three Republican justices (

Jehu Elliott Jehu Tindle Elliott (February 7, 1813 – February 12, 1876) was an American lawyer, politician, businessman, and judge who served in the Indiana House of Representatives, the Indiana Senate and as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from ...

James S. Frazer James Somerville Frazer (July 17, 1824 – February 20, 1893) was an United States of America, American politician, lawyer, and judge who served in the Indiana House of Representatives and as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 3 ...

, and Charles Ray) elected to the Supreme Court that year became known as "the Lincoln four." Gregory succeeded Justice

James Hanna James Hanna (born July 14, 1989) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted in the sixth round (186th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at the Un ...

to the bench. Gregory wrote the unanimous

opinion An opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, rather than facts, which are true statements. Definition A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal with f ...

of the court in the famous case, ''Smith v. Moody'', which struck down Article 13 of the

Indiana Constitution The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...

that banned

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individuals from settling in the state or entering into contracts. Gregory wrote that Article 13 violated the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

's Privileges and Immunities Clause. In his opinion, Gregory claimed that African Americans should be granted

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

and were entitled to the constitutional rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, Gregory also wrote in his opinions that African Americans were not entitled to the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

or the ability to hold public office, as these were not "essential characteristics of citizenship." Gregory sought re-election to the court, but was defeated and succeeded to the court by Democratic Justice

John Pettit John Pettit (June 24, 1807January 17, 1877) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. A United States Representative and Senator from Indiana, he also served in the court systems of Indiana and Kansas. Born in Sackets Harbor, New York, h ...

in 1871. After leaving the Supreme Court, Gregory continued to practice law in Lafayette with his son, William B. Gregory.

Personal life and death

Gregory married in 1830 and had four children, two daughters and two sons (one of whom was the aforementioned William B. Gregory, who became a lawyer himself and worked at his father's practice in Lafayette before moving to

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 the ...

). Gregory died in Lafayette in 1885. He is buried in Lafayette's Springvale Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Robert 1811 births 1885 deaths U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Republican Party Indiana state senators Union Army officers Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court American judges