Robert Burns Lindsay

Robert Burns Lindsay is best known for his public service as the Democratic Governor of the state of Alabama from 1870 to 1872. He was the only foreign-born citizen to serve as a governor of Alabama.

Robert Burns Lindsay was born on July 4, 1824, in Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. He was educated in Scotland at parochial schools and the University of St. Andrews.

In 1844 Robert Burns Lindsay came to America to visit his brother David in North Carolina. He remained in North Carolina where he studied law and taught school. He moved to Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1849 where he continued teaching until 1852 when he was admitted to the bar and began a law practice.

Robert Burns Lindsay was elected to represent Franklin County in the state legislature in 1853. In 1857 he was elected to the state senate. He was a presidential elector to the 1860 Democratic convention and chose to support Douglas when the party split. He opposed secession but served in Roddy's cavalry during part of the Civil War.

In 1865 he returned to the state senate. In the governor's race of 1870, Lindsay narrowly defeated the incumbent Republican governor, William H. Smith. Smith at first refused to concede the office to Lindsay, claiming he was fraudulently elected, until forced to do so by a court order.

During Lindsay's administration the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) was established to provide education in agriculture and mechanical arts. The cities of Gadsden and Birmingham were incorporated in 1871.

Robert Burns Lindsay's major problem, during his administration, was the failure of the Republican-controlled Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad to meet its bond interest payments. The Democratic-controlled South and North Railroad soon failed as well. According to historian Sarah W. Wiggins¹, "The debate over the state's involvement with railroad construction paralyzed the General Assembly during much of Lindsay's administration...In the end Governor Lindsay's compromise decision to stand behind some of the questionable bonds...satisfied no one."

Robert Burns Lindsay refused to run for a second term. He retired to his private law practice which he continued even though he was stricken with paralysis soon after leaving office. He married Sarah Miller Winston, sister of Governor John Winston, in 1854. Of the nine children born to them, only four daughters were still living at the time of his death on February 13, 1902.

The genealogy of Governor Robert Burns Lindsay is not known at this time. If a visitor to this web site has access to the genealogical background for Robert Burns Lindsay or more detail regarding his brother (David Lindsay) in North Carolina, please contact us.

Reference 1: "The Scalawag in Alabama Politics, 1865-1881", by Sarah W. Wiggins, published 1977.

Page Initially Posted: July 2, 2001; Last Updated: November 26, 2001