ROBERT H. WHITELAW 1875

HISTORY OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

(Photo courtesy of Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis.)
ROBERT H. WHITELAW
1875 - 1878

Robert H. Whitelaw, the second prosecuting attorney, took office in 1875 at age 20. He was born on January 30, 1854 in Essex County, Virginia, the son of a slave-holding plantation owner who sold his slaves and brought his family to Cape Girardeau in 1859. Robert's father died in 1860. While Robert was attending the Pleasant Hill Academy at Fruitland in 1863 soldiers soldiers "broke up the school." He studied law at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He beat Wilson Cramer for election as prosecuting attorney shortly after graduating from law school in 1874 and served two terms. In 1881 he was elected representative in the State Legislature, serving four terms. In 1890 he was elected representative to U.S. Congress from this district. After one term he returned to private practice. He was city attorney for many years before retiring in 1927. He died July 27, 1937.