Romulus M. Saunders
Romulus Mitchell Saunders | |
---|---|
North Carolina House of Commons | |
In office November 20, 1848 – December 27, 1852 | |
Preceded by | Berry D. Sims Rufus H. Jones |
Succeeded by | Jacob Mordecai Nathaniel G. Rand W.W. Whitaker |
Constituency | Wake County |
In office November 17, 1817 – December 25, 1820 | |
Preceded by | W. Watkins |
Succeeded by | Quinten Anderson |
Constituency | Caswell County |
In office November 20, 1815 – December 21, 1815 | |
Preceded by | John P. Harrison |
Succeeded by | W. Watkins |
Constituency | Caswell County |
Personal details | |
Born | March 3, 1791 Caswell County, North Carolina |
Died | April 21, 1867 Raleigh, North Carolina | (aged 76)
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses | Rebecca Payne Carter
(m. 1812)Anne Hayes Johnson (m. 1823) |
Children | 9 |
Parents |
|
Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Romulus Mitchell Saunders (March 3, 1791 – April 21, 1867) was an American politician from North Carolina.
Early life and education
Saunders was born near Milton, Caswell County, North Carolina, the son of William and Hannah Mitchell Saunders. His mother died when Romulus was an infant, and his father subsequently moved him to Sumner County, Tennessee. Following his father's death in 1803, uncle James Saunders became legal guardian and brought Romulus back to Caswell County to attend Hyco and Caswell Academies. In 1809, Saunders enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was expelled in March 1810 for firing a pistol on campus and throwing "a stone at the Faculty". Nine years later, Saunders would be elected to the university's board of trustees, where he served for forty-five years.
Career
Early career
After his expulsion, Saunders moved to
U.S. House of Representatives
Saunders was elected to the
State government
In 1828, Saunders left Congress to become
Return to Congress
Saunders returned to Congress following his election in
Minister to Spain
Perhaps as an act of appreciation for helping him win the Democratic presidential nomination, President Polk appointed Saunders as minister plenipotentiary to Spain in 1846. This coincided with the nation's increasing desire to procure Cuba, not only in the context of manifest destiny but also in the interest of Southern power. Cuba, with some half a million slaves, would provide Southerners with extra leverage in Congress. In the late 1840s, President James K. Polk dispatched Saunders with a mission to offer $100 million to buy Cuba. Saunders however did not speak Spanish, and as then Secretary of State James Buchanan noted "even [English] he sometimes murders". Saunders was a clumsy negotiator, which both entertained and angered the Spanish. Spain replied that they would "prefer seeing [Cuba] sunk in the ocean" than sold. It may have been a moot point anyway, as it is unlikely that the Whig majority House would have accepted such an obviously pro-Southern move. The 1848 election of Zachary Taylor, a Whig, ended formal attempts to purchase the island.[3]
Return to state government
Saunders moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, and in 1850 was elected to represent Wake County in the House of Commons. As representative, Saunders became a supporter of constructing the North Carolina Railroad. Saunders again attempted to be appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1852. The legislature could not agree on whom to appoint, and the seat remained open until the appointment of David Settle Reid in 1854. The legislature did, however, reappoint Saunders to the Superior Court. He was a member of a commission to codify North Carolina laws in 1851 along with Bartholomew F. Moore and Asa Biggs.[4]
Personal life
Saunders married Rebecca Peine Carter on December 27, 1812. The marriage produced five children: James, Franklin, Camillus, Anne Peine, and Rebecca. Rebecca later died, and Saunders married Anne Heyes Johnson (the daughter of William Johnson) on May 26, 1823. The couple had at least four children: William Johnson, Margaret Madeline, Jane Claudia, and Julia A. Around 1831, the Saunders family purchased the Elmwood estate in Raleigh – the former home of John Louis Taylor. Saunders died there on April 21, 1867, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery.
References
- Cooper, William J.The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics (Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2017).
- ^ Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: Vol. 5, P-S (The University of North Carolina Press, 1994).
- )
- ^ "Bartholomew F. Moore". The News and Observer. 1939-10-22. p. 35. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
Samuel A. Ashe, ed., Biographical History of North Carolina, vol. 3 (1905). Biog. Dir. Am. Cong. (1961).
- Joseph Blount Cheshire, Nonnulla: Memories, Stories, Traditions, More or Less Authentic (1930).
- DAB, vol. 8 (1935).
- A. R. Newsome, ed., "Letters of Romulus M. Saunders to Bartlett Yancey, 1821-1828," North Carolina Historical Review 8 (1931).
- William S. Powell, When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County, North Carolina, 1777-1977 (1977).
- James Edmonds Saunders, Early Settlers of Alabama (1899).