George Maxwell Robeson was born on March 16, 1829 in New Jersey, United States, the son of William Penn and Ann (Maxwell) Robeson. He was descended from Andrew Robeson, of Scotland, who emigrated to America in 1676. His father was an iron manufacturer.
Immediately after graduating with honors from the College of New Jersey (Princeton) in 1847, Robeson began the study of the law in the offices of Chief Justice Hornblower in Newark.
He was admitted to the bar in 1850, practised law in Jersey City, and was licensed as a counselor in 1854. In 1859 he was appointed by Governor Newell prosecutor of Camden County, a political move which occasioned much criticism, because Robeson was not at the time a resident of Camden. During the Civil War he was appointed a brigadier-general by Governor Olden and took an active part in the organization of the state troops, commanding the camp of volunteers at Woodbury, New Jersey. In January 1867 he was appointed attorney-general of New Jersey by Governor Ward. Following the resignation of A. E. Borie as secretary of the navy, Robeson was appointed by President Grant to fill the vacancy in the cabinet. It was reported at the time that the appointment was made on the recommendation of Borie (Nation, July 1, 1869). Robeson held office from June 25, 1869, until Mar. 12, 1877. His administration of the Navy Department was so severely criticized by the newspapers, which charged him with extravagance and favoritism, that a congressional investigation was instituted, but no definite action resulted. In 1871 Robeson was instrumental in securing the federal appropriation for the ill-fated North Polar Expedition of Captain C. F. Hall, who, before his death in northern Greenland, named Robeson Channel in recognition of the services of the Secretary of the Navy (C. F. Hall, Narrative of the North Polar Expedition, 1876, ed. by C. H. Davis). In January 1877 Robeson was the Republican candidate for United States senator from New Jersey, but he lost the election by one vote in the legislature, where he was suspected of trying to buy the vote of a Democratic member (Sackett, post, p. 134). In March 1877 he retired from the cabinet and returned to Camden, where he resumed his law practice. In 1878 he was elected to Congress from the first New Jersey district, being relected in 1880. Although a newcomer, he was one of the leaders in the House and was said to be "as strong in parliamentary debate as he was known to be in argument at the bar" (J. G. Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, II, 1886, 638). He was again an unsuccessful senatorial candidate in 1881 and following his defeat in the congressional elections of 1882 devoted himself to the practice of law, at first in Camden and later in Trenton where he died. His striking personal traits and his size made him a favorite with cartoonists. Puck had a cartoon featuring him almost every week and it has been said that he was the most caricatured man of his day.
United States House of Representatives
hot-tempered, industrious administrator and through his departmental leadership was able to contain the established Naval officer hierarchy.
In 1872 he married Mary Isabelle (Ogston) Aulick, a widow with a son, Richard Aulick. They had one daughter.
