Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb
From Find A Grave |
Image from Academy Stamp |
| Born: | June 8, 1807, Rhea County, TN |
| Died: | November 1, 1864, Bellefonte |
| Buried: | Family cemetery, Madison County, AL |
Notes:
• US Congressman for the Huntsville district but really more from Gurley than Huntsville.
• He was against the war but ran for (and won) a seat at the second Confederate Congress. He didn't attend the Congress in Richmond and his seat was taken away from him. His commitment to the Confederacy was/is in question.
• "A moderate and Unionist, Cobb defended the Union in the House even following secession in 1861, and was the last congressman from a Lower South state to withdraw from Congress. He ran unsuccessfully for the Confederate Congress in 1861, and was successfully elected when he ran again in 1863, but never arrived to take his seat, and was subsequently expelled on suspicion of disloyalty. There is recently discovered documentation to prove the long-held rumor was Cobb had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to serve as military governor of Alabama, though he never served in this position. Cobb died under suspicious circumstances in late November 1863, killed by a discharge of his own gun while mending a fence on his plantation, less than two weeks after his expulsion from the Confederate Congress." - Flicker
• Jackson County volunteers find rare Lincoln signature
Volunteers in Jackson County's new loose records project had hardly begun work when they discovered a fascinating historical document: a voucher signed by Abraham Lincoln. It was part of hte estate file of Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb, whom Lincoln appointed provisional governor of Alabama in 1863 (when some northern counties were in Union hands). Apparently, Cobb never served in the office or redeemed the $5,000 voucher for his pay.
According to a 1975 Alabama Review article by Dr. Leah Atkins, Cobb--a staunch Unionist elected to Congress in 1847--was the last of Alabama's legislative delegation to leave Washington in 1861. Although elected to the Confederate House of Representatives in 1863, he was considered suspect, and the House unanimously voted to expel him. Cobb died the next year while mending a fence on his plantation, after his pistol unexpectedly discharged.
Curators at ADAH have determined that the Lincoln signature is almost certainly genuine. Having placed Cobb's file in the probate vault for safekeeping, Jackson County's volunteers returned to their loose records work, excited about other discoveries that may lay ahead. - Alabama Archives
• There was a pdf paper by Dr. John Kvach on a website called "The Lonely Pilgrim" by Joseph Richardson that brought elements of this story together in an interesting way. It is no longer on that website and we cannot find it anywhere else. Hopefully, it will remerge again soon. - Editor's note
Related Links:
• Academy Stamp - This autograph is for sale (7/28/12) for $50. (Originally found at http://www.academystamp.com/williamson-robert-winfield-cobb-june-8-1807-november-1-1864-as-31st-congress-1849-51.html.)
• Alabama Archives - Article titled: Jackson Colunty Volunteers Find Rare Lincoln Signature, Pulbished by the ADAH Government Record Division Vo. 8, No., May 2003
• Amazon - A copy of this picture can be purchased from HistoricalFindings for $8.99 plus shipping.
• Ancestry.com - Page owned by Alvin Arrowood1 and requires Ancestry.com membership to view. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/3461593/person/833048522.)
• Cemeteries - Lou L. Sams contributed information to USGenWeb Archives, Spetember 29, 2004.
• FindaGrave - Created by Jason Presley, Dec. 18, 2005
• Flicker - Photo and Bio submited by Joseph Richardson
• Real People - Real History - W.R.W. The Civil War Stories of Madfiosn County, Alabama. (Originally found at http://www.uah.edu/realhistory/content/wrw-cobb.)
• Robs Genealogy - Compiled by Robert Reyes and the page was created by John Carindal's Second Site. (Originally found at http://www.robsgenealogy.net/cobb/p21.htm.)
• Wikipedia - Bio