Robert R. Reid

Who was Robert R. Reid?

Robert Raymond Reid was the fourth territorial governor of Florida. He was also a Representative from Georgia. He also held several judicial positions.

Robert Reid was born in Prince William Parish, Beaufort District, South Carolina, in 1789. He was educated at the University of South Carolina and studied and practiced law in Augusta, Georgia. Reid began public service at age 27 as a judge and later served Georgia as an at-large Representative from Georgia to the 15th, 16th, and 17th United States Congresses and served from February 18, 1819, to March 3, 1823. He also held several judicial positions including judge in the superior court of Georgia, circuit court judge for Middle Georgia, city judge for Augusta, Georgia. In May 1832, he was appointed United States judge for the district of East Florida by U.S. President Andrew Jackson.

Reid's life was marked by personal tragedy. He married three times, was widowed twice and lost numerous children and grandchildren. With his first wife Anna Margaret McClaws, whom he married in 1811, Reid had five children: Janet, James, Florida, Rosalie, and Robert Raymond III. Anna Margaret McClaws died in 1825.