Robert BARNWELL, Congress, SC (1761-1814)

BARNWELL Robert , a Delegate and a Representative from South Carolina; born in Beaufort, S.C., December 21, 1761; educated in the common schools and by private teachers; volunteered for service in the Revolutionary War when sixteen years of age; received seventeen wounds in the battle on Johns Island, S.C.; finally recovered and served as lieutenant with his company at the siege of Charleston in 1780; at the fall of that city was sent aboard the prison ship , but was released in the general exchange of prisoners in June 1781; was for many years president of the board of trustees of Beaufort College; Member of the Continental Congress in 1789; member of the convention of South Carolina for the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1788; elected as a Pro-Administration candidate to the Second Congress (March 4, 1791-March 3, 1793); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1792 to the Third Congress; member of the South Carolina house of representatives 1787-1788, 1790-1791, and 1794-1801, serving as speaker in 1795; member of the South Carolina senate in 1805 and 1806, serving as president in 1805; died in Beaufort, Beaufort County, S.C., October 24, 1814; interment in St. Helena's Churchyard.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present