- Silas Robbins
Infobox Person
name = Silas Robbins
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birth_date =
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death_date = 1916
death_place =Omaha, Nebraska
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occupation = Lawyer
nationality = AmericanSilas Robbins (?-1916) was the first African American admitted to practice law in the U.S. state of
Nebraska in 1889, and the first black person inOmaha, Nebraska to be admitted to theNebraska State Bar Association . [ [http://www.neded.org/files/research/stathand/parttwo/nehist5y.html "Nebraska's History"] , Nebraska Department of Economic Development. Retrieved 8/19/08.]Biography
Prior to serving in Nebraska, Robbins was admitted to the bar in Indiana and Mississippi. ["Nebraska lawyer commits suicide," "New York News." September 21, 1916.]
In 1887 Robbins became the second African American to run for
Nebraska State Legislature , winning the endorsement ofGilbert Hitchcock 's "Omaha World-Herald ". After losing the race, Robbins continued to serve in Omaha.In 1889 Robbins became the first black lawyer admitted to practice in Nebraska, sixteen years after the
Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that blacks could not be excluded from serving on juries. In 1893 he secured a patent from theUnited States Patent Office for a game he created called "politics". [(1893) [http://www.google.com/patents?id=oNQ_AAAAEBAJ&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=%22Silas+Robbins%22+omaha&source=web&ots=g7dGeewddR&sig=8yJKED7fwzFpyaZCPe2DD9QYKQY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA1,M1 "Game apparatus"] , United States Patent Office. Retrieved 8/19/08.]When the
Populist Party took power in Omaha, Robbins served as the tax commissioner from 1900 to 1901 and again from 1903 to 1905. Afterward he focused primarily on real estate law, and maintained a reputation as one of Omaha's "best known colored attorneys." [Smith, J.C. (1993) "Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944". University of Pennsylvania Press. p 464.] [Federal Writers Project . (1939) [http://www.memoriallibrary.com/NE/Ethnic/Negro/professions.htm "Negroes in the Professions,"] "The Negroes of Nebraska." Retrieved 8/19/08.]Robbins' death in 1916 was attributed to a suicide, apparently motivated by a long-time illness. ["Silas Robbins kills self: Ill health cause," "Omaha World-Herald". September 12, 1916. p 3.]
See also
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African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska References
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